baroqueMorales

Collecting LIS blogs with intriguing names and/or useful information like these: Exploded Library Info Information Wants To Be Free The ALA Tech Blog Carnival of the Infosciences Lorcan Dempsey's blog A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette Catalgablog Library Marketing-Thinking Outside the Book The Kept-Up Academic Librarian Librarian.net The point is that there is just an extremely vast amount of content published by and for LIS students and professionals. Take a look through if you are interested in knowing more about the field. Anyone interested in referring me to additional and/or actively updated blogs, please email me .

The link above goes to a site that helps people network based on their preferences for literature. I haven't even figured out how to use it yet, but take a look and get the idea that a lot more people than me may be obsessed with what they read and how they relate to others... This sumer, I'm also reading: Kafka on the Shore (海辺のカフカ, Umibe no Kafuka ? ) is a novel by Haruki Murakami ( 2002 ). A translated story of a a modern Japanese runaway teenage boy that finds sanctuary in a library. Topics in social alientation, self-discovery, sexuality, and metaphysics. (I'm still working on this one as of 7/24/06). Torpor (Semiotext(e) / Native Agents) by Chris Kraus a semi-autobiographical novel about the author as a young(er) woman and artist struggling to develop her own artistic identity. I liked this book because it was primarily set at the time that I was a late teenager (1988- 1991) and delt with various (now) historical global and political themes that I experienced fir

Future site of Amazon US1 and King Street Station photo taken circa 1996 Seattle imagery

Silver Sky

  As I am only initially entering the field, I have a lot of my own research and information to collect. I'm faced with the primary question of what the best way to organize the information/resources I find, especially since I don't have my own laptop right now and am using various public terminals to do this very basic research. Things that I'm looking at right now: Training resources: Fluency with Information Technology www.Lynda.com Pre-MLIS jobs/companies: www.Adobe.com Fremont! www.xerox.com www.starbucks.com www.washington.edu www.craigslist.com/seattle > PR/writing/editing/non-profit www.SPL.org Funding: The ALA Fastweb Scholarship portal Graduate School Financial Aid www.sla.org Scholarships for Re-entry students Individual resources: DJ Miller April D. iSchool program students C. Woods C. Yost Institutional/Other resources: UW Libraries Reference page: http://www.lib.washington.edu/research/car.html www.infotoday.com

I found this neat web-based language translation engine called Fagenfinger, which allows you to copy text into a box and get a rough (but improving) translation of a website. Maybe I can use this to explore foreign-language sites that seemed completely undecipherable ...until now.

A defining characterisitc of my 30's (I'm currently 31) has to do with a pervasive feeling of "information overload" but perhaps this is just common to all urban people living in the modern age. It just seems that as the pace of my life seems to quicken, due to increased responsibilities, overall productivity as a working adult and my ability to organize,sort and seek information. Part of this is also due to being a working mom/administrative professional. My primary job is to keep other peoples' complex schedules, and information organized. At work, I access up to 10+ programs simultaneously, work with raw data such as numbers, charts, publications, statistics, copy confidential and archived information using a wide variety of "network shares" and database systems. I also find myself applying my professional organizational to my home life, (then blurring the line between work and "life") the house requires constant upkeep, the boys can't f

Well, tonight I just wanted to post a brief update so that Google, the company behind blogger, won't feel neglected. "Google, I want you to know that even though I'm not a high-frequency poster, I continue to think about you daily." What I'm up to: Working of course. I just registered for 9 credits of my first quarter of the iSchool and now searching for books that have to be special ordered. Such as "Theories of Information Behavior." This autumn, I'm also taking "Internet Technologies." and have started reading "The Rough Guide to The Internet" 2006 ed. by Peter Buckley and Duncan Clark, which simply demystifies the history, use and terminology behind the internet, which most of use take for granted, but still really don't understand very well. Soon, I'll be a bonifide geek that knows how Wi-Fi actually functions (configuration/troubleshooting) that comes with maintaining ones own systems, while one of my co-worker

As I further explore the role of Library and Information Science professionals in social context, I found this interesting Yahoo group called "Librarians in the Movies." Through this group one can follow the relatively narrow topic of film and media representation of people involved in LIS work. This link above goes to short, filmed interviews produced (by Google) that solicit information from professional librarians about accessing/finding information using Google at a recent A.L.A conference. Google also has a group targeted to librarians to help them use Google searching techniques and products more effectively called The Google Librarian. There is some obvious cross-promotion at work here, as Google strives to make traditional paper books "searchable" by scanning them and putting "everything" online. It makes me curious about the company itself, and I wonder what it would be like to work for them?

