After I Get Beaten to Death By Homophobes With a Crowbar, Scatter My Ashes on Y Mountain

FoxyJ and I watched Brokeback Mountain tonight and it made me feel, of all things, homesick for Utah. I wish I knew how to quit you, Rocky Mountains.

The Information Behavior of Superheroes

As with most aspects of human behavior, superheroes' information behavior is above and beyond that of mere mortals. While most people--even professors and doctors who should know better--don't consult with information professionals when seeking information because they (erroneously) assume they can find it themselves, superheroes are not afraid to ask for help. Despite the fact that most superheroes have access to information systems far superior to any others known to humankind--for example, the Batcomputer in the Batcave with its comprehensive databases of information on every villain (super or otherwise) with or without a criminal record or the control room of the Justice League's Watchtower, with video access to literally anywhere on Earth, regardless of whether that place has video cameras--and many superheroes have abilities that are conducive to information-seeking--the Flash, for example, has been known to read entire libraries of books in minutes--these exemplars of superhumanity know to go to the pros for all of their information needs.

In all fairness to us mere mortals, superheroes' willingness to turn to their information professionals may have something to do with the fact that their information professionals are the best on the planet (perhaps in the universe). Take, for example, Barbara Gordon aka Oracle (formerly known as Batgirl)--Babs is the information professional's information professional. A former librarian, Oracle can find whatever you're looking for, whether that be the owner of a set of fingerprints, blueprints for a rare museum exhibit, or the Joker's credit history. Not only does she maintain her own databases of names, powers, contact information, and shoe size of virtually every superhero and villain, but she routinely hacks into databases of the CIA, FBI, and even that giant among information concealers, Wal-Mart itself, all to meet the information needs of her patrons in the superhero community. That is dedication. Worried that your information needs aren't as important as those of Batman and the Justice League? Never fear--Oracle has been known to help such second- and third-tier superheroes as Huntress, Black Canary, Elongated Man, and Aztek the Ultimate Man. Like any good information professional, she does not discriminate based on her personal biases or values. Unless you're a supervillain, in which case you'll want to contact her villainous counterpart, the Calculator.

What then can we learn from the information behavior of superheroes? Yes, we would do well to follow their example in consulting with our information professionals when seeking information, but perhaps the greater lesson to be learned is from superinformation professionals such as Barbara Gordon. When our non-super information professionals measure up to her superstandards, then our non-super information seekers will know, like the superheroes who inspire them, where they can turn for information.

30 is the New 20

Yesterday I read a review of Jay-Z's new album, in which the 37-year-old "retired" rapper proclaims that "30 is the new 20." The reviewer notes the lack of precedence for aged and experienced musicians in hip hop and wonders whether Jay-Z is really going to convince 16-year-old white kids that he's as cool as whoever the currently cool twenty-something rappers are. I had similar thoughts last year when I bought the newest album by Common, who's been making records since 1992. Rock has its Mick Jaggers and pop has its Chers, but hip hop is so young, and so fundamentally associated with youth, it's hard to imagine how it will age well.

Maybe Jay-Z has it right, though--it's not so much that hip hop is growing up as America is simply refusing to grow up. 30 is the new 20. I can't really compare because I wasn't alive fifty years ago, but I can't help feeling that I'm less of an adult than 27-year-olds were a generation or two ago. Yes, I'm married and I have children, which forces me into more adult roles than some of my unmarried peers take on, but at the same time I'm very concerned with adolescent obsessions like music stars and superheroes, I'm working in poor-paying part-time jobs (the only time I've had a 9 to 5 was the summer before I got married, when I worked for Provo Parks), I'm still more worried about looking cool than I care to admit, and I'm still in school. In my case, it seems education is to blame--the fact that success in the 21st century requires several years of college education lenghtens the purgatory of adolescence in which people are neither children nor adults. In 1906, a librarian would likely be running his own library by 27, not jumping through hoops to get a degree. (Though I'll admit, in 2006 a librarian could have his or her MLIS by 24 if the detours I've taken are avoided.)

In the case of people who don't get married at 22 (read: most people besides me), the extension of adolescence seems to come from a combination of changing expectations (most people nowadays don't get married and start a family before entering their thirties) and unchanging social definitions (perhaps not quite as much as in Utah Valley, but even in Seattle there seems to be some sense that adulthood equals marriage and parenthood). The result is a lot of 37-year-olds like Jay-Z, who may be mocked by younger rappers for wearing Birkenstocks, but still devotes a lot of energy to proving that he's cooler than anyone else and encouraging "strippers and aerobics strippercisers to bounce their asses." I don't know whether the problem is in the changing expectations or the unchanging social definitions, or even if it's a problem at all. I'm living proof that getting married and having kids does not equal growing up.

All I know is that I'd better not be selling fancy dishes to old ladies for barely more than minimum wage when I'm 37.

Snowed In

My boss here at the library (this being the job I like, not the other one) just came back from her attempt to go home. The bus she was riding didn't make it down the hill leaving UW because of the bad weather. Another one trying to come up got stuck too. I'm glad my new boots arrived this afternoon. I'm also glad I thought to bring an umbrella and a scarf to work.

Eleven

That's how many more times I have to work at Fobanna's. I won't miss it.

If Your Ego is as Big as Mine

You may want to look into getting a three-year-old who idolizes you and is fascinated by everything you do, even eating and going to the bathroom, and always always always wants you to hold her or let her sit on your lap. But then if you have personal space issues you may want to reconsider.

Electronic Reality (Congratulations)

So I was just thinking that Brozy and BAWB are getting married today and I was thinking about how we, the readers of their blogs, have seen their lives apart and together for the past couple years, and it's almost like we know them. Well, as a matter of fact, I do know them, but I certainly know them better because I read their blogs then I would if I'd just seen them at the occasional get together over the past year and a half. In a voyeuristic-but-not-in-a-creepy-way sort of way, Brozy and BAWB let their blog readers be flies on their walls. And it occurred to me that blogging is sort of the literate person's version of reality television, except without the million-dollar prizes and Paris Hilton. And really, if there's anything the world needs less of, it's Paris Hilton.

So thank you, Brozy and BAWB, for blogging about yourselves instead of Paris Hilton. And congratulations on tying the knot (assuming you did, because this will be sort of awkward if you didn't).