| a day in the life of an archivist |
[15 Sep 2009|11:04pm] |
Today was a day of adorable and fascinating old men, dropping off boxes and collecting papers in the city for the Bancroft.
First, we visited Jack in his printing office, in a building that was built for printers, but is now mostly occupied by corporate offices (we passed Dockers headquarters on the way up). He had moved in in the 1950s, and is now the last holdout for the place's original function. He showed us his two printing presses, his vintage wooden type, and one of his early productions: a book on bicycle polo he printed in 1942 just before he was drafted, which his younger self meant (rather grandiosely, his older self chuckled) to be his legacy if he was killed in battle.
Next, we visited Paul in a gorgeous Craftsman house filled to the brim with books (about 8,000 total, and fewer than he used to have, he told us). The organizational system was idiosyncratic: I was amused to note that Natalie Clifford Barney, Renee Vivien, and Romaine Brooks were all shelved together. Paul had been friends with Carl Van Vechten and had several of his photos hanging on his walls. He had also had an extensive Gertrude Stein collection, and had several posters from exhibitions of it. In short, modernist heaven.
And then we finished up at Theatre Rhinoceros, San Francisco's queer theatre company, where I listened to the director (not an old man, but still fascinating) talk about Tom Stoppard while I packed up posters from past productions.
All in all, an immensely satisfying day.
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| ponyo (spoilers ahoy) |
[22 Aug 2009|08:08am] |
The experience of watching Miyazaki's latest film Ponyo is very similar to that of watching Up: gorgeous visuals, engaging story, interesting characters...and intensely frustrating. (Which perhaps befits a film loosely based on that frustrating fairy tale, "The Little Mermaid.")
Ponyo is a Manic Pixie Dream Girl extraordinaire, and (literally) a force of nature. She's also intensely single-minded, and of course what's on her mind is a man (well, boy). While the boy in question, Sosuke, is motivated by his sense of responsibility to several people in his life -- Ponyo, yes, but also his mother and father -- Ponyo is driven solely by her affection for Sosuke, and her desire to be with/like him.
At least the relatively complex character of Sosuke's mother Lisa, and the colorful chorus of old ladies at the senior center where she works, do Up one better by devoting more than a few minutes at the beginning of the film to developing female subjectivity, even if the title character is still lacking in that department.
The story ends with (here come the SPOILERS, though you can probably guess what happens) Ponyo's father, the underwater steampunk wizard Fujimoto, handing the reverted-to-infancy Ponyo over to her "husband," the five-year-old Sosuke, who has proved his love for Ponyo by saying that he would care for her even if she were a fish. (Fujimoto has previously revealed, in a nod to the fairy tale origin of the story, that if Sosuke failed this test, Ponyo would dissipate into sea foam, though Sosuke doesn't know this.) So we've got traffic in women, women as property, the infantilization of women, and a woman who will literally disappear if she doesn't have the love of a man. (Ponyo has her substantial magic powers taken away from her when she is turned into a human, so we've got dwindling into a wife, too.)
Thanks, Miyazaki, but I think I'll stick with Spirited Away.
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| it's hot up here, but not monotonous |
[10 Aug 2009|10:18pm] |
Austin is hot. Yes, I was forewarned of this fact, and thought that my Tracy upbringing would come to my rescue, but apparently six years of Berkeley summers have turned me soft.
Even the heat wouldn't be so hard to bear if it weren't for the fact that my sinuses seem to have shut down. Also, my iPhone is unhappy (as in have-to-push-the-power-button-several-times-oh-please-please-don't-be-dead kind of unhappy), but I don't know if I can blame that on the heat.
Other than the heat and the reduced oxygen intake, I'm enjoying myself. A large part of that is due to awesome people: the-bonds-forged-in-Wales-last-forever ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) filiate, fellow grad school refugee Rudy, and two current iSchool students who were gracious enough to meet with me and discuss the program, which is still at the top of my list.
Tomorrow conference-type things start in earnest: tour of the Harry Ransom Center in the morning (I was looking at the second half of this page today and swooning), tour of the Kilgarlin Center in the afternoon, THATCamp digital humanities unconference in the evening (my proposed topic is Matchmaking in the Digital Archive). And then on Wednesday I tour Austin City Limits, perhaps attend the LGBT archivists' roundtable, and hopefully go contra dancing in the evening.
I've hastily created what may become my library blog, String Course, and I'm planning to post more detailed responses to conference goings-on over there.
Two more facts which please me greatly about Austin: it has an accordion festival and a thriving punk vaudeville scene.
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| onward! |
[17 Jun 2009|10:23pm] |
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I've decided to go to Austin in August, mainly for the Society of American Archivists convention but also to check out the UT Austin library program and the Harry Ransom Center, and wander around Austin itself. Any suggestions for things to do, people to meet up with, and/or places from which to borrow a bicycle would be most welcome.
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| happy birthday to me |
[16 Jun 2009|10:37pm] |
I've now officially aged out of Jane Austen heroine territory. (One could make an argument that the events of Persuasion last long enough that Anne could conceivably have a birthday during that time, but I'd rather just look forward to the next stage, kickass spinsterhood.)
I feel I've moved forward on so many things that were just glimmerings of wishful thinking this time last year, and it's a good feeling. Here's hoping that the next year will continue to progress in leaps and bounds towards optimal awesomeness.
me.
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| let me count the ways |
[11 Jun 2009|11:42pm] |
Some things that are making me happy of late:
-good times with good friends from near and far
-being almost completely unpacked
-playing the accordion, and getting to try out fancier accordions, one of which may soon be mine
-the Queer Arts Festival (which so far has involved Dorothy Allison, riot grrl nostalgia, and...an accordion!)