For any of you that have yet seen or heard of this strange, new comic force, I give you the home page of Eugene Mirman . He is currently on "THE COMEDY MEN FROM TOMORROW TOUR" W/ Michael Showalter (Stella, Wet Hot American Summer, The State) and Leo Allen (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents, former SNL writer) Local shows include: Sat-Jul 22 Seattle, WA Sonic Boom Records in Ballard (5pm) Sat-Jul-22 Seattle, WA Chop Suey www.chopsuey.com (9pm) I find him absolutely charming and original (hence the gratuitous promo) and am looking forward to meeting him on Saturday as potentially introduced by a dear friend.

I attended The Evergreen State College during for the last 2 years of my undergraduate degree. I've long kept this fact on the "downlow" because Evergreen seems to be highly lauded everywhere but in Washington State. I've just recently become involved in raising the profile of TESC alum in Seattle from basically non-existant to...? I recently joined the Seattle Greener's on Yahoo idealistically thinking that we might come to some more formal collective organizing. We have a vision of creating the professional and personal network common in much larger schools. While Evergreen is growing and becoming more mainstream, it's still our way to build something socially useful, especially if it doesn't currently exist. Do contact me if you're a TESC alum and interested in getting involved or attending on the various local gatherings planned for this Summer. Jennifer Morales UW dMLIS Admitted autumn 2006 TESC c/o 99'

Was the initial day of my existance. That makes me 33, or as my son said this morning "That makes you a factor,..I mean a multiple of 11." We laughed about that. Since Eric is working today, yesterday I came home all stressed out, anxious and ready to go to the gym, but he sabotaged that by having mini-corn-dogs hot and ready when I got home, chocolate mousse, a funny card, and books wrapped in plain brown paper and pretty purple ribbon (that I still haven't opened yet) from my favorite bookstore. He said "is there anything else your birthday slave can do for you? We then watched the riveting "Brokeback Mountain." The night was too short. Sigh.

Though just recently accepted to the iSchool, and yet to introduce myself to the MLIS community, I will now join the fray of "librarian-types" who blog. Starting at the very beginning. Why do I want this? What do I hope to learn? Why do I think I might be successful at this? What do I envision? What could I hope to contribute? What type of work-environment do I hope to get out of this? Will this make me happy? These are just a few of the questions I need to learn to answer with ease. I was able to answer many of these questions successfully in my admissions essay (max 750) words, which I worked on daily for about 8 weeks. Going through the process of: idea, futher research, writing, revision, peer review, re-writing, better ideas, (rinse, repeat). In the end my essay was exactly 750 words, written as tightly and with as much passion as I could muster. It's a very personal statement so I'll not repost it here. What I will post here are some basic ideas about how this

Friends & Family, This is to let you know that I was finally able to breathe a huge sigh of relief when I received a letter this Saturday on UW Stationary that reads: "I'm pleased to inform you that the MLIS Admissions Committee has decided to recommend you for admission to the distance Master of Library and Information Science program for autumn 2006. Official confirmation of your acceptance into our program will be sent to you under separate cover by the Dean of the Graduate School." I will now be spending the next few months learning how to become a graduate student/100% FTE/mom. Wish me luck! Especially in finding creative financing beyond taking out the max allowable student loans of 35k/year x 3 years! on top of my loans from undergrad...ack! For anyone not familiar with this program, you can check out the UW website at: http://www.ischool.washington.edu/ --

Well, I'm in the market for another place to live...Again. This time, the reason is completely legit. I just need more square footage and perhaps someplace closer to CNB's school so he doesn't have those arduous cross-town yellow bus commutes that I had as a child. Actually, there are a number of other reasons, one of which is just looking at the rental market again before I continue to go through the motions of becoming a first time homebuyer, weighing the options, seeing what's available etc. So I put up a blurb on Craigslist, marketing myself as a good potential renter and have begun my search. There are many humorous stories to tell about what's available in the Seattle rental market, but (that would be the ultimate digression). Every place I look at that's affordable and has a vacancy has really obvious reasons as to why it's vacant. Doing research, driving around neighborhoods, looking at listings, gets me into this really competitive mood. Be the firs

