Burningbird: Sideshow

August 17, 2002

Sideshow

Though posting in the Weblogging Dead Zone is equivalent to a tree falling in the forest and making no sound, I decided to indulge in a little desultory rambling, anyway.

I spent several hours this morning over at the RSS-Dev group, catching up in that world for the RSS chapter of the book. Imagine my surprise when I found out that repeating properties aren't allowed in RSS. Really? They're okay in RDF. Well, color me surprised. However, the working group is considering changing the spec and allowing repeated properties. Yes. Good. Or my Books RSS will become just plain Books RDF.

I also managed to get the Python RDF server Redfoot running, and now I have both Redfoot and Tomcat running off my web server. (Though I fear that if all this additional load slows my separated by birth twin, Stavros the Wonder Chicken's weblog, he's going to get stressed and begin to molt.)

I had several errands this afternoon and the weather is extremely warm and very humid; I was squishy by the time I got home. I'm hoping for a nice thunderstorm, and in preparation, I also visited the library and stocked up.

Most of the books on my to-read list are either at other branches and need to be sent, or are checked out. However, I was able to pick up The Sportswriter, by Richard Ford, The Rings of Saturn by W. G. Sebald (both recommended by Jonathon), and Geek Love by Katherine Dunn (recommended by Denise Howell).

I glanced into The Rings of Saturn at the library, and ended up standing in the aisle, reading page after page, blocking everyone who was trying to get past. I finally had to stop at one point to move back to let one woman past. When I looked up in irritation, I met the placid good natured face of a short heavyset woman with a kindly smile, arms full of books.

"Good book?"

"Yes. Very."

And thank you for reminding me that I now live in a gentler, kindlier area, and that I still have the rudiments of good manners. Needless to say, I didn't glance into the other two books until I got home.

(edited -- removed a section talking about one of my childhood fears, and you all didn't need to hear it and I didn't want to read it.)

Enough rambling. If I continue I'll start talking about my cat and what I had for lunch, next. And I'm tired.

Posted by Bb at August 17, 2002 09:53 PM

Comments

Hey Bb, you know those two books I mentioned in the previous comments thread, I wasn't just saying 'I'm so smart - look what I read!', I was *recommending* them! Not that that means you are beholden to read them or anything, but still...perhaps they're not you cup of tea?
:-)

Posted by: stavrosthewonderchicken on August 17, 2002 10:27 PM

No, I'm interested, and they'll go on the list (list only has about half the recommended books as I work on the books rdf before I finish the list.)

Unfortunately, my library doesn't have the Hofstader book, and doesn't have a copy of the other one at my branch; I'll have to get it sent from the Central stacks.

Posted by: Shelley aka Bb on August 17, 2002 10:34 PM

i read 'tortilla flats' (by steinbeck) today. it's 151 pages so it can (and was) be read on a lazy saturday evening. it's a great read. it remindeded me of the stories of king arthur and the knights of the round table.

Posted by: bumr on August 17, 2002 10:45 PM

In which case you might like Steinbeck's own stab at Le Morte D'Arthur. If I recall correctly, it is simply titled The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights.

Steinbeck never finished it, but what he did finish is marvelous reading. I translated the Balin and Balan chapter into Spanish for a class project in college. Lovely writing (Steinbeck's, not mine).

Posted by: Dorothea Salo on August 18, 2002 10:11 AM

RE: (edited -- removed a section talking about one of my childhood fears, and you all didn't need to hear it and I didn't want to read it.)

Isn't editing (especially deleting) like this contrary to the 'spirit of Blog'? Not that I want to manacle your editorial hand, and not that I claim to have never done such editing on my own tiny blogs, but the parenthetical paragraph cought my eye.

Now that I think more about it, doesn't the extended ellipsis act to accentuate the missing text? I know I'm now itching to see this mysterious lost post about your childhood fear. Or maybe that was your intent? You devil, if so.

BTW, is there a 'spirit of Blog'? Who says so? I know that there is a WWW subset called 'Wiki' that has grown it's own self image of what it should be (Wiki nature).

Posted by: Craig on August 19, 2002 06:09 PM