LSA News

No. 83, August 2007

If you have anything you want in the next newsletter, send it to lsaweb@lists.uoregon.edu .

Index UFO Tofu: Sieracki Takes the Torch by Marilyn Mohr Why I Love Gonzo by Jen Lindsey Student Employee Pizza Luncheon Early Blues Instruments Make a Comeback: the Cigar Box Guitar by Stacy DeHart Oregon Country Fair Photo Album by Jennifer Rowan From the "Fact File" Events of Interest Announcements People in the Library

Oregon Country Fair Library photo by Jennifer Rowan

UFO Tofu: Sieracki Takes the Torch
by Marilyn Mohr
photos by Marilyn Mohr, Terry McQuilkin and Gabie Ganey

Classic Intergalactic Jerky, featuring turnip discs carved into alien faces, by Marilyn Mohr

Only a small number of culinary entries appeared at the 4th Occasional Tofu Challenge: UFO TOFU. Challenge organizers can only assume that many, perhaps countless, entries were abducted en route to the Beach Conservation Lab at 11:45 on June 19, 2007, but no one, other than the four UFO TOFU contributors, has come forth to claim hours in the kitchen, and no tofu dishes have been found in the 4th-floor stacks.

Nevertheless, staff from the four corners of the UO Libraries arrived at the twelfth hour to sample, savor and select the new winner of the coveted Tofu Torch, and they were not disappointed.

Lisa Sieracki receives the coveted Tofu Torch from previous torchbearer Andrew Huot

The Tofu Challenge occurs occasionally, and originated with the desire, nay need, to ensure that staff could replicate the tofu jerky made popular in department potlucks by former Beach Lab Senior Technician Jan Roberson in advance of Jan's migration to the Oregon coast. This year's winner of the "Jan's Traditional Tofu Jerky (bringing it back to the future)" category is Christy Carmichael. Christy has carried the Torch for jerky, and was indeed the FIRST winner of the Tofu Torch, awarded by Jan so many years ago. Look for Christy's consistently tasty and textural jerky at the next staff potluck!

Subsequent Occasional Challenges have incorporated timely themes, such as "From Tofu to Fufu," in honor of Mandi Garcia's Peace Corps service in Ghana, and "Thai Tofu," in recognition of the spectacular Thai gift on which so many have labored. Entry categories have expanded to include main dish, dessert, and presentation.

(story continued)

Why I Love Gonzo
by Jen Lindsey

I don’t think it’s a secret that I love Gonzo. If you know me at all, or even if you only know me a little, you know that Gonzo is a huge part of my summer. I look forward to it every year with an almost unnatural enthusiasm. I love watching it, I love performing in it, and I especially love the aftermath – dissecting each act, garnering praise and doling it out in kind. I’m pretty sure that this kind of talent show is unique among professional workplaces. Rejoice in our little oddity!

"Baguette" models the latest in library haute couture in 2006	Bruce Tabb performs at the 2005 Gonzo

One of the best things about Gonzo is that you never know what you’re going to get. If you’re on the Program Committee (which I am – join now!), you know who is going to perform, but every act is always a surprise. There’s that little thrill of anticipation as the seats fill in the Browsing Room, people poring over the program to see if they know anyone who is performing.

The first time I participated in Gonzo, I had a bit part in a large group presentation – A Musical with the D'Oyly Shelving Carte Opera Company: "I am the Very Model of Computerized Librarian.” It was a take-off Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Major General’s Song,” and for me, the Gonzo bug had bitten. I have performed in many acts since then, and it never gets old. I’m looking forward to performing in this year’s show as well – you’ll just have to show up to see how I’m embarrassing myself this year!

Aimee Yogi attempts to teach Ben Farrell the Hukilau in 2005	The infamous El Invisible at the 2006 Gonzo

Last year, Gonzo almost didn’t happen due to lack of interest, if you can even believe it. I remember the first Gonzo I went to had to have an intermission due to the high volume of acts! Luckily, a core group of Gonzo aficionados swooped in and helped resurrect last year’s show. Having it later in the summer made it easier for people to get acts together, and for that reason, Gonzo will be held this year on Wednesday, August 29.

