I took a quiz on Facebook

called 'What Musical Are You?' I came out as Wicked.

You love so fiercely that it may be perceived as intimidating to some people. But you always stand by your convictions and causes. Nothing can stand in your way. You have few BEST friends but you are one of the most loyal friends they'll ever have. You are prone to being mistaken for mean or fierce when really you know that you're doing what's right. No one mourns the wicked.

Cool.

My mind is reeling at the scope of this loss to history

HISTORY IN RUINS: Archive Collapse Disaster for Historians

The Historical Archive of Köln (Cologne in English) collapsed Tuesday, leaving two people missing and presumed dead and millions of documents, photographs, books, and other archival items imperiled. So far 9,000 documents have been recovered, a small percentage of a collection that took up 18 kilometres of shelving and spanned two millennia. Köln's archives were very rare because they survived the destruction of the World War II era completely intact. It was also the largest municipal archive in Germany.

When I was working on my thesis on Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, a native of Köln, I benefited from other scholars who had studied the humanist and occultist by poring over documents in this very archive. I would love to have been able to go myself.

Now much of that history may be lost. When I think of my emotions, it is not so much sad as horrified. It reminds us how fragile our connexion to the past can be, and the importance of archivists, librarians, and historians in maintaining that connexion. I so hope that more can be saved, and that they can rig up some device to protect against rain as they try to unearth these precious holdings.

Although I'd seen the story in a variety of media, this particular link is courtesy of Steven from Library Stuff.

Photos can be accessed through the article, but these were particularly riveting, I thought:

Building as it was before collapse - After the collapse: View 1 - View 2 - View 3

You can also see an aerial view in this video.

The building is gone, leaving only huge chunks of concrete. Let us hope that treasures may be found under the rubble, but it will be an arduous task that will be painstakingly slow compared to clearing most rubble, due to the great care necessary to preserve the documents. I wish them well.

Well, that's good

They found Breanna Woodside, the little girl who was the subject of our local AMBER alert. She and her father were found in Monterey, Mexico and are being transported to Texas. Kidnapping across state lines is bad. Is it worse if you take the child out of the country?

Okay, good night for real this time. :)

A relatively relaxing day

Listening to/watching: '18th Floor Balcony' by Blue October [a very nice live performance] and 'It's Not My Time' by 3 Doors Down [the setting looked very familiar; turns out it was shot in Cincinnati. It has some great acrobatic moves of parkour in it that I need to remember for the game. There's a great word-of-the day. :)]

I was off work today to take someone to an appointment. Afterwards I did some errands and went to a store meeting in preparation for my boss' month-long leave, which starts Thursday. She really needs the time off but we're all going to miss her. We met the person taking over temporarily and first impression is that she'll be fine to work with. We had pizza and free drinks, and that's always nice.

Later I went home, started a dishwashing cycle, and took a nap. When I got up I watched one of the 'Heroes' episodes I've missed, getting all comfy on the loveseat. I pretty much lounged around until a friend called me to get him from work. So it was yet another lazy day, which are usually few and far between.

Nothing earth-shattering is going on right now in my life; no drama (yay!) I nearly hit a bunny last night on the road (it was hopping parallel at the edge), but didn't, thankfully. I've only hit one animal (a cat, which I killed) and was hysterical afterwards. I love animals.

I re-potted an amaryllis which has never bloomed for me and it shot right up (as well as a baby that I'd separated off it). There's no indication so far if it will bloom yet. The one I got last year that bloomed so nicely didn't this year, although it leafed out. It's dying down now so I'll give it a rest and try again.

The fish are hanging on. Next week I'll have the water tested again and see if it's better. I've been feeding sparingly and had changed a good part of the water and added more bacteria, so let's hope the nitrates go down. I need to get some plants to help take the nitrates out of the water and put them to growth instead.

I'm keeping up with the house and it looks nice and clean.

I'm going to try another MLA class that starts on March 9th. It's on wikis. Even though I didn't manage to finish in time to get credit for the Google Docs class, I learnt valuable lessons, including the fact that Google Docs can only graph numerical data (although that only came out after a bunch of us made surveys with non-numerical data like multiple text responses and discovered the graphing wouldn't work). There are workarounds, but they're not really satisfactory and it's simpler to just set it up numerically from the first. (There's your Important Safety Tip of the day.) That part of the class was rather annoying, but otherwise it was fun. I've played a little with wikis on Wetpaint and a tsunami-related one that came out after the disaster to help get out information on volunteering, news, and aid. If you're a member of the Medical Library Association and want to take the class, here's the information:

Dig Deeper with Social Media Free CE Course: Wikis
Available to MLA members March 9–15, this course covers how libraries can apply wiki software to their work. Participants will gain an understanding of the benefits and challenges of wiki software, brainstorm and discuss practical applications of wikis in libraries, and get hands-on experience. Members who complete the course will receive two MLA CE credits. Registration for this course is required by March 6, 5:00pm CT. Register today>>

Okay, it's 3 am. Time to go to bed!!! (Past time, really, but I did get rest earlier, so I wasn't sleepy.)

