More white stuff
Despite the weather service continuing to insist that there was "no more than four inches of accumulation" we have a good six inches at work and five inches at my house. And it's still snowing, with the so-called weather advisory extended until midnight tonight. Driving was very dangerous this afternoon and has probably gotten worse since sunset. Schools were closed in Harvard, and the library had very few visitors today, even with the kids being out of school.
This wasn't a particularly impossible amount of snow, but the conditions were very bad because it started as rain, heavy rain at times, and a temperature just above freezing. We got dropping temperatures, and heavy snowfall on top of wet pavement and ground. The snow turned to wet slush at first and then began to freeze as more powdery snow accumulated on top of it. The ultimate effect is quite a booby trap, and more than a few boobies got trapped all right.
Four more of those 1909 best sellers arrived and were cataloged today, so we have only two more to arrive. They actually look like readable novels, not outdated junk. One or two of the authors are still well-remembered, particularly mystery writer Mary Roberts Rinehart and historic/adventure writer Rex Beach. The eight volumes are now lined up on a shelf in the director's office, looking like the centenarians they are, battered but not yet bowed. Those old catalog records are very poor by today's standards: no subject headings, no plot summary, no tracings for the illustrator. A couple of them are illustrated with full color plates, paintings by notable artists of the time.
I do hope we find that people are curious enough to actually want to read them. Some of these do deserve reading.
Oh, and the governor of Illinois was arrested and hauled off to jail for racketeering. Hardly anyone was surprised except the governor himself. We've known for a while that he was untrustworthy and dishonest, just like the last guy who had that office, and despite the fact that he's from the other party and promised reforms and a cleanup. I guess he meant he was going to "clean up" while in office, but we're all hoping he's going to get his clock cleaned instead. Reportedly they caught him actually offering to sell the appointment to the Senate (to replace president-elect Obama) to the highest bidder in cash or favors. The legislature is hurrying to find a way to amend the state laws so that replacement senators will no longer be appointed by the governor but will instead be chosen by a special election. Costly, but given the corrupt history of Illinois politics, probably a sensible move. Blagojevich is out on a signature bond of just $4500, but it looks as if he'd better resign his post quickly or he may be facing impeachment. No loss. Nor was his Republican predecessor any loss, the man was an obvious crook. That's the way politics has been in Illinois just about as long as there has been an Illinois, and regardless of parties. Neither candidate in the last two governor's campaigns has been even the least bit acceptable. When both parties nominate rotten eggs, what do you do? Vote for the lesser of two evils? Lessee, should I pick Pol Pot or Adolf Hitler? Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden? I wrote in "no" for governor both of the last two elections.
For Obama's detractors who are so eager to seize on this as "proof" that Obama is a fraud or a thief or whatever: Obama was never an Illinois state politician. He never served in the Illinois legislature, or the Chicago city council, or in a state level cabinet post. He has no attachment to the so-called "machine" in Chicago except in that he runs as a Democrat. Note that George Wallace ran as a Democrat too, but that didn't make Ted Kennedy into a racist any more than Spiro Agnew's income tax evasion made a thief of Barry Goldwater.
[Edited for correction: I overstated this. Obama served in Illinois political positions in recent years but was never an Illinois politician in the sense of being accepted into the existing structure. The NYT has some interesting comments on that today in which they point out that he has backed away from various former "friends" over the years as their questionable activities became obvious. In particular, they suggest that his strong backing of an ethics reform in the Illinois legislature this year, which helped to get the bill passed in spite of Gov. Blagojevich's veto, generated pressures on Blagojevich such that the latter maneuvered himself right into the hands of the feds. We are relieved here in Illinois to see that former state senator Emil Jones is now unlikely to be appointed to the US senate vacancy.]
This wasn't a particularly impossible amount of snow, but the conditions were very bad because it started as rain, heavy rain at times, and a temperature just above freezing. We got dropping temperatures, and heavy snowfall on top of wet pavement and ground. The snow turned to wet slush at first and then began to freeze as more powdery snow accumulated on top of it. The ultimate effect is quite a booby trap, and more than a few boobies got trapped all right.
Four more of those 1909 best sellers arrived and were cataloged today, so we have only two more to arrive. They actually look like readable novels, not outdated junk. One or two of the authors are still well-remembered, particularly mystery writer Mary Roberts Rinehart and historic/adventure writer Rex Beach. The eight volumes are now lined up on a shelf in the director's office, looking like the centenarians they are, battered but not yet bowed. Those old catalog records are very poor by today's standards: no subject headings, no plot summary, no tracings for the illustrator. A couple of them are illustrated with full color plates, paintings by notable artists of the time.
I do hope we find that people are curious enough to actually want to read them. Some of these do deserve reading.
Oh, and the governor of Illinois was arrested and hauled off to jail for racketeering. Hardly anyone was surprised except the governor himself. We've known for a while that he was untrustworthy and dishonest, just like the last guy who had that office, and despite the fact that he's from the other party and promised reforms and a cleanup. I guess he meant he was going to "clean up" while in office, but we're all hoping he's going to get his clock cleaned instead. Reportedly they caught him actually offering to sell the appointment to the Senate (to replace president-elect Obama) to the highest bidder in cash or favors. The legislature is hurrying to find a way to amend the state laws so that replacement senators will no longer be appointed by the governor but will instead be chosen by a special election. Costly, but given the corrupt history of Illinois politics, probably a sensible move. Blagojevich is out on a signature bond of just $4500, but it looks as if he'd better resign his post quickly or he may be facing impeachment. No loss. Nor was his Republican predecessor any loss, the man was an obvious crook. That's the way politics has been in Illinois just about as long as there has been an Illinois, and regardless of parties. Neither candidate in the last two governor's campaigns has been even the least bit acceptable. When both parties nominate rotten eggs, what do you do? Vote for the lesser of two evils? Lessee, should I pick Pol Pot or Adolf Hitler? Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden? I wrote in "no" for governor both of the last two elections.
For Obama's detractors who are so eager to seize on this as "proof" that Obama is a fraud or a thief or whatever: Obama was never an Illinois state politician. He never served in the Illinois legislature, or the Chicago city council, or in a state level cabinet post. He has no attachment to the so-called "machine" in Chicago except in that he runs as a Democrat. Note that George Wallace ran as a Democrat too, but that didn't make Ted Kennedy into a racist any more than Spiro Agnew's income tax evasion made a thief of Barry Goldwater.
[Edited for correction: I overstated this. Obama served in Illinois political positions in recent years but was never an Illinois politician in the sense of being accepted into the existing structure. The NYT has some interesting comments on that today in which they point out that he has backed away from various former "friends" over the years as their questionable activities became obvious. In particular, they suggest that his strong backing of an ethics reform in the Illinois legislature this year, which helped to get the bill passed in spite of Gov. Blagojevich's veto, generated pressures on Blagojevich such that the latter maneuvered himself right into the hands of the feds. We are relieved here in Illinois to see that former state senator Emil Jones is now unlikely to be appointed to the US senate vacancy.]