LSA News

No. 99, August 2009

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

Voodoo Doughnut: A Hole Lot of Fun
story and photos by Laura Damiani

Do you lie awake at night dreaming of the perfect concoction of sweet dough, mapley goodness and savory hickory smoked bacon? Well dream no more for it is a reality. Just blocks away from our lucky colleagues at the UO PDX Library in Old Town Portland, is the original Voodoo Doughnut, home of the Maple Bacon Bar and many other kitschy novelty doughnut offerings. This independently owned doughnut shop has garnered a cult following. It has been featured on TV shows such as The Travel Channel’s No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain and Man vs Food, Globe Trekker, The Tonight Show and Good Morning America and in many print publications and web blogs. It was also a stop on the 2008 season of The Amazing Race. These little blurbs I was seeing here and there about this mysterious doughnut place kept creeping into my consciousness, so on my last trip to Portland a few weeks ago, I had to stop in for a visit and see what the hoopla was all about.

Its popularity was immediately confirmed by the line stretching down the sidewalk as the customers withstood the blazing hot sun awaiting their moment at the counter which would launch them into doughnut bliss. It’s a very small place with no seating, a fast moving line and a very big menu, so before your first visit it's not a bad idea to check out their website and browse the menu to get an idea of what’s in store. My partner has a fascination with all things bacon, so he was on a quest for what could be their most legendary offering, the Maple Bacon Bar. As the name indicates, it’s a traditional maple bar with real bacon strips on top and he gave it an enthusiastic thumbs-up. It being so hot, I decided to try a lighter fruity flavored doughnut so I went for the Orangutang, which is a raised doughnut with vanilla icing, dipped in Tang drink mix powder and orange sprinkles. A strange flashback to my childhood, I thought it was an unusually fun treat. Other popular choices include Dirt, a raised doughnut with vanilla frosting and Oreo cookies, The Memphis Mafia, a banana fritter drizzled with chocolate and peanut butter and topped with chocolate chips and peanuts, Grape Ape, a raised doughnut with vanilla frosting and grape powder, the signature Voodoo Doughnut itself , voodoo doll shaped with a pretzel stick stuck in its torso and red jelly “blood” filling, Fruit Loops, Cap’n Crunch and Cocoa Puffs topped confections and others that have names too naughty to write about here. Or you might want to try the Tex-Ass which is a giant glazed doughnut. If you eat it in 80 seconds or less, it is free. The Portland Crème is now the official doughnut of Portland. And the vegans don’t need to feel left out as there is a very large selection of vegan choices available. They used to offer a NyQuil glazed doughnut and a Vanilla Pepto Crushed Tums doughnut but unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, they were banned by health officials. After my visit, I feel that each doughnut is perhaps a bit more a piece of art than it is necessarily a culinary masterpiece, but worth experiencing nonetheless.

The venue also plays host to some fun doughnut centered activities. They hold doughnut eating contests on the first Friday of every month. And if you really want to take it to another level, they offer wedding and commitment ceremony services. Wedding ceremonies are performed by an ordained minister beneath the giant Holy Doughnut under the Cruller Chandelier of Life as the wedding guests toast the happy couple with what else? - Coffee and doughnuts.

Voodoo Doughnut is located at 22 S.W. Third Avenue in Old Town Portland and is open 24 hours per day. There is also a newer and much larger second location, Voodoo Doughnuts Too, in NE Portland at 1501 NE Davis. In the spirit of stopping to see the world’s largest ball of twine or visiting Madame Taussaud’s Wax Museum , for those seeking adventure and something completely new and different, Voodoo Doughnut is not to be missed on a visit to Portland.

LSA at the Ems
by Chris Tweeter

Alas, due to certain logistical and fiscal happenstance that we shan't delve into here, there was no LSA BBQ & Baseball event this year. Tears followed by sighs. But there is still Ems baseball at beautiful Civic Stadium. And so, on the 23rd day of July, we informally convened in Great Gatsby-like fashion on the third base side for a delightful evening of baseball and cheaper-than-usual beer. David Baker, David Fowler, Mark Watson, Megan Dazey, Rebecca Belford, Jon Jablonski, Chris Tweeter and a couple of guests were in delicious attendance. I also saw some nachos, but they were quickly liquidated, as is their lot in life.

