Inspiring Illustration

Illustration by Rui Tenreiro for The New Yorker

via @NewYorker's Twitter feed

Photo of the Day: Reflections

Music Room, Rosen House, Caramoor, Katonah, NY

photo via iTouch

Photo of the Day: Scene of Songs, Now Silent

Ye Olde Homestead, Connecticut House

If these walls could talk, they may actually hum - hum with the music that was made in it's space. The timbers might echo with the tunes that were picked out painstakingly by family members, or the plaster might complain of the plight of listening to the hours of scales, Hanon or Pischna piano exercises. The floor boards might share the flourishes that came of listening to the endless choir or theater music, particularly a good Broadway tune. I like to think the whole house was infused with the inspiration of the many hours and hours of all the classical repertoire that I played upon the little upright Baldwin that was tucked in here, against the staircase in the front room. When the front door was open, the whole neighborhood either suffered along with me, or was surprisingly roused by the fury of my flying fingers.

The Hallelujah Chorus always seemed to get everyone's attention.

Retroblogging: Silly Self Portraits III, Age unknown

Posing at the Piano

Self Portrait

Age Unknown, but c. 5th Grade

This is a wistful thinking self portrait, as I didn't ever really wear nail polish -- actually, I rarely do even now. Having to keep your nails short for the piano seemed to defeat the purpose of wearing polish. I felt it made my fingers look stumpy, so what was the point?

Day in the Life of The Shushing Librarian - Part 3

One of the hardest things I have learned over the years is that to be a well-adjusted Shushing Librarian, I must find a work/life balance. To that end, I have decided to take my own advice, and go out and pursue those music lessons I was talking about the other month when I was out with Auntie Nettie and the girls.

Right now all of those notes are nothing more than scribbles on a page, but I have great tenacity. Granted, my right arm is a bit limited in mobility due to my grievous injury from my biggest fan and then the subsequent surgery, but if Leon Fleischer could have a decades long career as a left-handed pianist, surely I can learn to play Twinkle Twinkle with my left hand.
I was actually talking to one of my patrons about my music lessons and my challenges, and they suggested some basic ukulele lessons. I can chord with one hand and strum with the other. Now I just have to find an instrument to scale.
I have also always wanted to learn to ride, so this year I decided to work it into my busy schedule. I've been spending a lot of time at The Fisher Price Stables and the Breyer Barns just doing some work mucking stalls, and helping by walking out and cooling down some of the lesson horses--just so I can be more comfortable with the animals. As a bonus, I get to hang out in the broodmare barns and play with the foals.
I'm not to the point where I have to ride Bessy here ala Luna the Jumping Cow.
The instructors have found me a gentle experienced ride, that's just my size. She may be tiny, but she's a high-stepper.You may not know it to look at me, but I love futbol! Soccer to the silly Americans. The only position I can get behind in regular American football is the tight end (*wink*). You have to admit those soccer shorts really show off the guys', um ... athleticism. (Yeah, that's it. Let's go with athleticism. Ahem!)

Whenever I "happen" to be in a park on the weekend with the various pickup games or soccer tourneys, I always stop by and enjoy the ... athleticism. And the view ain't bad, neither.
What else can I tell you about me to help illustrate the fact that I have a real life and interests outside the library shelves, the pages of books, or the binary codes of cyber space?

Oh yes. How could I forget? The suit may be blue, and I may have on slip-on loafers (with lots of arch support, so I can shelve and wander the stacks) but I bleed red ... for the

Boston Red Sox!

I may work in the Big Apple area, and support the FDNY, the NYPL, and the NYPD, but I'm a Boston Red Sox fan through and through. I will beat you over the head with my giant Pez dispenser if you bring any pin-striped or orange-hued things near my house. Just saying!
Most importantly, Katie? Librarians, or more specifically, this Shushing Librarian, LOVES STAR WARS too. It's hard for me to get away from the sci-fi section of my library, (which, sadly, is under-stocked), but when I do ... I go to cons and geek out with the best of them.