I know I’ve said it before (in this article, even!), but I really do love Gonzo. I love getting up in front of my colleagues and making them laugh. I love listening to Bruce Tabb’s beautiful flute solos. I love watching Lori and Libby Robare tap-dance their hearts out. I love the big group numbers, I love the solo acts, I love listening to poetry written and recited by my talented coworkers. I have even grown to love the accordion, having heard many fabulous songs by Los Invisibles. I hope you will come out to Gonzo this year, and maybe fall in love with it yourself!

Students Enjoy Pizza at Appreciation Lunch
photos by Terry McQuilkin

Library Administration provided pizza and other treats for the annual library student employee appreciation luncheon held on June 6, 2007. The Browsing Room was packed with attending revelers and everyone had a wonderful time. Although the pizza luncheon only comes once a year, we appreciate our student workers every day!

(click here for more photos from the event)

Early Blues Instruments Make a Comeback: the Cigar Box Guitar
by Stacy DeHart
photos by Rollie & Kate Tussing and Shane Speal

For the past several years I have been enjoying a hobby that is fairly new to me: live music.

Specimens from Shane Speal's National Cigar Box Museum

Sure, I went to big arena concerts as a teen and saw the likes of Jethro Tull, Blue Oyster Cult, and the Talking Heads, and of course ( I'll come out of the closet here, because it's Eugene after all, and it's safe) the Grateful Dead (spare me the eye rolling....it was the Seventies and Eighties).  But those types of really impersonal concerts are not what I am talking about. Through exploring the rich small-hall live music scene here in the Willamette and Umpqua valleys, I have been developing an appreciation for what one of our library colleagues describes as "fine loud acoustic noise." I can best describe the music I have enjoyed listening to and seeing performed as string-based swingy, jazzy, punky, bluesy, blue-grass. I am sure there is a better, more appropriate name for this genre, but I don't know it, and this one works for me. I have had the great good fortune to fall into a newly burgeoning music scene in Cottage Grove.

At the same time that I relocated to this lovely "All American City" just about 20 miles south of Eugene, some friends and my dear mother and I decided to renovate a building and open and relocate several businesses, including The Axe and Fiddle Pub and Music Club, Backstage Bakery, and Kalapuya Books. The pub was at the time looking for some help with building their websites. I thought I could help with that, and so have been maintaining those sites since the pub opened last November. Working on the sites has introduced me to some great new music, as well as to many wonderful musicians and performers.

(story continued)

Oregon Country Fair Photo Album
by Jennifer Rowan

From the Fact File
by Terry McQuilkin

Every since the defeat of Harold’s army by Norman invaders at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the name William has remained popular in the English-speaking world. Derived from the Germanic Wilhelm, meaning "will" or "desire" and "helmet" or "protection," it has been used by royals and commoners, presidents and pop stars. From the clues that follow, identify the ten individuals on our list, all of them having the given name William or a variant or diminutive version of the name.

1. Legend holds that this Swiss hero, who failed to pay proper respect to the town's imperial representative, was forced to shoot an apple off of his son's head in order to gain his freedom. Although his arrow hit the apple perfectly, the archer made a remark that enraged the imperial official and he was sent on a ship to be imprisoned. He escaped and ultimately shot his captor with a bolt from his crossbow.
2. Although this Canadian-born actor starred in an ABC police drama during the 1980's and has won awards for playing an attorney on a currently running drama, also on ABC, he is best known for his role as the commander of a space-traveling vessel in a television series that ran from 1966 to 1969 (and immediately thereafter in syndication) and in seven films based on the series.
3. This Ohio-born Republican served as United States President between 1897 and 1901, a time during which the U.S. annexed Hawaii and fought the Spanish-American war. In 1901 he became the third U.S. president to be assassinated, shot twice by an anarchist in Buffalo, N.Y.
4. With 660 career home runs and the most All-Star Game appearances of any Major-Leaguer, this Alabama-born baseball giant was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1979.
5. This English doctor who served as personal physician to James I and Charles I, is usually regarded as the first to describe the human circulatory system in detail. His landmark work, titled Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus, was published in 1628.
6. Known by various aliases, this legendary outlaw and frontiersman was reputed to have killed 21 men before his own death, at age 21, in 1881. His notoriety after his death far exceeded his notoriety during life, and his adventures and death have been the subject several poems, novels and films, ballet music by Aaron Copland, and songs by musicians including Tom Petty, Marty Robbins, and a Bronx-born singer who is the subject of our next clue.
7. Although his most celebrated song, inspired by his experiences playing piano at a bar in L.A., is from an album released when he was 24 years old, this singer, composer and pianist recorded several other successful albums, including a 2001 collection of classical compositions.
8. When this native Hoosier and puzzle lover was a student at Indiana University, he was allowed to design his own major—enigmatology. Currently the crossword puzzle editor at a major newspaper, he appeared as the central figure in a 2006 film about the American Crossword Tournament, a contest he founded in 1978.
9. Formerly married to Angelina Jolie, this Oscar-winning actor who appeared in films including Sling Blade, A Simple Plan, Armageddon, and The Alamo, is also a screen writer and a singer-songwriter.
10. This fourteenth century Franciscan friar and theologian with a razor-sharp mind wrote several works on logic and theology, but is best known for his axiom, Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem, which translates loosely as "All things being equal, the simplest solution is the one to be preferred."

