The MFA: A Great Getaway

In the midst of classes coming to an end, I’ve found myself with a lot of unexpected (but fantastic) free time. At first, I did the usual things- watching T.V., playing addicting games online, and even a weak attempt at playing Xbox, but none seemed to quite capture the awesomeness of the “free-ness” of free time. I took a walk over to the MFA (out of complete desperation) and suddenly found what I was looking for- inspiration. I didn’t realize this, but the MFA is FREE to NU students- at any time! And by the way, the newest exhibition, British Prints, is fantastic, especially if you have an interest in screen-printing. After my MFA visit, I headed over to an art supply store and spent the rest of my weekend painting away. I feel like I’ve tapped into creativity I never knew I had. To top everything off, I checked out a few books on my favorite artists from Snell, so that I have inspiration with me at home. In other words, take a trip out to the MFA the next chance you have some free time, you may learn something about yourself you never knew existed.

Road Tripping: A Best Practice

Trekking somewhere cool? Make it cooler by reading a book before you go or bring one for the ride. Say you are going to Las Vegas — a truly vile place by all but Roman standards — what can be done with it? Check the Library and see what pops up…

  • If you’ve seen the movie, feel free to blow by Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: a Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream by Hunter S. Thompson (PN4874.T444 A3 1998) but do check out some of his other stuff: genius, as in does Kerouac better than Jack.
  • However, if you are into smart emo stuff at least scope out the contents, intro, and conclusion to The Postmodern Urban Condition by Michael J. Dear (HT384.U52 L674 2000).
  • Social justice your thing? Try Storming Caesars Palace: How Black Mothers Fought Their Own War on Poverty by Annelise Orleck (HV99.L37 O75 2005).
  • Suppose you are a compu-geek of some sort, why not check out The Theory of Gambling and Statistical Logic by Richard A. Epstein (QA271 .E67 1995)?
  • If business is your business and thus personal, then Jeff Burbank’s License to Steal: Nevada’s Gaming Control System in the Megaresort Era (HV6721.L3 B87 2000) is the place to find insider nuggets.
Knowing a bit about where you find yourself makes for better tripping. Also, road trips are not about a change of scene, but a change of perspective which can begin before you sign on for a killer case of bucket seat butt rot. In fact, you could save gas and fix up the ol’ perspective while right here or of course at the reference desk, virtual or otherwise.

the warm -n- the fuzzy

Get daily warm fuzzies: Daily Puppy Daily Kitten Daily Bunny I don’t think these sites are affiliated with each other, but it hardly matters if you need some daily cuteness. For those of us who are allergic, or for whatever reason cannot care for a wee beastie (or a big beastie), these pictures of cute scoundrels are a window into warmth and fuzziness of pet ownership…without the vet bills and training time.

Inside Higher Ed

Until starting work at Northeastern, I was not aware of Inside Higher Ed. I’ve been very impressed with the content I’ve read thus far, and it’s good to keep abreast of higher ed trends across the country. I was also pleased to see that one of today’s articles features the same title as Diann’s blog post: Sticker Shock! However, this article deals with the lowering value of the US dollar, the increase in the cost of fuel, and the shaky future of the US economy in the face of a growing emphasis (including at Northeastern) on college study abroad programs. Despite rising costs, there’s still a huge push (and student interest) in programs abroad. The article posits that the future for such programs may lie in cheaper foreign destinations, and that the ultimate effect on the future numbers who go abroad is still uncertain.

Sticker Shock 2

The engineering library at Cornell University has updated their original Sticker Shock display. Visit Sticker Shock 2 for a visual tour of price increases for a small selection of engineering journals. It’s a stunning display that emphasizes how much libraries spend to deliver quality information to its community of researchers. Another sticker shock display that illustrates rising journal costs can be found through the Snell Library’s Scholarly Communication pages.