Here I am at a con with this Mr. Potato Head dressed as my second favorite droid, R2-D2. I had hoped to run into C-3PO to talk to him a bit about etiquette and procedure, but he was mobbed.
The odd thing at cons? People confuse me with this Nancy Pearl person. They think I'm in costume. It happens at library conferences too. No offense Ms. Pearl, but I think we look nothing alike,

So those are some of my "outside" interests and hobbies: nice and varied, adding lots of dimensions to my personality, and hopefully helping to dispel the myths that surround people in my profession. Notice: I have NO CATS. Not one. I can neither confirm, nor deny, the possible presence of a tattoo upon my personage, however.

Since we started off this week -- which ironically is National Library Week (and this wasn't planned at all!) -- with how I start my day, let's bring this full circle.

A typical day would end with me running some last minute errands. Just like you, I always spend too much time and money at Costco. (The Geico Gekko and I have learned tricks on how to hide our wallets, purses, and cell phones -- and I will not reveal our magic secrets here!)
I come home and have dinner. This night it was a giant pizza with potatoes, broccoli, bacon, and cheddar over a white sauce. Never fear. I didn't eat the whole thing in one sitting. I made a large batch so I could have the leftovers through out the week.
If the weather is nice and it is still light/warm out, I will take a long walk in the woods. It calms me down, centers me, lets my brain decompress, and frankly, burns off some of that pizza.
If that doesn't work to relax me, I come back home ... Pour a stiff drink (like this one),
and then run a hot, hot bath. If I hadn't cropped my hair short for expediency's sake, I'd let it down in the bath.
Finally, I crawl into bed, pull the covers up, turn off the light, and drift into sweet, sweet slumber.

Shush! I'm sleeping.
Do not disturb!

Thanks for spending time learning about what constitutes a typical Day in the Life of The Shushing Librarian.

Learn more about National Library Week by clicking here.

Go forth, use your library card, and say THANK YOU to all your local library employees.

Please advocate for those employees, and your library and its resources, by paying attention to local legislation when it comes to budget referendums and election time. Your library is one of your community's biggest treasures.

Stay tuned for more of my Amazing Adventures ... coming one day, when Auntie Nettie deigns to let me guest post again. ox SL!

Amazing Adventures of the Shushing Librarian - Planning to Party

Hey there. It's me, The Shushing Librarian, back after a brief absence. Did you miss me?

I'm afraid I was just swallowed up by winter and my work.You could say, I was toast.I finally got a break, and went out to socialize with some friends.
We all got to talking about how "berry nuts" we were feeling.After a few glasses of wine and some laughter, the conversation turned,to how we might spice up our lives.We went all the way around the table, and I will not scare you with some of the things that certain people brought up (*Ahem*Amelia*ahem*).

My ideas were more pedestrian. One of my biggest dreams is to be able to travel to exotic locations, ride an elephant, relax, drink daiquiris while being fanned by palm fronds, and to catch up on all my reading.I'd love to be able to take a walk in a picturesque location, and maybe meet my Casanova while walking down a country lane.While we'd all like to travel more, we decided to try and "spice" things up this year with more realistic goals; see friends and family more, take in more concerts, museums, and not work so hard.

I'd like to spend more time pursuing musical aspirations, delving into the oeuvres of my favorite composers (even if they are grumpy dead white men),maybe try my hands at the ol'Steinway again.wouldn't it be awesome to be part of a piano ensemble ...
The Shushing Librarian and the Mysteriously Abstract String Quartet.Can't you see it? Now playing at Carnegie Hall?!

What are your dreams and aspirations for 2011?

Nettie's Nocturne

Overture

Now that the fall season is underway, I’ve been taking advantage of the rich diversity of performing arts options that take place at the Big J and in the City. Last week I attended an organ recital, featuring six rarely heard Bach Trio Sonatas.

Organ, Auntie Nettie? Really? Yes. Organ … More precisely, the Pipe Organ.

Exposition

You see, once upon a time, not only did I used to be a pianist, I was also an organist. Well, almost; I played the manuals—the two to three keyboards that came standard on our (LDS/Mormon) Church electronic instruments. I used the various deep, rich, pre-sets to make it sound like I was using the foot pedals, though occasionally I did manage to use a few of them as a special effect.

