The buttons were the white hot commodity of the conference, thank you

I only have one more day of this garfunkling conference.

If you had any doubt, the buttons were the white hot commodity of TCDL2012.

I am lord of the button-press

I think people are just desperate for anything fun during these conferences, and so why not the pink button that has nothing to do with anything?

And it totally worked, by the way.  I handed out my last button at 5:00 PM on the dot.

Also, if you want to find yourself in a waking dream, I recommend looking out upon the crowd as you're starting your presentation to see your parents ambling into the back of the auditorium.

Oh, hell yes.  The Admiral and KareBear took me up on my suggestion to come down and see me.  So, I think I'd just said "Hi, I'm Ryan Steans" when I gazed out across the half-empty room, and there they were, like a slow-moving apparition in need of a seat.  I quickly introduced them, they received one of the most earnest rounds of applause of the day, and I went on with my presentation.  Totally crazy.

Afterward, they got to meet my boss and some of my friends and co-workers, and off they went, disappearing into the mid-day sun as quickly as they had arrived.

They were the second most talked about thing after the buttons.

I'm hitting the sack.  I've been going since 6:00 AM.

But I'm having a lot of fun, even if its work.  And I suspect that's sort of where you want to wind up.

I'm outta here for a few days

So, I have one of those jobs where when people ask what I do, the answer doesn't always make sense.  Some days I'm standing up training folks how to use software, some days I'm presenting in front of a room full of library directors, some days I am learning how to make a button (like the kind you wear pinned to your shirt), some days I wander around looking for ink cartridges because nobody on 3rd ordered them when we asked a month ago, some days I am writing plans for domination of digital libraries, and some days I organize and run conferences at which I am a presenter.

Starting Wednesday, I'm running a conference.

A few scattered things...

Parks and Recreation:  Another season of the show has come and gone.  I am a fan, and I look forward to the show's return.

solid advice

As a state employee and public servant, I appreciate that someone on TV occasionally suggests that folks working in public sector jobs might choose to work these because they love their work and what it does for the community and public.  I know its an unpopular sentiment to express aloud, but that's been my experience with myself and my co-workers.

Curiously, I've found a bit of a hero in Ron Swanson, played by Nick Offerman.  And not just because he's married to Megan Mullally in real life.  Maybe its his eating habits.  Maybe its the exhausted look he wears when dealing with his co-workers, or the Ron Swanson Pyramid of Greatness.

I can't say, but he is my current rolemodel.


Avengers:  Despite what some of you believe, I quite liked The Avengers.  And like many of you, for reasons I can't put my finger on, I am a big fan of Agent Coulson.   If you have seen the movie and are also A Fan of Phil, I recommend you start following #coulsonlives or @coulsonlives on Twitter.  Also, actor Clark Gregg.

Irredeemable:  I believe Mark Waid's amazing series, Irredeemable, will release its 37th and final issue on Wednesday.  While I am sad it is over, I am glad it existed.  And, frankly, I like the idea that it has a conclusion, like every good story in history.

It doesn't mean Waid can't revisit the setting or characters, but for now...  the curtain draws shut and we get our denouement.

Midnight Cowboy:   No, not the film.  For many years, those of us who looked up above the first story of the buildings on Austin's famed Sixth Street noticed that somehow a "masssage parlor" was operating just right there under the name "Midnight Cowboy".    I'm not clear on how these things work, but as far as I know it was open from the time the name "Midnight Cowboy" had immediate cultural cache until what must have been the last couple of years.

Well, the cocktail maestro for The Alamo Drafthouse (Bill Norris) has taken the space over, bleached it, added tables, and it is now a reservations-only cocktail bar on Dirty Sixth.  But they kept the signs and the name "Midnight Cowboy Modeling".  I'll report out in early June as to how it went.  A quick write up here.

The Great American Songbook Through the Lens of the 1970's.

Today I received two emails that I think told me that you people are finally beginning to understand me.