'Lucia di Lammermoor' Production Honors Late Professor

The University of Kentucky Opera Theatre presents the powerful opera 'Lucia di Lammermoor' in celebration of the illustrious career of the late Gail Robinson. Robinson, a noted singer at the Metropolitan Opera and professor of voice at UK School of Music, was best known for her portrayal of the title role in 'Lucia.' This Donizetti masterpiece is a classical example of the bel canto style of opera. The UK Opera Theatre will present the fully staged opera at 7:30 p.m. March 6, 7, 13 and 14, at the Lexington Opera House.

Music is by the Lexington Symphony Orchestra and tickets are reasonably priced from $12-$34. The Opera House has gone through a recent remodelling, including more comfortable and roomier seating. Information on the opera and obtaining tickets can be found at the link at the top of this post.

Time for karaoke!

My two favourite songs from the musical...creatively captioned by canttakesky.

'My Eyes' from Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog


'Brand New Day' from Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog


I haven't gotten the CD/DVD set yet, but I think it will be my birthday present to myself, and that's only a month away. Together they're less than $22 at Amazon.com. Good night.

I'm so not seeing it

I'd rather expected Labrador, to be honest. But a collie? Active? Graceful? Um...no. Good night.

Your result for The Dog Reincarnation Test...

Collie!

44% Collie, 19% German_Shepherd, 38% Labrador, 25% Poodle, 13% Doberman, 31% Fox_Terrier, 25% Dachshund, 31% Bulldog, 25% Chinese_Crested, 6% Basenji, and 25% Cocker_Spaniel!

The Collie is an active dog. People that are into sports and outdoor activities would be very suited to be reincarnated as a poodle.

The Collie is a large, elegant, and graceful dog. It's also very active and at times almost looks as if it floats over the ground as it runs. It is loyal, affectionate, and very smart. It has a beautiful long coat and a thin muzzle. The collie is one of the easiest dog breeds to train. They make excellent farm dogs. The most famous collie was the television star, Lassie.

A Look Back The exact origin of the Collie is uncertain, but they have existed for centuries as herding dogs of Scotland and England. They were used primarily as a drover dog, guiding cows and sheep to market. The true popularity of the breed came about during the 1860’s when Queen Victoria visited the Scottish Highlands and fell in love with the breed - from that point on Collies became very fashionable.

Take The Dog Reincarnation Test at HelloQuizzy

I got in a little while ago

Listening to 'Sunglasses at Night' by Corey Hart

after watching Hairspray with friends. It's a great movie. I think Nikki Blonsky, in her first role as an actress, did an excellent job. I even liked John Travolta's Edna, Tracy's mother and the role originated by Divine in the 1988 film and continued in the original Broadway show by Harvey Fierstein. The dancing and music was excellent. Queen Latifah's 'I Know Where I've Been' was probably my favourite song, although 'You Can't Stop the Beat' was definitely a close second. It's just a nice, feel good movie that you can't go wrong with.

Today was great. I slept a great deal, had spa time with a long, luxurious bath, and then visited with friends and watched the movie. I haven't had a day like that in a long, long time. I feel refreshed and ready for a new week and a new month. I hope your weekend went well, too.

Wow...a lazy day

I cannot remember the last time I stayed in my sleep clothes past 4 pm, woke up every couple of hours to eat a small bite and then went back to sleep to resurface a couple of hours later. The last stretch was spent in a sunbeam in the comfy chair in the living room. I've been chronically short on sleep for days now, so I really needed it. When left to my own devices that's how my days go--sleep a bit, stay up and work on something, sleep a bit, stay up and work on something. I manage to accomplish more than you'd think, especially if I'm house cleaning or whatnot. Today the focus has really just been on sleep. I do need to do the dishes and maybe some touchups in the bathroom and put some non-perishable groceries away that are sitting on the kitchen table, but that's about as messy as my house has been of late. I really have been just keeping it clean as I go. Oh, and I have some videotapes on the couch and boxes to keep them in, so I need to transfer them from a bag to the boxes and put them neatly away for easy access. But I think the first thing to do is to take a long bath. Later I'm going to go over to a friend's for a movie.

So this is what a day off is.

This AMBER alert came over our lottery machine at work yesterday

From Code Amber:

The State of Kentucky issued the Amber Alert on Saturday (2-28) after the suspect failed to return the girl following visitation in Frankfort on Friday. The suspect is considered armed and dangerous and has suicidal tendencies according to Police.

Breanna Woodside is a white female, 2 years old, 3 ft. tall and weighs 35 pounds. She has straight blonde hair past her shoulders, and hazel eyes. She was last seen wearing purple sweatpants, a purple and pink striped shirt, a black jacket with pink lining, and blue shoes.

The suspect is Miles Woodside, a 30 year old white male, 6'1'' and weighs 190 pounds. He has red hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing loose-fitting blue jeans, and tennis shoes. He has a tattoo with symbols between his upper shoulders.

The suspect vehicle is a silver 1997 Lincoln Towncar with KY tag number 064BAA.

Anyone with information is asked to call Frankfort Police Department at 502-875-8582 or dial 911.

Go to this link or click on the yellow ticker above during the alert to get pictures of the child and father. Please, if you have any information, contact the police and help get this little girl back home.