-the return of film potluck from beyond the grave
-strawberries
-finishing knitting projects
-cupcakes (thanks, N.!)
-new-to-me movies (thanks, R.!)
-re-reading old favorites (thanks, E.M.F.!)
-the prospect of returning to work at the Bancroft soon
-having an interview scheduled for another library job
-the announcement of the program for the Silent Film Festival
And that's just this month...
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| decemberists @ fox |
[21 May 2009|12:28am] |
Opener Other Lives was atmospheric beard rock. They did have one beardless member, but she had a cello, so it all worked out.
Hazards of Love was wonderful live. I think my enjoyment of it was aided by the drowning out of the lyrics -- an odd effect for a Decemberists set, but as I've said elsewhere, I'm beginning to find Colin Meloy's ongoing obsession with sexual violence against women in his songs rather creepy.
Becky Stark is even more adorable than usual when she's attempting to play a drum (as everyone was during "The Rake's Song").
Shara Worden is seriously amazing as the Evil Queen.
I couldn't see much of the re-enactment of the Donner Party (with Chris Funk as the Historical Squirrel), but it was hilarious nonetheless.
The renovated Fox is gorgeous, and the lighting effects were amazing. The floor is thankfully on multiple levels -- I was behind the first railing, which put me a foot above the crowd in front of me. The gods that hate short people still managed to place someone tall enough to block my view directly in front of me, but he moved around enough that it wasn't too bad. And transit home was a breeze -- hurrah for east bay venues. Lots of good shows on the Fox's upcoming calendar; I will definitely be back.
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| bring your hovercraft |
[26 Apr 2009|04:21pm] |
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My moving day is May 9. Let me know here or on Facebook (or by e-mail, phone, or even [gasp] in person) if you're able to help out -- there will be the customary free pizza (at lunchtime, no less).
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| life changes |
[13 Apr 2009|07:55pm] |
Laura and I broke up. It's difficult, but is, I think (or at least hope), for the best.
I've found a lovely room to rent starting in May, but it would probably be good for all concerned if I could start living elsewhere before then, so if anyone knows of anyone within biking/easy public transit distance of the Berkeley campus looking for a housesitter or willing to take on a temporary roommate I'd appreciate your sending them my way. I can't really afford to pay much rent, but I could cook them a fabulous dinner.
This also means my library school plans have changed. I'm no longer planning to start at San Jose State in the fall, but instead will apply for the following year to programs all over the country (and possibly some in Canada). I'm tempted by the glorious life of a film archivist, but that has its own specialized programs largely separate from manuscript archiving, and I don't want to limit myself too much.
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| archives! |
[24 Feb 2009|07:35am] |
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Lots of good stuff on the Beinecke blog lately -- lesbian pulp fiction, silent movies, and H.D.
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| the next three months will be long |
[15 Dec 2008|12:05pm] |
The SF Silent Film Festival has announced the lineup for its winter event (thankfully on February 14 this year):
Buster Keaton's Our Hospitality (1923) - Hurrah to ending the dearth of Keaton at the festival of late.
The Kiss of Mary Pickford (1927) - A Soviet film (!) featuring Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks (!!), who were apparently filmed not knowing that the footage would be used for a feature (!!!). How have I not heard of this before?
F.W. Murnau's Sunrise (1927) - In the slot of "films that are even awesomer with the Castro's extra shot of grandeur."
Paul Leni's The Cat and the Canary (1927) with Louise Brooks - I was just reading Lulu in Hollywood last night, and thinking I should move this up my Netflix queue. ETA: Oops, I was confusing this with The Canary Murder Case - this film has Laura La Plante, not Louise Brooks. It's still something that's been on my to-see list, though.
In short: I highly approve. Tickets are on sale now!
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| upcoming events |
[23 Nov 2008|12:58pm] |
Tonight: The Passion of Joan of Arc with live choral accompaniment, at Hertz Hall on campus. I remember being blown away by this film on a tiny television screen in the ML lounge, so I'm really looking forward to seeing it on a much larger scale.
Tuesday: The Decemberists at the Warfield. Presumably sold out at this point, though I haven't checked. Anyone else going?
Wednesday: Milk opens at the Castro. I probably won't go see it till after Laura takes her quals the following week, though.
Thursday: Thanksgiving with the family.
Friday: Autumn Leaves at the PFA, as part of the Robert Aldrich series. The blurb for the film begins, "Does a spinster-typist deserve happiness?" Given that the spinster-typist in question is Joan Crawford, I'm guessing the answer is yes.
Saturday; I'm planning on hosting a knitting/craft night at my place. Please comment or e-mail me if you're interested.
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| repo! the genetic opera |
[18 Nov 2008|08:58pm] |
This movie wants to be Blade Runner meets Rocky Horror, but only makes it to Hot Topic presents Xanadu.
It doesn't help that they forgot that even a campy cult musical benefits from songs that are not horribly, horribly bad. The woodenly expository lyrics make "Dammit Janet" sound like the heights of Sondheimian wit.
Anthony Stewart Head does his best to sell it, though. And the scene with Sarah Brightman projecting Princess Leia Our Heroine's dead mother from her freaky eyes to sing backup for her was...effective.
However, if you saw the music video for "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and thought "if only that were a feature film!", this may be the movie for you.
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| go forth and dramatize |
[03 Nov 2008|08:30am] |
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Saw The Quality of Life at ACT last night -- highly recommended. Hilarious, heart-rending, a little too close to home as to religious right-wingers who want to impose their personal views on everyone else, extremely well-acted, wonderfully written with great pacing and management of tonal shifts, and altogether an excellent night of theater.
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