It was quite the pitcher's duel, the two pin-striped pugilists circling each other in a deadly predatory dance well into the late innings. The sun began to set, drenching the spectacle in that peculiar red known only to spilled blood and Twizzlers. It was — quite literally — breath taking. But much like the bittersweet mating ritual of the black widow, only one can walk away. And only one did. On a pale horse she rides, and they call her ... Boise.

Warm Thoughts of Hot Travel
story and photos by Jennifer Rowan

During this past week of record-breaking heat, I've been entertained by varied recollections of extremities of warmer temperatures. I still recall hours, days, and weeks of festering and inescapable Midwest humidity, generally exacerbated by some additional misery: morning sickness during a long hot Toronto summer; the call of a distant foghorn on Lake Ontario during a night sleepless with unrelenting sweat and apprehension; shrieking sirens; screaming confrontations between unknown neighbors in Detroit; and the sounds of breaking glass and embattled cats in the alley. I reflect with much greater satisfaction on memories of some of the summer months I've spent in other climates more challenging than we experience in Eugene.

In 1997, I spent the month of July in China with a group of American and Chinese art history graduate students and two professors. We were visiting museum collections and attending daily lectures on a fairly grueling schedule, in Shanghai for the first and last weeks, and in Hangzhou for the middle two weeks.

In Shanghai, we stayed in a sort of youth hostel and took up all the rooms but one, and it was always a bit of a shock to have one or two strangers sidling past our doors and up the stairs on their way to the top floor. My assigned roommate was a young Chinese woman who was a bit gruff and impatient with my awkwardly spoken Chinese, but in a short time, we took great pleasure in long, late-night conversations about American and Chinese culture, economics, values, the foibles of the other graduate students, and the actor and martial arts master, Jackie Chan, who we both considered very sexy. The air conditioning roared loudly when it worked, but electricity was intermittent, so we often found ourselves in the evenings in humid darkness with only the deafening, resonant buzz of the cicadas in the trees and the shrill whine of mosquitoes who were then free to enter the opened window. I learned to sleep under a tent of sheets to postpone bloodshed as long as I was conscious... but the mornings were equally memorable.

The hostel backed onto a large urban park, and in the very early dawn, bloodcurdling screams and shouts shocked me out of sleep. The first morning it happened, I imagined an agonizingly prolonged act of violence taking place along those tree-lined paths, but the screamer was joined by others emitting similar howls and shrieks. After about a half an hour of this, the sound of amplified music began, a mix of recognizable pop songs, melodies in Asian tonalities sung by shrill female voices, or rousing military anthems relying on emphatic slogans and nationalist themes. The high pitch of the mosquitoes wove throughout these harmonies as I sweated copiously underneath my sheet. I later learned that the music provided accompaniment to groups doing morning Tai-chi with decorative swords or banners; the daily screamers were practitioners of the Falun Gong cult, who, since that time, have been violently suppressed or imprisoned by the Chinese authorities.

(story continued)

The World Around Us
The Embedded Librarian in ENG 381: Film, Media & Culture
by Elizabeth Peterson

The film Marley and Me is a heartwarming story about a quirky but lovable dog and his family. But would you also say it's about white people? Imagine if Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson were replaced by Denzel Washington and Halle Berry. Does Marley and Me suddenly become a "black" film? These are just some of the questions we grappled with in ENG 381 — Film, Media & Culture — during Winter term 2009. The course deals with how Hollywood films represent race and ethnicity through visual and narrative conventions. (A "convention" is a device so common that we don't even notice it — think of the "voice of god" voiceover dude used in movie trailers. Why is it always a dude?) Through weekly screenings of different films, students explored how popular movies have helped shape our perceptions and prejudices about race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality.

Professor Priscilla Ovalle had taught this course once before, but was disappointed in the students' ability to do research. She came to me for help. Over a series of conversations, she and I re-shaped the course to focus on the research process itself. Previously, she spent class time lecturing and delivering the course content, and the students were given assigned readings and a substantial research paper that they completed outside of class. In the new model, she relied on much shorter lectures and a good textbook to teach core concepts, but the bulk of the class time was spent on students learning how to do research in film and cultural studies. We structured the class so that students would have hands-on experience with all the little steps in research, from asking questions, to selecting appropriate materials, to crafting a thesis, to citing sources. I was embedded in the course, which meant that I attended every class, met with student groups every week, taught research concepts to the class, and served as an on-demand research consultant.

