A New Superhero: The librarian

Look beneath the covers and you may be surprised at all libraries do. For instance, libraries are currently the front lines in skirmishes over civil liberties. As part of the Patriot Act, the FBI can look at citizens’ library records such as books checked, etc. They don’t need probable cause to get a court order from a secret court.

Mother Jones has a tale of several librarians who fought the FBI and won (this short article is definitely worth reading).

The FBI presented Connecticut librarian George Christian with a National Security letter and told him that he had to turn over records on library patrons. According to Mother Jones, NSL are “…are a little-known FBI tool originally used in foreign intelligence surveillance to obtain phone, financial, and electronic records without court approval. Rarely employed until 2001, they exploded in number after the Patriot Act drastically eased restrictions on their use, allowing nsls to be served by FBI agents on anyone—whether or not they were the subject of a criminal investigation. In 2000, 8,500 nsls were issued; by contrast, between 2003 and 2005 the FBI issued more than 143,000 nsls, only one of which led to a conviction in a terrorism case.”

Christian and his fellow librarians decided to fight the order with the help of the ACLU.

"People say very confidential things to our reference librarians," explains (librarian Peter) Chase. "They have medical issues, personal matters. What people are borrowing at a public library is nobody's business."

The courts ended up siding with the librarians that the NSL was unconstitutional and lifted a gag order that prevented Christian and his fellow librarians from discussing the case in public.
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Threats to libraries can also come from unlikely places. Take Maine resident JoAn Karkos. She looks like an unthreatening older woman.

Karkos, however, has taken upon herself to determine whether a book was fit for public consumption. Karkos checked out two copies of It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health and then refused to return them.

According to Boing Boing, Karkos wrote the library saying: “I have been sufficiently horrified of the illustrations and sexually graphic, amoral, abnormal contents. I will not be returning the books.”
NPR reports that the library took this seriously: “The librarians were not amused. "This has never happened before," Rick Speer, director of the Lewiston Public Library, told the Sun Journal. "It is clearly theft.”

Karkos was eventually charged a $100 fine (that a minister paid off.)
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These stories while seemingly different both have my blood boiling.

If you think a library book is offense, it’s simple: DON’T CHECK IT OUT! To think that you have the right to dictate what other people read is offensive and arrogant.

The thought that the government wants to pry into what books/magazines you read or movies you watch or even what Web sites you visit, is a chilling one. Say I check out The Anarchists Cookbook, read about explosives or say serial killers, that does not mean I’m a terrorist in the making or a female Ted Bundy. If we turn a blind eye to the erosion of civil liberties, we start down a dangerous path. People should be able to go to the library and read without fear of prying eyes and be able to check out whatever book they want.

So, kudos to librarians for fighting challenges on every front. I’ve waxed poetically about libraries before, but I want to stress what an important role librarians play. They’re an incredible asset and are increasingly vocal in the fight to protect our unfettered access to information.

America's Most Dangerous Librarians
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/09/exit-strategy-americas-most-dangerous-librarians.html
Library Cards
http://www.hartfordadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=9244
Judge orders woman to return two library books or go to jail
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/28/judge-orders-woman-t.html
Protest over 'Pornographic' Book Raises Interest
http://www.npr.org/blogs/news/2007/09/protest_over_pornographic_book.html

Film Club - David Gilmour

When I first heard about Film Club on NPR I was intrigued. When David Gilmour’s son, Jesse, begins to have trouble with school, David swaps houses with his ex to live with Jesse. It soon becomes apparent that Jesse is miserable in school and Gilmour fears he may lose his son.

“I also knew in that instant – knew it in my blood – that I was going to lose him over this stuff, that one of these days he was going to stand up across the table and say, “Where are my notes? I’ll tell you where my notes are. I shoved the up my a#@. And if you don’t lay the f*@k off them, I’m going to shove them up yours.” And then he’d be gone, slam, and that’d be that.”

Gilmour takes the unusual step of telling his son that he can drop out of school. In return, his son has to promise not to do drugs and to watch three movies a week with his father.