Readers should submit their answers to Fact File by August 24. The winner will be determined by the number of correct answers; in the event of a tie, a single winner will be selected by lot. The winner will receive a gift certificate worth $10.00 toward purchases at the U.O. Bookstore, courtesy of the Library Staff Association. All staff and faculty of the University of Oregon Libraries are invited to participate.

This recently installed obelisk, above, situated on the quad between Lillis Complex and Knight Library, with Chapman Hall in the background, is a replica of a time-keeping structure built during the time of Augustus Caesar. The obelisk itself a model of a proposed permanent tower whose location is yet to be determined.
photo by Terry McQuilkin

Events of Interest

As well as featuring upcoming LSA events, we'd like to get the word out about events staff are involved in that might be of interest to co-workers. If you'd like the world, or at least your co-workers, to know about something cool coming up, please email Harriett Smith or lsaweb.

LSA EVENTS

Wednesday, August 29, 2007: Oh no! It's another Gonzo Revue! What will our crazy, er, creative, co-workers devise for our entertainment this year? Come to the Knight Library Browsing Room from 1 to 3 p.m. and find out! If you are one of the imaginative and/or talented performers, email Jen Lindsey or phone her at 346-1916. Both rollickingly hilarious and touchingly serious performances are desired. Former faculty and staff who need a ride to the Gonzo should contact Stephanie Midkiff at 346-1661.

NON-LSA EVENTS

Friday, August 10, 2007: Marilyn Mohr will perform with Vakasara Mbira group at Cosmic Pizza when they back up Zimbabwean mbira masters Cosmas Magaya and Ambuya Beauler Dyoko, along with Hokoyo Marimba. The show starts at 7 p.m.

Saturday, August 11, 2007: From 6 to 10 p.m., it's the silver jubilee S.L.U.G. Queen pageant and coronation, at Broadway & Willamette in Eugene. David Landazuri will be accompanying 2006 Queen Slugretha Latifah Uleafa Gastropodia Jackson in a song to celebrate the end of her reign. Coronation Ball to follow immediately, with music by JC Rico and Zulu Dragon. Free event! But it's suggested you bring your own chairs.

Sunday, August 19, 2007: You can also join David L. when Accordions Anonymous presents a free concert at 6 p.m. at Washburne Park, 21st and Agate in Eugene. Again, bring your own chairs.

Announcements:

Talk about supporting staff development: Former Documents staff person Susan Mincks has endowed a scholarship which pays the registration for two people to attend the annual Oregon Library Association Support Staff Division conference!  One is for an SSD member and one is for a nonmember. Suzanne Sager of the SSD writes that "Susan is still very involved with SSD as the archivist until September.  She has also been helping with this year's SSD conference.  I have also been active in SSD for a number of years and Susan is a wonderful person to work with." Well, we knew that!

People in the Library
edited by Jen Lindsey

Welcome:

On the Move :

Lisa Levitt, Law Library

Previously in the library: Collection Development and Acquisitions, Office Specialist 2 (began September 2001)

Currently: Library Tech 3, Law Library - Acquisitions Tech (started March 19)

Best thing you accomplished in prior position: Organized multiple book sales with the help of various people throughout the UO Libraries.

Looking forward to most about new job: Buying new materials and having my own office.

Best place to take your break: Multiple spots on the first and second floors of the Law School.

Most fun you've had while working at the library: Going up to the Portland area to box up and pick up a large donation in 100 degree heat with former CDA colleagues and Paul Frantz.

Favorite place to go out to eat: Burgerville.  I love their seasonal milkshakes.

Goodbye

lsaweb@lists.uoregon.edu