The first was from our own Horus Kemwer, who sent me an image of an album cover for Swing Disco.

It really raises more questions than it answers, but who wouldn't want to hear "In the Mood" set to a disco beat?

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a copy of the songs online, but Horus also provided a track list.

But just look at that couple?  You just know there's a fondu pot bubbling somewhere and a couple of glasses of chilled Riunite waiting for them.  Maybe a shag carpet in front of that new gigantic fireplace, and a Camaro in the driveway.

And then this evening, I received a link to a video from our own JuanD.  A video that absolutely blew my mind.

Not only is it also of the late 1970's.  Not only is it also trying to hep up a popular song from a bygone era (I'm a big fan of Cole Porter's "Night and Day").  But somehow this video has managed to find a surprisingly large area on the Venn Diagram of a mind map or a checklist of my personal likes.  It's almost eerie.

I don't know who Raffaella Carra is, but I'm already a fan.  I guess an Italian 1970's music star?

And, seriously, if you were to say "Hey, The League.  We're going to make a music video just for you.  Your budget is totally unlimited.  What do you want?"  This is pretty much exactly what I would have ordered up.  Just astonishing.

So, special thanks to Horus and JuanD.  You guys made my day.

Signal Watch Watches: What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012)

Let's get some facts on the table.

• Jamie and I have no children.  Without getting too personal, there are medical reasons this is (at least partially) true.  But it is also true that the biological tripwire that is native to most successful living organisms which tells them its time to procreate has never gone off within my own system. 
• I am longtime pals with the screenwriter for this movie.  She more or less informed me that the movie was not in my demographic, and that no feelings would be hurt if I gave it a pass.  But, dammit, if any one of you knuckle-heads writes a movie that plays near my house, its likely I'll go.  And so I did head out to see this film on a sunny Sunday afternoon.  Because I am supportive.  

In general, this is not the sort of thing I'd normally consume as comedy (I DVR Eagleheart on Cartoon Network and still will watch things like Warrior of the Wasteland for a laugh), but I also generally don't rush to the theater for comedies, anyway.

Now, the crowd at this movie was particularly interesting as (a) I don't know what the make-up is of the new Slaughter Lane Alamo Drafthouse, but this was not the usual young genre freaks, and (b) oh my god, the number of pregnant women in the theater.

As someone without children, it was also interesting to hear the things the mass of the audience found hilarious (I assume in a "we've all been there") sort of way, and the things I found funny (small children "discovering" a dead animal in the woods and presenting it to Dad) which didn't get as much of a laugh.

This is absolutely the big, star-studded ensemble comedy it appears to be, following a half-dozen storylines with different bits of misadventure, tragedy and other ways of examining the same human experience from multiple angles.  I do think with so many stories in the movie, there's a little something for everybody.

Today is Jimmy Stewart's 104th Birthday

In college I took a class called "acting for non-acting majors".  Everyone in the room had to state who their favorite male and female actors were.  The folks who weren't film buffs tended to drop the names of popular actors of the day, many of which left me rolling my eyes so hard I'm surprised my orbs weren't creaking with rust by the time they got to me.  The folks who wanted to be seen as having discriminating taste all said "Al Pacino", and this was well after Scent of a Woman.  It was amazing.

Well, in the Spring of 1997, when asked, my answer was:  Jimmy Stewart

And if you asked me again today, I'm not sure my answer would change, other than to say that I see no point in asking the question.  Today, I would also say:  Jimmy Stewart

And today is Stewart's 104th Birthday.

Congrats to AmyD, Completer of Law and Information Schools!

Amy: Cutter of Cakes

The quality of the picture is not Amy's fault.  She was otherwise employed.  At any rate, I failed to take a great picture of her Saturday night as she cut into a delicious chocolate cake.  The chocolate cake that was next to the crazy graduation cake you can see in the foreground.

Amy is, of course, the fiance of my brother.  This weekend she graduated from a joint program at the University of Texas in the Law School and the School of Information.  She's now part lawyer, part librarian, all cop.  Or something.