So, begins three years of movie watching. While his father grapples with ups and downs in his career, Jesse suffers several misadventures in love. They watch a wide and eclectic mix of movies from Annie Hall to the Exorcist to Show Girls.

This is a sweet and tender story about a father and son. It’s also has several interesting insights in to movies. Among the things I found interesting, Stephen King did not like the Shining (movie version).

“King went to an early screening of The Shining and came away disgusted; he said the movie was like a Cadillac without an engine. “You get, you can smell the leather, but you can’t drive it anywhere.” In fact, he went on to say he thought Kubrick made movies to “hurt people.”

I got a kick out of the fact that after they watched The Exorcist, Jesse slept on the couch that night, with a light on. I remember seeing that movie in college. My roommate was gone for the weekend. I was so freaked out I slept on the floor of my friend’s dorm room.

Gilmour’s love and deep knowledge of films and the love he has for his son comes through on every page.

His son ends up going back to school. Although it may sound strange that he let him drop out, it’s clear that Gilmour was conflicted about his decision but did it because he thought it was the best thing for Jesse.

Here’s one passage I liked about picking movies (I can relate to this. I also feel it can apply to books. “Sooo this was one of your favorite books. Hmmm. Interesting.”

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“Picking movies for people is a risky business. In a way it’s as revealing as writing someone a letter. It shows how you think, it shows what moves you, sometimes it can even show how you think the world sees you. So when you breathlessly recommend a film to a friend, when you say, “Oh, this is a scream – you’re going to really love it,” it’s a nauseating experience when the friend sees you the following day and says with a wrinkled brow, “You thought that was funny?”

Father-Son 'Film Club' Keeps Teen on Track, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90225967&ft=1&f=1032

Even More Junot Diaz

Fresh Air is currently running older episodes. It recently aired an interview with Junot Diaz, who wrote The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

Regular Dear Reader readers may recall I really enjoyed this book. In this Fresh Air interview, they describe Oscar as the “ghetto nerd at the end of the world.”

Diaz speaks about his book, his upbringing and the Dominican Republic. He even does a reading from his novel.

One thing I thought was interesting was his discussion about the different languages in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. There were parts I didn't understand whether it was Spanish or SciFi references I didn't get. Diaz notes that he wanted there to be one language chain that the reader doesn't get. "I wanted everyone to know what it felt like to be an immigrant," he said.

I’m currently reading Brother I’m Dying – a memoir by Edwidge Danticat. It’s interesting to read about the other side of the island – Haiti, which similarly to the Dominican has a history of unrest.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90111248&ft=1&f=1032

A YES-OR-NO ANSWER

This poem is by Jane Shore from A Yes-or-No Answer,
which came out in March and was recently featured on NPR.

A Yes-or-No Answer

Have you read The Story of O?
Will Buffalo sink under all that snow?
Do you double-dip your Oreo?
Please answer the question yes or no.

The surgery -- was it touch-and-go?
Does a corpse's hair continue to grow?
Remember when we were simpatico?
Answer my question: yes or no.

Do you want another cup of joe?
If I touch you, is it apropos?
Are you certain that you're hetero?
Is your answer yes or no?

Did you lie to me, like Pinocchio?
Was forbidden fruit the cause of woe?
Did you ever sleep with that so-and-so?
Just answer the question: yes or no.

Did you nail her under the mistletoe?
Won¡¯t you spare me the details, blow by blow?
Did she sing sweeter than a vireo?
I need an answer. Yes or no?

Are we still a dog-and-pony show?
Shall we change partners and do-si-do?
Are you planning on the old heave-ho?
Check an answer: Yes   No.

Did I wear something blue in my trousseau?
Do you take this man, this woman? Oh,
but that was very long ago.

Did we say yes? Did we say no?
For better or for worse? Ergo,
shall we play it over, in slow mo?
Do you love me? Do you know?
Maybe yes. Maybe no.

More poetry

Poetry month is winding down. I had fun poking through my poetry books and posting some personal favorites. Along the way, I’ve discovered some poets who’ve captured my fancy like Billy Elliot.

