Banning all books

I tried to post a comment to this story, which is about the dismissal of 4 librarians in Wisconsin due to their refusal to remove material from the library that some found objectionable. One line in particular caught my eye:

[two] patrons...demanded that the library add books “affirming traditional heterosexual perspectives.”

Wouldn't this apply to any book that includes a male and female involved in a romance? Which would include about 95% percent of fiction. Libraries don't need to add books affirming traditional perspectives -- those dominate.

Here's a question: are they going to ban books that include divorces? Or that showcase dysfunctional heterosexual relationships? How about books where couples fight and then break up? Or have premarital sex? Because there goes all the Gossip Girl books.

Libraries exist for the public, which includes all sexualities. Boards should not have the right to tell people what they can and cannot check out of the public library, which is funded with public tax money. Responsibility for deciding what underage readers can and cannot read belongs solely to that child's parent or guardian.

Just because you don't agree with a book doesn't mean I can't read it or give it to my child to read.

Backpack

The new backpack arrived today. I went with the Hermit, and the accent color is actually white, not pink or purple. So far, it's awesome.

I lead a very exciting life, I know.

More apartment pix to come now that we have all our shelves up and the desk assembled. ETA: next week sometime, b/c I will be out of town all weekend.

Pirates

Pirates hijack American ship.

If this were a movie, this is where there would be a scene of the President going into the Situation Room, all angry and determined, yelling "That pirate scum has messed with the wrong country! Send all the fire power we have -- [insert cool names of helicopters and fighter jets that I don't know]."

I really hope that scene is actually happening. And that there are actually helicopter, fighter jets, and pissed off Marines on their way to take care of this.

After all, this is no corporate oil tanker. It's a ship carrying RELIEF AID. At this point, I'd volunteer to help fight them myself, but I have a feeling that our military would prefer I didn't touch anything that is explosive.

Backpack

I went with this one:

Egypt:

Booked!

(Busy day here, huh?)

Best industry to work in right now:

Gay Weddings

Seriously, moving to Iowa or Vermont and becoming a wedding planner no longer sounds crazy.

Best named company, ever:

Puppet Heap

What an awesome mental image.

Apt pix, finally

Before looking at the video, you need to read this disclaimer (though I think most of you will just jump down to the video, impressed that I was able to actually make one, watch it, get confused, and then say "Jeez, Karen, why is your apartment so messy and undecorated?" To which I say: read the disclaimer):

We have not decorated yet. Or bought the desk and new shelves we need. Or hung all the shelves we have. Or figured out where to hang the shelves we have. Or really finished unpacking. Everything in the apartment right now is, as we say in the biz, FPO -- for placement only. It all might move. Also, I have a lot of stuff to go on the walls as well as a lot of stuff I want to purchase to go on the walls.

(Digression: is it totally pathetic to purchase a poster of a band you don't really know and might not like just because you like the actual poster and the people who made it?)

So, now that you know, enjoy!

Opinions needed

I've decided to upgrade to a backpack that was NOT meant for a 4th grade boy. Here are the ones I am trying to decide between:

Ogio Hermit Pack:


- Cute, fits my laptop.
- Kinda sticks out a bit.
- MIGHT be pink, but I'm pretty sure accent color is purple.



Dakine Campus Pack:


- Plaid!
- Not quite as cool as the Ogio. Also, not as cool a name.




Ogio Chamaco Pack:


- Basic, simple.
- Kinda boring.




So?