As the ward organist for my congregation, I got to sit up, or rather hide, behind the instrument during Sunday services. I would play the preludes, the two to four hymns (we’re a singing people) in the main meeting, and then do a short postlude to usher the congregation out and on to their next meetings. My technique was amateurish at best, especially since piano technique and organ technique are very different. On top of that, my classical training had been a bit “corrupted” once I started playing for the musicals in high school. I would get some interesting looks from my parents as our hymn tempos got a bit faster than normal, or a rockin’ syncopated backbeat would sneak in—not to mention the raised eyebrows I would get when I would improv riffs on the traditional Christmas carols. (Hey, I think Handel would have enjoyed a bit of swing in his songs.)

Typical Mormon congregational chapels are fairly small and their electronic instruments modest, compared to Catholic/Episcopalian cathedrals hosting larger pipe organs. The only two instruments that we have to compare would be the two housed at the conference centers in Salt Lake City, with the most famous “Mormon” pipe organ the one that usually accompanies the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

There’s no really comparison in the sounds. When you hear a pipe organ in full voice, it can’t compare to all the electronic organs most people have at home or at church. It really needs the proper setting to appreciate it. One of my biggest thrills as a musician was when I got to play on a pipe organ at a cathedral in Middletown, CT with my high school madrigal choir. The cathedral’s organist was kind enough to acquiesce to our requests to use the instrument at least once in rehearsals. Upon determining that I knew enough about what I was doing, he actually agreed to let us use it during the competition/concert. He sat alongside me, working the presets/stops, so I could play the registers and work the pedals. Learning how to pick up conductor’s cues while seated far from the choir, and to learn how to gauge reverb, echo distortions, and balance with the size of the vestry was invaluable to me as a musician.

I always meant to try and take lessons on how to play correctly. My undergraduate college offered lessons and had a large instrument and chapel where I could have practiced. My four-year prospectus/business plan outlined how and where I could later use these skills. However, as the years went on, fitting in the requirements for my major and double minor, plus other life demands conflicted with classes. I eventually even stopped taking piano lessons since there just wasn’t enough time to do everything.

Development

To this day, I’ve always been intrigued by what a trained and talented organist can do. As I sat at this concert, surrounded by a standing-room-only crowd of other organ aficionados, I watched in awe as the musician made it look so effortless. Prodigy and genius are two overused terms, but in this case they were both appropriate. Not only was it a feat of technical mastery (you do see why there are few overweight organists), it was a feat of memorization. Bach counterpoint is notoriously tricky, and the Trio Sonatas created a musical “dance” between both hands maintaining separate lines on separate keyboards, with both feet flying as a continuo on the pedals. At times the interweaving of the melody lines almost seemed “modern” to me, like the techno or electronica that I enjoy.

At the organist’s suggestion, I closed my eyes, so as to not be distracted by the blur of his hands and feet. The music was transporting. I sat there, letting the music wash over me, while the various melodies wove their various ways in and around and through each other.

Suddenly, their melodic mysteries helped me to solve one of mine, one that I’ve been pondering for more than 20 years. It was a wondrous moment, and proved to me that you never know the place, time, or means in which you will receive your personal revelations.

Summer Fridays 2009 - Finale

My last summer Fridays off were absolutely beautiful, with temps in the low 80s, low humidity and breezes, and filled with meals with friends.

On one of those Fridays, I had the occasion to have a leisurely lunch with my pal Javier, where we both commiserated over our busy schedules of multiple jobs, our lucky escapes from library employment, our fund raising trials, and family funeral escapades. Lunch was really an excuse to meet so I could turn over a large stack of piano sheet music to one of his schools -- so the next generation of little keyboard players can suffer through Chopin and Czerny. After having been stored in my parents' attic for about 15-20 years, where I spent one cold Thanksgiving-break afternoon culling five boxes down to one, and then one hysterical afternoon in my apartment weeding through that box plus my stash, the music I gave Javier really represented hours, if not months, of practicing, swearing, and sweating. I haven't closed the lid on my piano dreams completely. I've held on to a few librettos, autographed volumes, chamber music favorites, a mess of "Wolfie Momo" (aka Mozart), and all of my scale and exercise books in case, one day I decide that it's time to play again.

