MoMa Makes Video Games Art

MoMa, the Museum of Modern Art, has begun collecting video games.  Yeah, you heard me.  Fourteen video games were selected by the museum and officially dubbed "art."  If this does not make sure that my generation is taking over the world nothing does.  Let's look at the list:

Pac-Man (1980) - Considered the Van Gogh of the bunch.  No ears, get it?
Tetris (1984) - Obviously derivative of Picasso.
Another World (1991) - This is a game, I'm told.
Myst (1993) - Be cause matte paintings can be video games, too.
SimCity 2000 (1994) - Rodin, the thinking man's game.
vib-ribbon (1999) - I heard this existed.
The Sims (2000) - Because trapping people in a room and taking away the doors until they die is somebody's art.
EVE Online (2003) - The essence of Cheeto dust on a keyboard.
Katamari Damacy (2004) - Because Dali was bored that day.
Dwarf Fortress (2006) - Who the fuck knows why this is here?
flOw (2006) - aRt is intereSTing with ranDomness
Portal (2007) - I'ma go ahead and just give this a pass.
Passage (2008) - Sure, this was also a game that... I don't know this one.
Canabalt (2009) - Nope, not even gonna comment.  The name scares me and I don't know why.

So here's what we have: A bunch of cubists art with some surrealists sprinkled in.  Hope you enjoy.

MoMa acquires 14 video games for collection, confirms video games as art

Chicago Fires Library Custodians

A controversial $99 million janitorial contract has lead to fifty-four custodians charged with cleaning Chicago Public libraries getting their walking papers, effective Friday.

This is a city wide controversy, but think about the implications for a moment.  Sure, this effects some pretty large parts of Chicago life, like O'Hare airport, but to take away janitors from the library?  That's like taking away the Rosy the Robot from the Jetsons!  Sure, the show can limp along and George can take care of his own damn self for a hot minute, but sooner or later he's gonna wake up, find he can't get out of bed and start jumping off the platform into the dark abyss into whatever lays beneath those sky houses.

Yep, I just put suicide into the Jetson's universe.  Good luck not talking about that today.  That planet would make the Golden Gate Bridge look like a trampoline.

City lays off library custodians - Chicago Sun-Times:

CBS2 Chicago

City lays off library custodians Chicago Sun-Times City library custodians are laid off at the City of Chicago Department of Fleet and Facility Management on Friday, November 30, 2012. Secretary of Treasury Matt Brandon, who represents all public employees, confirms that over 50 workers will be laid ... Chicago Library Janitors Laid OffCBS2 Chicago all 3 news articles »

Library News in Short: Week of Nov 25 - Dec 1

Union Gap Library Closed - Seems if your city can't pay, the libraries won't play.

Skowhegan Library Finds Old Books -  Check your libraries attic and see what you find.

San Francisco Public to Design Library Cards - Most popular design?  The "Cock and Balls," a delightful rendition of a rooster playing tennis.

Maine ebook Firm Says No to Nonfiction - That's the one that's not true, right?  I always confuse those two.

Archway Books Announced - The lovely folks at Simon & Schuster tell public "Fine, publish your own crap."

Manheim Township Library Plays with Legos - "Read, Build, Play?"  More like... um... I wanted to win that.

Schoolcraft Community Librarian Surprised to be Nominated - She thought she had entered to win Ben Stein's money.

Bob Saget Has a Book Deal - 10 Ways to Bang the Olsen Twins

Poland Library Stinks - Had they only gone with Brand X, this wouldn't be a problem.

Gingerbread Invades Medway Public Library - If the tiny gingerbread people could only know the holocaust that awaits them.

Librarian's Can't Do Michael Jackson Says Youtube - Then what the hell are we supposed to do with our weekend?  Here's that video:

Haunted Library on the TeeVee

The paranormal experts on the SyFy Channel’s “Ghost Hunters” believe the Rundel Library in Rochester is haunted. On Wednesday night’s episode, “Due Date with Death,” the members of the The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) found that the library is probably haunted, although they were not able to figure out by which spirit or spirits.

There was this comedian, I forget who, who stated that if ghosts were real, they would not be proven as fact at midnight on a cable show.  That news would be broadcast probably broken in the middle of an episode of "Amercian Idol" by Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric screaming "Ghosts are fucking real and here's the proof!"

But here's the truth:  Ghosts are not real.  If they were, a lot more people without tin foil hats would believe in them.  Am I sure that the residents of the Rundel Library believe they have ghosts?  Sure.  Because just like the ghost hunters, they want to believe that.  They are like the second half of Myth Busters, the good part after the actual science is done where things get blowed up.  They want to make it true, so they do, but that don't make it so.

