Yesterday IT called and ordered us to log off all computers in the library due to a network slowdown caused, perhaps, by a virus. Thus disconnected, did we library workers spend our time usefully reading the latest editions of Library Journal and C&RL? No, we played Scrabble. Unfortunately we only had access to the Spanish language version, housed in the Juvenile section for education majors, so the letter distribution was unusual by English standards and included double-l and -r tiles. I got my ass kicked--no surprise there, eh Pablo?

Today I got an iPod! I plan to use it at the gym to distract me from the pain. I'll probably download a few tunes from my CD collection, some news broadcasts from Radio France Internationale, and some religious programming from EWTN. With 30 GB of space, I won't have to be very discriminating.

Thanks to the miracle of the internet, I found out who got the job I interviewed for. This person received a degree from a fundie/dispie seminary before getting the MLS, so I can understand him or her being a better fit than myself. This situation illustrates a problem that has dogged my entire professional career: I'm too religious and conservative for the secular and post-Christian schools, and too liberal for the evangelical and fundamentalist schools. The only faithful but moderate Christian schools around are either Roman Catholic or Texas Baptist, as far as I can tell.

Theology

Could one neatly divide salvation history into three eras, each corresponding with one of the various persons of the Trinity which predominated during that period: the Father in OT times; the Son during Jesus' earthly ministry; and the Spirit post-Pentecost? True, Jesus said he would be with the church always, but if the filioque is correct then that presence could be construed spiritually--which fits with Jn 16:7: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." This chrological procession coincides nicely with the logical procession of persons in the Trinity (the Father as the source, the Son as begotten, and the Spirit as spirating from the two).

If this is right then the Pentecostals may be on to something, as much as I would hate to admit it.

Departures

D.B., the nearly septuagenarian acquisitions clerk, is finally taking an overdue retirement. Like L.L., the cataloguer who quit last year to start a jewelry business (which failed months later), D.B. is trading the peaceful life of librarianship for the high-stakes game of women's entrepreneurship--selling Avon. The departure should mean a more efficient operation in tech services. Our current cataloguer will finish a cartload of books in a few days which L.L. wouldn't get around to for weeks. Likewise, I'm hoping D.B.'s replacement won't forget to place orders, order multiple copies of items, or lose invoices.

At church we're losing about half of the regular attendees because of new job opportunities. The parish is tiny enough already; its continued existence now seems truly doubtful.

Pop Culture

Not much to report. Movies: Wings of Desire by Wim Wenders is a real snoozer, although Solveig Dommartin has great legs. (Apparently being a film director is a good way for dorks to get beautiful women: Wenders/Dommartin, Lynch/Rossellini, Burton/Bonham-Carter, Allen/Keaton...) Music: In the latest of my sporadic attempts to keep up with what the kids are listening to, I picked up a used copy of the Shins' Chutes Too Narrow, which, even if it ain't Revolver or Highway 61 Revisited, is a pretty good effort anyway--unadorned rock with catchy melodies and clever lyrics. Lionheart wasn't so good, unfortunately. TV: SCTV is on DVD! I haven't seen it since the early 80s, and I'm enjoying it even more now since in junior high (1) I didn't understand the satirical references to Woody Allen, Ingmar Bergman, etc., (2) I ended up falling asleep in the middle of the episode. (I think it came on at 11:00 and lasted 90 minutes.)