After saying goodbye to Javier and a good deal of my "youth," I caught a train over to the "foreign land" of the East Side to meet up with my friend Michelle at the Guggenheim.

(Empire State Building wayyyyyyy downtown!)

Michelle and I met in 1995 at Caramoor, when she was a summer intern for the 50th Anniversary. She came back to the institution a few years later, to work with me in fund raising, before leaving for sunnier climes in Miami. One of my Buffy buddies, she's been patient with my long silences over the years. Despite infrequent communications, Michelle's one of those friends that forgives, and with whom you can pick up a conversation like you just spoke the day before.

Although she was super busy on this trip, seeing other friends, family, going to weddings, and staying out in Brooklyn, she agreed to visit with me. It was both our first time at the Guggenheim, and before we dove into museum, we dodged around the many many European tourists and headed up to a little cafe tucked into one of the spirals to try and catch our breath and wet our whistles.

(View from the cafe)

[Somehow Michelle and I both missed the "do not take pictures" and "no cell phones" signs posted everywhere, until Michelle got scolded by a docent. Sorry! She was just following my example. Now you know, no photos in the museum. These were taken surreptitiously and with no flash. That explains the quality!]

I have to say, I always thought the Guggenheim was much larger -- like the size of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I was surprised to see it tucked into the corner of Fifth, smaller than many of the mansions that surrounds it. The Guggenheim is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year, and while I was there, they were having a retrospective of Frank Lloyd Wright and his designs. On display were blueprints, renderings, and models of proposed designs for the museum, as well as some of his later works. FYI, did you know that one of the designs for the Guggenheim had it as a fuchsia building? or electric blue? or with the spiral going the other way? Weird.

Much of the work on display was very surreal, and very advanced for its time. Some of it's even too advanced for now. I felt like some of the models were displays for sci-fi shows, like the set designs and art departments had studied this designs to rip off for Stargate Atlantis and the Ancients. (Yes, I'm a geek.) Like this un-built beauty:

This visitor is sketching a model of a FLW-designed synagogue.

Michelle and I strolled up and around the spirals ...

almost there ....

Views from the top: looking down
looking up
Checking messages

Along the spirals there are little annexes and galleries off to the side. Like most arts organizations these days, the Guggenheim has an arts in education program. One of the galleries had works by local school children on display, which were very impressive. Of course I gravitated toward the yarn/thread works...
As we came off another loop, we wandered into the gallery holding the Impressionistic works. After the futuristic FLW designs, the Picassos, Manets, Cezannes, and Matisses were a surprise. The works seem more approachable in the Guggenheim than the Met. You can get closer to the paintings, just don't get too close and cross the line on the floor (which you miss at first), or the security guards will step up and lurk menacingly.

On the way out, we of course had to stop in the most important section of all ... the gift shop. Don't forget to look down on your way of the museum doors, though, or you'll miss this Art Deco masterpiece.
After a quick trip through the Museum, we wandered back over to Lexington in search of a quiet place to grab a bite and really spend time catching up. We found a lovely little neighborhood trattoria, where we could talk face to face and have a very early bird dinner of della casa insalate (romaine/endive/radicchio salad) and mozzarella corrozza (fried mozzarella sandwiches) and Diet Coke.

Between news, meditations, and reminiscences, we watched a cross section of the world walk by. I wish I had been faster with my camera, because, in addition to the usual suspects and black clad New Yorkers, we saw a cowboy -- hat, vest, boots and all; a tiara-clad pretty princess being pushed on her bicycle by her courtiers; ladies in gorgeous saris and one in the most beautiful petal pink kimono.

I was to meet up with Michelle and her in Brooklyn the next day, but sadly, a migraine made that impossible. Now that we've reconnected again, I promised Michelle I'd be better with the communicating. So, keep on reading and commenting Michelle -- I have to come down and visit you in Miami again!