Library Expects More Visitors After "Ghost Hunters" Episode

Brooklyn Libraries Struggling to Rebuild

"Five Brooklyn libraries severely damaged by Sandy are still shuttered nearly a month after the storm - and will cost unprecedented millions to get back up and running."

Normally, I would say something snarky about now, but the pictures in the article below horrified me.  They remind me of a time not too long ago when my own state was devastated by a hurricane and hundreds of libraries were effected along the Gulf Coast, some of which never recovered.  Only through the altruism of our fellow man and librarian did those libraries rebuild, and so it is here.  I am sure there is a local effort to help these libraries get back on their feet, and I hope the lawmakers involved can look past the $10 million dollar price tag and see the investment that money can be.

Also, one of the captions in the article reads "Not a pulp fiction!"  Seriously, dude?  Not the time.  Too-sunami.

Five Brooklyn libraries hit hard by Sandy still closed - and will cost $10 ... - New York Daily News:

New York Daily News

Five Brooklyn libraries hit hard by Sandy still closed - and will cost $10 ... New York Daily News Five Brooklyn libraries severely damaged by Sandy are still shuttered nearly a month after the storm - and will cost unprecedented millions to get back up and running. “We were hurt,” said Brooklyn Public Library VP of strategic planning Jeanette Moy ... and more »

AskMen Going Into the eBook Biz

"AskMen.com, one of the top men-focused lifestyle sites on the Web with 20 million monthly unique visitors, is ramping-up its nascent ebook publishing program.
The site has published five ebooks so far, starting this past June, and has sold them on Amazon and other retailers for prices ranging from $0.99 to $9.99. The content has been mostly re-purposed but upcoming titles will be original content. The company plans on publishing around 20 ebooks next year."

We have no more need to look for proof that ebooks and ebook publishing are an unjustified medium than this story right here.  The context of the story is that AskMen is publishing ebooks, but they are not.  What they are doing is extending their brand to cover books that anyone can write and anyone can publish in a format that anyone can publish in.  This is not a "new thing."  Coca-Cola, if they had the inclination, could do the same thing.  Hell, I could do the same thing.  Just send me your ebook, I'll sign up for the account, format your book, sell the thing and give you the minuscule profits that come with selling books through Amazon's ebook market.  

The only way this has really become a legit enterprise is through sites like Pottermore, and that's only because Harry Potter fans are a little bit nuts.  And rightly so.  If Oprah decided she was going to extend her brand, she could dominate the ebook market by reaching out to small authors and give them an audience.  Then she could devour their souls, sucking out their chewy center.  But, if people are reading, more power to them.  I just hope the quality AskMen.com devotes to their articles continues into their ebooks.

AskMen.com Ramping-up Ebook Program - Digital Book World:

AskMen.com Ramping-up Ebook Program Digital Book World AskMen.com, one of the top men-focused lifestyle sites on the Web with 20 million monthly unique visitors, is ramping-up its nascent ebook publishing program. The site has published five ebooks so far, starting this past June, and has sold them on ...

Library of Congress Civil War Letters Show How Much Modern Americans Suck At Writing

"Letters and diaries from those who lived through the Civil War offer a new glimpse at the arguments that split the nation 150 years ago and some of the festering debates that survive today.
The Library of Congress, which holds the largest collection of Civil War documents, pulled 200 items from its holdings to reveal both private and public thoughts from dozens of famous and ordinary citizens who lived in the North and the South. Many are being shown for the first time."

Once again, the LoC breaks out its toy chest and shows how inadequate we are as 21st century Americans.  Yes, many of these Civil War letters/diaries were penned by people that were wrestling with and ultimately made poor life decisions, but have you seen the penmanship on these things?  I am not even sure I can write a cursive "Q" and these guys are doing calligraphy while having deep and engaging thoughts.  

Also, the deep and engaging thoughts part.  In one hundred and fifty years, will the LoC break out twitter feeds from now?  What would that say?  "From American twitter user @homiefarts: I cnt Blive I cnt watch the return of LiLo in #Liz&Dick cause of #Frankenstorm aftermath."  Imagine that the next time you tweet about your breakfast.

US library pulls diaries, letters from Civil War - The Associated Press:

US library pulls diaries, letters from Civil War The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Letters and diaries saved for 150 years from those who lived through the Civil War are offering a new glimpse of the arguments that split the nation. The Library of Congress holds the largest collection of Civil War documents.