Something that I find completely puzzling is how now that I have a LAN line, I get marketing calls in Spanish. Most recently from Qwest , whom I actually have a long-standing grudge with due to experiencing years of over-priced, poor, and disjointed customer service. I put in the phone line so one, specific-person could communicate in the case of a hypothetical, combined emergency of: ten-year old sets kitchen on fire, and is too panicked to locate the other two (cell) phones in the house, and thus avoid the cold shadow of parental malpractice. Now, they've got my number, I get calls mid-morning on Saturdays! ...in Spanish, which I unfortunately don't actually speak with any fluency. It's very embarrassing for both the telemarketer and I when they call and ask for: "Llamado a Jen-nifer-Mo-ral-es por favor?" I explain in my broken Spanish that I don't speak much, etc. And then they seem disappointed and confused that I'm a non-speaker. A very basic

In a previous post, I discussed how portals such as myspace and blogger are an advertisers wet dream. These are sites that are coded and target-marketed...by its own users. Katie Kurtz of the San Franscisco Chronicle broadcast this bulletin to me on what the MySpace management team is planning to do...with your information. Read on .

A film location for An Allegory About Socks, with cinematography by Adam Forslund, right. Photo: Jennifer Morales 

Demone Gore engages in existential contemplation in a scene from An Allegory About Socks. Photo by: Jennifer Morales 

I rarely smile in pictures

I did something odd and rented Dune last night, which if you are unaware, following the link and read Wikipedia's extensive discussion. It's a remarkable early (1984) David Lynch movie based on a wonderful series of sci-fi novels written by Frank Herbert, beginning in the early 1960's. I read 3 of Herbert's novels as a teenager in the late 80's, and the movie itself was a long-time favorite that I'd basically forgotten about until I'd seen it on the movie-shelf. It's full of ethereal scenes with (opera-rock) music my Brian Eno. The movie is currently being re-worked for rerelease, and prequels to the original story are also being developed.

I am normally a high strung, somewhat neurotic and overly sensitive character. A very characteristically-typical Gemini...Just think a young Woody Allen, in a woman's body. Scary, I know. As a bonifide bookworm and media-type, I recently applied to the "iSchool" at the University of Washington, a Masters in Library and Information Science program (dMLIS). I am anxiously awaiting my acceptance/denial letter, which is either going to be the thick or the thin envelope. I applied in early March of this year and have to wait until mid-to-late May to hear of the decision. Can I get a prescription for this? I can't even sleep at night, but I'm not really wanting to take Ambien, if you know what I mean. I also have something of a stable, predictable (dead-end) job with the State. My job is incredibly draining of all my creative juices because it's simply a series of mechanical processes and has no apparent room for professional growth. My application to other pos

Unlike most popular blogs I've seen that have cache, but usually have a mean, cynical bent, PostSecret is a surprisingly inspiring little site that is really a venue for the compilation of a collective work of art. The blog solicits individuals to mail in an anonymous postcard, perhaps illustrated with your darkest secret written clearly on it. Get that burden off your chest and see it posted. The results are stunning and I predict a future coffee table book. Good luck with that!

Allegory film talent, crew and friends, As you may be aware it's been a gruelling 4 days so far, but there you have it, the link to the Saturday March 18th 2006 article about us in the Tacoma News Tribune. Article is by entertainment editor, Soren Anderson. Staff photographer Drew Perine from the Tacoma News Tribune was on set for several hours at the Western R Cafe location in Tacoma. Talent and crew, please keep this for future reference in your own bio/press kit records. For future searches, search: http://www.tacomanewstribune.com >search>"City co-stars in short film." http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/story/5597172p-5031179c.html See you all Monday at the beach for the 4th and final day of shooting! I will be in touch with updates on post production. Do email me to be added to the Jon Ra Films! distribution list. Special thanks to the Tacoma Film Office for your invaluable logistical support. Jennifer  Jon Ra Films! Public Relations Seattle, WA 98102 Em

Seattle Architecture things I like The one on the right reminds me of Eric.