NPR has two pieces on poetry worth checking out:

Lloyd Schwartz continues to make the rounds regarding the upcoming collection Elizabeth Bishop: Poems, Prose and Letters.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90029272&ft=1&f=1032

A Spring Bouquet of Poetry looks at five new volumes of poetry, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89993088&ft=1&f=1032

I'll be posting a poem by one of the authors featured in the second NPR clip.

The Comic Books War

I haven’t done much reading this week so I’m a little behind on my reading “schedule.” In the “to read” pile is The Ten Cent Plague.

It’s hard to imagine people burning comics, but apparently in the 1950s, a battle was raging over comics. NPR’s Talk of the Nation interviewed David Hajdu about his newest book. According to Hajdu, more than 100 laws were passed across the country restricting or outlawing the sales of comics. One listener emailed NPR recounting how her father burned her comic books in a bonfire.

The comic book industry was almost wiped out due to the controversy. On the surface it would appear comics are viewed very differently now what with Family Guy, The Simpsons, the popularity of the Cartoon Network and comics/graphic novel inspired movies like X-Men and the Fantastic Four.

Here’s an excerpt from Hajdu’s book:

Churches and community groups raged and organized campaigns against comic books. Young people acted out mock trials of comics characters. Schools held public burnings of comics, and students threw thousands of the books into the bonfires; at more than one conflagration, children marched around the flames reciting incantations denouncing comics. Headlines in newspapers and magazines around the country warned readers: "Depravity for Children — Ten Cents a Copy!" "Horror in the Nursery," "The Curse of the Comic Books." The offices of one of the most adventurous and scandalous publishers, EC Comics, were raided by the New York City police. More than a hundred acts of legislation were introduced on the state and municipal levels to ban or limit the sale of comics: Scores of titles were outlawed in New York, Connecticut, Maryland, and other states, and ordinances to regulate comics were passed in dozens of cities.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89914205&ft=1&f=1032

(There’s also a photo gallery with images from the book that’s worth checking out at NPR.)

Horton Hears a Backlash?

Horton Hears a Who has stirred up some discussion following a recent NPR piece -- Gender Inequity in 'Whoville'. After taking his daughters to see Horton, Peter Sagal wonders why if the mayor has 96 daughters and one son, it’s the son who saves the day.

“In a new subplot added by the filmmakers, the mayor of Whoville has 96 daughters. He has one son. Guess who gets all his attention? Guess who saves the day? Go ahead, think about it, I'll wait.”

***
“And there's this — not only does the movie end with father and son embracing, while the 96 daughters are, I guess, playing in a well, somewhere, but the son earns his father's love by saving the world. Boys get to save the world, and girls get to stand there and say, I knew you could do it. How did they know he could do it? Maybe because they watched every other movie ever made?”

Some might say, ‘relax, it’s a children’s movie based on a Dr. Seuss book, for pete’s sake.”

But why does the girl rarely save the day in children’s movies? Take a minute to think about it. The Disney princesses: Waiting to be rescued. If I recall correctly the Little Mermaid had to give up being a mermaid for her true love (although in the original fairy tale, she dies). If woman aren’t helpless, they’re the wicked stepmother, or the deceased/ murdered/ eaten mother. Bambi’s mother? Shot. Little Nemo’s mom? Eaten.

Another recent movie, The Bee Movie, starred Jerry Seinfeld as a male honey bee. However, apparently the honey bees that do the duties of the hive – collecting honey, etc. – are typically female bees.

Sweeping aside those issues is there enough grist in Horton Hears a Who for a movie? Why not create entirely new stories instead of mining the children’s cannon for fodder.

There are great kids movies out there that are fun and creative. Movies like The Incredibles where the entire family saves the day. And there are the wonderful movies of Studio Ghibil, in which strong young girls get to save the day too. If you want to show your daughters, and sons, imaginative movies with beautiful animation, I’d recommend Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Kiki’s Delivery Service or My Neighbor Totoro.

In Hollywood Hives, the Males Rule, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/science/13angi.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=sloginhttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/science/13angi.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Gender Inequality in Whoville, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89318829