Ohio Libraries ... Just Better

You can show me Hennen ratings, you can tell me that Connecticut State University found that Cleveland libraries are #1, but as far as I'm concerned, this is the ultimate proof that Ohio libraries are better:

At my job, I've been working on a book about ancient Egypt. Inspired, I went to the Met, as I often do, and spent the afternoon at the Temple of Dendur.

It was around then that I recalled a certain Sesame Street special I'd seen as a kid, Don't Eat the Pictures, where Big Bird and all the gang get themselves locked in the museum overnight, and then Big Bird and Snuffy meet a ghostly Egyptian kid who's been haunting one of the Egyptian artifacts, waiting in a sort of limbo-like state for the afterlife. Remember this one, fellow Gen-Xers? I loved it.

Surely, I thought, the NYPL would have a copy of this. Not just because they're a ginormous library, but also because the special was, essentially, just as much a ploy to "sell" one of New York City's most venerated institutions to children, as putting the Cap'n Crunch and Count Chocula at toddler eye-level is a ploy to sell sugary cereal.

I know, I know. Don't Eat the Pictures is nearly 25 years old. Kids today don't even know that Snuffy used to be Big Bird's imaginary friend. Still, I expected the NYPL to own one copy.

But they didn't!

Now.

I invite you to look for yourself and see how many copies the CLEVNET consortium owns. (Don't forget, search in the title field, and then click the availability tab.)

Uh-huh.

Fair Weather Friend

I'm probably making too much of this, but after a day spent in mild bliss about the loss of Ohio's, er, "rosy hue," I can't help but feel a little icky.

I looked at Craigslist for a long time last night, fiercely debating the pros/cons of Market Square (yes - the West Side Market, but no - I dislike "open plan" apartments and am wary of the types of people who might live in them) vs. Shaker Square (yes - farmers market, but no - East Side).

And I started to wonder if I wasn't just a fair weather friend, determined to flee Ohio while I perceived it to have problems beyond my control, but as soon as things started looking up, I'd come running back and expect it to hail my glorious return with a ticker tape parade, the Ohio State Buckeye and the Cleveland State Viking proudly escorting me down a Euclid Avenue paved with golden bricks.

Victory is Mine!

Although frankly, I don't think much is going to change, I did feel a ripple of excitement to see a Blue Ohio last night.

The thing I'm happier about, actually is the downfall of soon-to-be ex-Senator Conrad Burns (R, MT) who, back in the late 90s, publicly referred to Arabs as "ragheads," yet kept getting himself elected. How grotesque and shameful. On the upside, the raghead comment did eventually spur my political sweetheart, Brian Schweitzer, to victory. (I dream of an Obama-Schweitzer ticket....)

And now ladies and gentlemen, Jon Tester. During the campaign, Conrad Burns ran an attack ad on Tester that went like this:

It features a barber who says, "Fella comes in for a trim on his flattop because he's running for U.S. Senate. Guess he didn't want anybody to know he opposes a gay-marriage ban. Thinks flag burning is a right. And supports higher taxes. So I told him, 'You're gonna need a lot more than a haircut to cover up all that' ... Didn't leave much of a tip either." from Time

I'll be glad to see Burns slither back to the bottom of the Berkeley Pit, where he belongs.