Author Archives: ghw

sleep

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Obviously I’ve been running on some kind of deficit: I was out cold for 15 hours last night.

In other news, within about 20 minutes of each other, I ran into two American bloggers yesterday at the BL: Scott and Meg. Add that to the list of advantages of having a Flickr account and relatively unusual hair.

Sundays are my only days off–the other days you’ll find me hunched over a desk in the library, reading at breakneck speed, ruining my back–which means laundry and some sightseeing. Unfortunately for me, Westminster Abbey and Wesley’s Chapel are not open for such shenanigans on Sundays. I’d like to see the stained glass window at W.A. commemorating eighteenth-century novelist Frances (Fanny) Burney, but that will have to wait for another trip. Maybe I’ll head to the Tate Modern, instead.

I’ll meet Meg for a beer later this afternoon.

in dreams

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I had another one of those recurring dreams. This time I was going to play guitar with Sonic Youth.

technologies old and new

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In the foyer of the British Library, they have this very large electronic kiosk for you to flip through some of their collection. I’d estimate that the screen is about 30 inches across and 18 inches high. Displayed on the screen in this photo is “Baybars’ Magnificent Qur’an,” which you can also view online.

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there are archives, and then there are archives

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I’ve been thinking about writing a post on digital archives, commercialization, scholarship, teaching, and access, but Ray Rosenzweig, in “Digital Archives Are a Gift of Wisdom to Be Used Wisely” (Chronicle, sub req’d) has pretty much beaten me to it. Although Rosenzweig’s focus is on teaching, he brings up a central concern of mine, namely the cost of commercial offerings of digitized cultural heritage resources: if my university cannot afford to subscribe, then my scholarship and my teaching (i.e. my students’ education) are going to suffer.

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cranky zombie

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Although this post will be about a few things that irritate me while working in the BL, I do want to emphasize that being here is a 99% positive experience. But can’t people keep it down?

  • To “Mr. Clicky,” who keeps pressing the mouse button to move down the long web page he’s reading … click … click … click … click click click click click click clickclickclick … Dude, notice that thing in the middle of the mouse? It’s called a scroll wheel. Look into it.
  • To “Mr. Smacky,” who randomly smacks his lips while reading his Derrida…*smack*…(long silence)…*smack*…Need a drink of water? The fountains are right over there.
  • To the two-fingered typists who apparently feel that they must really! hit! those! keys! as they type–take it easy. Your keyboard will last longer.
  • To the chronic coughers, ask Mr. Smacky where the water fountains are or buy some cough drops in the cafe.
  • To the woman who has somehow managed to make turning pages a very loud activity…take it easy. The books will last longer.
  • To the people whose computers keep announcing their every “save,” “open,” “restore,” and “error” with a different cartoonish sound…it’s called a mute button. Look into it.
  • And to the 99% of you who do conduct your research quietly…it’s a pleasure to be in the room with you.

“Zombie does get cranky sometimes.”