Friends and Family: My rather famous sister: Suzanne Morales: ...lead guitarist and vocalist for Grey will be opening at the Seattle NW Film Forum at a documentary film screening called: A Headbanger's Journey Friday March 17 2006 at 11pm . Opening night concert by Seattle Metal Band Grey Location: NWFF1515 12th avenue, Seattle, WA http ://www.nwfilmforum.org

Date: March 13, 2006 RE: Media Brief To whom it may concern, This letter is to let you know that Jon Ra Films! is in the process of developing a new and original low-budget film to be shot primarily in the city of Tacoma. Principal photography (actual shooting time) will take 4 days, with a crew of 8. The working title of this story is: "AN ALLEGORY ABOUT SOCKS.” It is film about an insomniac's journey to find the matches to all of his missing socks, as an allegory to the existential anxieties common to man. His psychiatrist has determined that he may have not just gone over the brink; he is free falling down a bottomless chasm. Jon Ra Films! is interested in engaging the public with beautiful, thoughtful, dynamic storytelling through the medium of moving, pure independent cinema. The local media are invited to join us for “a day on the set” Friday March 17th at 4pm for about 2 hours at our second shooting location: The Western R Café, 1214 Puyallup Ave., Tacoma, WA 98421. Cle

Jon Ra Films Presents A film: An Allegory About Socks Director Mitch Mitchell Cinematography: Adam Forslund Graphic Designer: Cristy Miller Production Assistant: Jennifer Morales Jon Ra Films will be filming An Allegory About Socks March17 - 20th in Tacoma. An Allegory About Socks is an independent, low-budget film, an allegory to the anxieties and existential dilemmas in the postmodern age. The target premiere screening is Fall of 2006, with submission to various local and international film festivals in early 2007. For more information, email Jennifer Morales at: baroque.morales@gmail.com or Mitch Mitchell at: theelnino@yahoo.com

In the January 23 2006 Business Week magazine, the cover article " Math {will rock your world}" by Stephen Baker discussed at length how math majors (referred to as "quants") are transforming the business environment through new methodologies of data and trend analysis. Although this particular publication's audience is predominantly management-level financial analysts (my company CEO for example) Baker even discusses "The Dark Side" of all of this "This industrial metamorphosis also has a dark side. The power of mathematicians to make sense of personal data and to model the behaviour of individuals will inevitably continue to erode privacy. Merchants will be in a position to track many of our most intimate purchases, (QFC "club" cards) and employers will be able to rank us no only by productivity, but my wasted minutes." For example, huge data bases like MSN.com , Blogger.com , MySpace.com or Google.com are mathematically analy

Professionally, I finally, finally got vested at work as of Feb 1st. This has been my ongoing goal at work for at least the last 2.5 years (once I reached the halfway point) for classified staff at the UW. There was no big party, no acknowledgement, just another day at work, but for one that was a major milestone for me. On one level I feel I may have just wasted 5 years of my life, just getting by, but not doing work that was particularly meaningful, but it was important to me because of my impovershed family background. At this time, my mother is beginning to enter her late 50's with zero retirement planning and total fear about the future. One of my other goals in life has just been to learn from her mistakes. Besides a grad school program that I am applying to this year (which seems like a long-shot for me to get in) I'm trying to figure out what to do next in my work life. Thinking about it just makes me tired beyond belief and realize how much I just need a break and to t

The other day I was at a local coffee bar, procrastinating my way to the gym, where I got into this strange, long and interesting conversation with someone I later found out to be Craig Daniel of Izabelle. Of course, I was immediately smitten and mentioned my meeting him to a newer work friend (K.J.) who forwarded me the links to the band and Craig Daniel's Site Tuesday, January 24th, I went to see Izabelle I didn't know if Izabelle were going on early or late, so we got there early and saw the other acts, I only remember Origami Ghosts. I went with Eric, who said he was fine, but acted unamused the whole time. (Seattle had recently made a public smoking ban into law) He was annoyed because drinking and smoking go together, so didn't drink and just sat there like someone's dad, with his jacket zipped all the way up the whole time. I saw Craig sitting near me, so I went and bought a CD and had him sign it. He mentioned feeling unwell and looked nauseous, but was able to