Sadly, my plans to spend much of my last Friday off at MoMA were derailed by work deadlines. Unfortunately not everyone gets summer Fridays off and grant report deadlines have to be met, projects for auditors need completing, and e-mails need to be sent. I spent much of the day in the office doing work and on the phone, but I did manage to squeeze in a few blog posts for the future as well, before heading off to dinner with another dear friend, Poopeh. Our schedules are insane, so we were both just as happy to hunker down in Grand Central and watch humanity pass by in a whir while we tried to cram a few months of news into just a few short hours.

Good friends are good like that.

More Adventures of the Shushing Librarian

S.L. here again,

I had such a good time on vacation with Auntie Nettie. As you've read, we had lots of adventures, travelled far and wide, and ate lots of food. Mostly though, it was good to hang out with friends in their country kitchens, where we gossiped a lot, caught up on news, and prepared food for the soul.

Isn't this a pretty ... pitcher?

Big Apple or little? ... I can't decide which has the better views.

Sadly, our song here is coming to an end.

Let me play you out ...and get down off my soapbox now

and let you get back to your regularly scheduled blog reading. Stay tuned for more Amazing Adventures of the Shushing Librarian!

Playing around

Mystery Piano in Woods Perplexes Police

So that's where I left it ...

10 Random Things about Auntie Nettie

A couple of days ago I was tagged by Xtina of the Monkey Maxfield’s blog. As per her instructions, I am supposed to list ten (10) random things about myself.

RANDOM THINGS ABOUT AUNTIE NETTIE:

1. I am named after my paternal grandfather and a paternal ancestress, a great-great-great something aunt. I have the exact same name as the great(X)-aunt, which means if you Google me and scroll around, it may look like I’ve been dead since 1878.

2. I have no middle name. Neither did my namesake (see above).

3. People mistake and mispronounce my first and surname all the time. It’s ridiculous. Pay attention people. It's like the MONTH. I’m not of Latin or African-American descent. Nor, for that matter, am I related to the coffee people. If you come across an article or book ala The Devil Wears Prada or The Nanny Diaries written by a Juanita Maxwell, I don’t know anything about it (*ahem*). Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Bribes WILL be accepted.

4. My nicknames in high school were Mario (as in Andretti), Crash, and Evil (as in Kneivil) because of my unfortunate propensity to have 'minor' fender-benders. I don’t have a car anymore in case you think things have changed. (I don't care what the ongoing litigation is saying, I still maintain the last one WAS NOT MY FAULT.)

5. I used to play the piano relatively well. Now I just type very fast, and can do so with my eyes closed.

6. In college I was part of a chamber ensemble called the Trio Non Sacra, aka The Unholy Trio. Rehearsals were always fun and filled with cackling, hysterical laughter (oh, except for the Martinu! We had another nickname for that piece). One time the violinist played the piano while I did a “dance” to the rhythmic and percussive accompaniment of the flutist. We did play at Commencement, albeit with a new name and much more decorum.

7. I don’t like heights and one time got severe vertigo on the Empire State Building, but for some reason I want to do a tandem jump out of a plane. Go figure.

8. I’m pretty sure I have a government file. Why? I went to the Soviet Union in high school, have a friend who use to work for the White House Advance Communication Detail, had another friend use me as a reference when she was going to have top-level military language training, and have another friend who used me as a reference to join the tri-state area bar. Do I think Big Brother is watching? YEP! (Payre A. Noid. Party of One. Your table is ready.)

9. For a brief time I considered applying for a job with the CIA -- and I don't mean the Culinary Institute of America. The other one. Yep. That one. As a librarian, granted, but still. Can you imagine? The mind boggles. What was I thinking?! Sydney Bristow I am not.

10. I’m painfully shy. Social situations like parties, gatherings, or any new situations are a nightmare. So how do I do library work, fund raise, “booze and schmooze,” do tours, take classes, date, or leave the house, etc.? Some situations I avoid utterly, others I ease into, some I’ve gotten over completely. It’s a work in progress. This shirt fits me to a T.

There are ten (10) somewhat random things about Auntie Nettie. Hope this helps explain the enigma-wrapped-in-a-puzzle-shrouded-by-mystery that is me.

I guess now I am supposed to tag some other people so I will tag the following unholy friends, Krippy and Jane.