The New Flickr Sucks

Since everyone is saying the new flickr sucks and they'll go over to the jammed up tumblr (isn't Yahoo buying them too?), I thought I'd try adding some old photos I used to have on webshots here and also on my old free flickr account.  What the heck, they added more storage space to the free one.

2004 American Music Festival

Gonna take some time to get used to this new flickr, it's a big change and we all know we do not like change.  That's all I have to say about that.

Reading: My "AHA" Moment

On November 18, 2011 I heard Michael Sullivan speak at the Schaumburg Public Library. While I am not a youth services librarian, I knew it would be worthwhile to hear his "Connecting Boys With Books

Why Boys' Lit Gets a Bad Wrap." I was right. Not only was it the best presentation I had heard in a long time, it may have been the best presentation I have ever heard. Professionally I will need to review the four pages of notes I took and write a report to share with everyone back at the library. What made this even better was that I was not expecting to learn about myself as well.

I often get asked how I became a librarian. I usually like to say I was an un-employable history major. I didn't want to teach and sure as heck wasn't going to law school. I also spent a lot of time studying and writing papers in the college library so when I graduated into a recession, it was only natural to pursue the MLS so I could become a librarian. That's all true but there really was more to it. I did not realize that however, until I heard Michael speak. At one point during the presentation he asked a young man in front what his "aha" moment was. When was he hooked as a reader. I thought about it, and thought about it, but couldn't not think of when I knew I got hooked on reading. It wasn't until later when Michael was pointing outthat 35% of incoming male freshman at UCLA when asked, stated they did not read. Of course that is not true. Boys read the box scores in the newspaper and they read baseball cards Michael pointed out, the problem is the young men questioned never considered that reading because it did not fit with what they thought, and had been taught, was real reading. Right there, "AHA," I had my moment. That was me. I never considered myself a reader in high school but I was memorizing the backs of baseball cards up until that summer after high school graduation. I could and still can tell you the year Cal Ripken and Kent Hrbek were born (1960) as well as other useless stats and trivia. I also poured over the box scores when my father came home with the newspaper (which he would read while watching the evening news, Barney Miller, Hills Street Blues, etc...) but like those freshman, I didn't consider that real reading. I also have every issue of Guitar for the Practicing Musician, later just Guitar, which came out in 1983 and ceased in 1999. I woud read the articles learning about all the blues players I didn't start listening to until a few years after college. Hello, I lived right outside of Chicago. In Creem Magazine I was reading about the punks and the Stones and in Circus, it was Judas Priest and Iron Maiden or just Priest and Maiden for you metalheads.

The picture above was of one of my favorite books from my home town library. I was lucky enough to purchase it when it was withdrawn some years later. It's about fire trucks. I loved the fire trucks but boy did I hate reading those stories we had to read in the fourth grade. I don't remember what they were about but I do remember I would rather look out the window than read one of them. They certainly were not about fire trucks, or any other kind of truck for that matter.

Who knew, I never realized it but I really was a reader even though I did not venture into the library much during the junior high/middle school and high school years. Thanks Michael, thanks for my "aha" moment.

"Merry Christmas to Me" by the Waco Brothers

Book Release/Signing Party for Tony Fitzpatrick’s (aka Patrick FitzTony) “This Train,” 2 pm/free (2-5pm) [Literary] @ Fitzgerald's featuring the Waco Brothers on December 19, 2010.

Mighty Joe Young

I had only seen Mighty Joe Young perform once. It was in the mid nineties at the Lyons Brewing Company. They were booking some good acts in those days, I caught Eddy Clearwater, Byther Smith, and Phil Guy there in addition to Joe. I remember taking my Big Book of Blues with me for Joe to sign. I was lead upstairs where he and his wife relaxed on a couch. He was the friendliest bluesman I ever met in my pursuit of autographs. He was delighted to sign my book and chat. I really don't remember what we talked about but it was his attitude that he would take the time to sign and chat with a fan that I remember to this day. A stark contrast to someone like Robert Jr. Lockwood.

When I saw Joe, he had already lost his ability to play the guitar. For those of you who know the story, it was a sad one and unfortunately it was the surgery which he underwent in hopes of restoring his ability to play that he died from. I never did get to see him play after that night at the Lyons Brewing Company.

I was aware that Joe was buried in Oakridge-Glen Oak Cemetery in Hillside, right down the road from me. Tyrone Davis and Howlin Wolf are buried next door and Darryl Stingley is nearby but I had never been able to find Mighty Joe's grave. I finally went into the office to find the location of his grave. After a brief search I was pointed in the right direction and was able to pay my respects to the kindest bluesman I ever met.

The Bottle Rockets

,
originally uploaded by seanbirm.

@ Fitzgerald's, Berwyn, IL, November 27, 2009

Best show of 2009. They blew the roof off the place.


Disc One
01 Sunday Sports
02 Every Kind of Everything
03 I Wanna Come Home
04 Done it All
05 Hard Times
06 Queen of the World
07 Waitin' on a Train
08 Middle Man
09 Nothing But a Driver
10 Down River
11 Shame on Me
12 Slo Toms
13 Kit Kat Clock
14 Trailer Mama
15 Solitaire
16 Talking intro to Gravity Fails
17 Gravity Fails
18 Get on the Bus
19 Indianapolis
20 Love Like a Truck
21 Welfare Music

Disc Two
01 Long Way
02 Encore #01
03 Lucky Break
04 Radar Gun
05 Smokin' 100s Alone
06 Never Been to Spain
07 Encore #02
08 1000 Dollar Car
09 American Girl
10 Take Me to the Bank

Summer of '98 by Mike Lupica

My review

I learned we were drinking the long ball kool-aid back in '98.


View all my reviews.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn

My review

View all my reviews.