Anyway, we're proud as hell of AmyD, and couldn't be more impressed.

She's got a job lined up to begin in the fall with an office of the Texas Legislature.  In the meantime, I believe she begins on Monday with a course to prepare her for the Texas bar exam.  No rest for the wicked.

I also managed to meet some of Amy's family over the weekend, including her grandparents and her dad (mom Jean had been met previously, and sister Heidi - also met previously - was not able to attend).  All swell folks.

Way to go, AmyD!

Happy Birthday, Mr. President - 50th Anniversary

Well, this is interesting.

Saturday was the birthday of both our own NathanC and Seattle-based-pal, The My.  NathanC received a light hearted image of Donald Duck with cake.  For The My, I decided to Google an image of Marilyn Monroe in "the dress" singing to JFK.

It turns out that May 19th, 2012 was the 50th Anniversary of the infamous "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" birthday serenade from Marilyn Monroe to John F. Kennedy, President of the United State of America.

I say:  God bless America.

While Mrs. Kennedy was not in attendance, the performance did not go unnoticed.  It can't have been much fun to see America's icon of sex throwing herself at her husband from a stage in front of not just a Madison Square Garden full of people, but Life Magazine, TV cameras, and the world.

Still the gold standard for both brazen winking about one's dalliances and performances of The Birthday Song*, we can only stare in disbelief that the world of 1962 was kooky enough that one would have their birthday party hosted by Peter Lawford.  Also: have their mistress sing to them on camera in front of an NBA-arena-sized crowd.

If you've never seen Monroe's breathy performance, here you go:

The reference to "the late Marilyn Monroe" was a joke about Monroe's tardiness to the birthday program. Of course, Monroe would be dead within 6 months.

For more on the performance, consult the internet.

Happy 50th Anniversary of ruining everybody else's birthday, Ms. Monroe.


*Megan Draper's performance of Zou Bisou Bisou in the Season 5 premiere of Mad Men may set another standard for good Birthday singing ideas.

Signal Watch Cinema Series is GO!!!

If you live in Austin (and many of you do), then you may want to check out our "calendar" section all summer long.  Come June, Austin ramps up the offerings to us locals at The Paramount, The Alamo and elsewhere.

our own Paramount Theater

Just click on calendar in the horizontal tabs, and see what we're thinking of doing.    We'll try to keep the calendar updated all summer long as movies come out and life and whatnot gets in the way.  I'd guess we're going to be changing the line-up every two or three weeks, so keep your eyes on the schedule.

there you go, Jason.  Right there.

It's in Google Calendar, so you should be able to add our events to your own calendar with the push of a button.

If you want to join us for anything, make sure we can actually make it by contacting us first.  Email, texts, phonecalls, twitter, facebook and singing telegrams are all perfectly reasonable ways of reaching out to us.

We're also planning a trip down to San Antonio this summer to see a movie or two (most likely Gilda), so join us in The River City.

It's a hell of a line up this summer, and I am pretty excited.  Bond Week.  Sci-Fi Week.  Horror Week.  Noir.  Samurai.  It's going to be all right.

my second home away from home in the summer

Signal Watch Watches: Being Elmo - A Puppeteer's Journey (2011)

On CarlaB's recommendation, Jamie and I watched Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey (2011), an award-winning documentary about Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind ubiquitous kiddie icon, Elmo, the red muppet with the laugh of a madman.

I don't really know what to say about the doc.  Its already won a truckload of awards, and I would argue that its a pretty darn good movie and absolutely worth seeing.  A sort of "for the whole family" type of film, and one that I would show any kid with a creative bent.

Clash's journey from lower-class America to the most famous name in showbiz you've never heard of is absolutely remarkable, as a kid pursues his passion and turns it into something loved by kids around the world. In some ways, however, its a story of a guy who sets our to fulfill his dreams, and, indeed, he does, with a minimum of challenge.