Most of the instruction I do is a one-shot thing. And while I do my level best to make each session personal and magical, I don't really get to know the students. My work with ENG 381 was a very different story. I got to listen to them analyze a single frame from The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932), and how Boris Karloff — made up in "yellowface" to look Chinese — represents the Asian stereotype of the inscrutable, evil mastermind. I watched the proverbial lights go on as they came to understand how to incorporate a New York Times feature article about "blond bombshell Marilyn Monroe" along with a scholarly journal article about how blondness symbolizes the ultimate achievement in cultural assimilation.

The students started to notice and critique things in movies that had once been invisible to them, and it was exciting to participate in that process. They could point out the use of music to indicate "bad Indians" versus "innocent white settlers" in John Ford's Stagecoach (1939), for example, and how Arab characters are so frequently depicted as godless terrorists. By the end of the class they could begin to articulate how, as far as we have come and as much as things have changed since Al Jolson donned blackface to sing "Mammy" in The Jazz Singer (1929), we still have "black films" and "Latino films" that are supposedly for those audiences alone, but every other Hollywood movie with mostly white folks in them are just about "people" with universal themes that "everyone" can relate to.

A&AA Library Gets New Carpeting

Summer is a great time for working on special projects around the Library and the Architecture & Allied Arts Library has been graced with much needed new carpeting on its main floor. It was a great undertaking of many weeks of planning and moving of books, furniture and shelving to prepare for the installation. But the result was well worth it. The space has a fresh new feel that will be complemented by new furniture which is expected to arrive sometime in the fall. Many thanks to the generous volunteers and A&AA staff that helped with the project.

Good riddance to the old carpeting; no tears were shed	"Isn't this a library anymore?", one patron asked

Shelving and furniture stashed around Lawrence Hall	A carpet layer hard at work

Open for business, stripes and all	The final result

Bird Walkers See Varied Species

A small but enthusiastic group accompanied Ron Renchler on the second LSA Bird Walk of the spring. Walking from the Science Library to the river, the group saw a Cooper's hawk (being mobbed by songbirds), a green heron in flight, barn swallows, ospreys, mallards (of course!), and more. A list sent to participants after the event also included sightings of red-tailed hawk, turkey vulture, violet-green swallow, rock dove, American goldfinch, Canada goose, and cedar waxwing. No word on whether an Autumn Bird Walk will be planned — contact Ron Renchler if you would be keen to attend one.

Library Staff Association Seeks New Chairperson

Do you lust after POWER? Would you like to have LIVELY MEETINGS with FASCINATING PEOPLE? Do you have a VISION for what the Library Staff Association should be doing?

The Library Staff Association promotes communication and a spirit of cooperation and fellowship among all library employees, and offers opportunities for educational and skill development through programs and service on Staff Association committees.

LSA is seeking a new Chairperson. There is not a lot of work to the position, and most of it is done via email, but we do need a Chair who is organized and able to follow through on commitments in a timely fashion. The term of office is from August 2009 to July 2010. According to the LSA Constitution, the Chair "shall arrange for and preside at all general meetings of the Association and all meetings of the Executive Council. The Chairperson may call special meetings as needed." This includes "virtual" meetings.

The LSA Chair is a member of the Executive Council, along with chairs of committees such as Welcome, House and Program. The Council conducts LSA business, including approval of expenditure of funds and approval of the budget (prepared for Exec by the Ways and Means committee). The time commitment is not onerous. There is usually one face-to-face meeting in the late summer or fall. Executive Council members are required to pay the $6 yearly LSA dues.

See the LSA home page for more information about the Library Staff Association and links to the Constitution, Bylaws, LSA News, past events, and more.

If more than one person expresses interest in being Chair, we can have an election, possibly at the Gonzo! (No, this will not be like electing Mr. Zucchini: we will actually count each ballot and record the vote correctly.)

If only one person expresses interest in being Chair....congratulations!

Interested in finding out more or throwing your hat in the ring? Contact Lisa Sieracki at 6-1834 or sieracki@uoregon.edu

If you are interested in joining a committee, or in the vice chair position, please let Lisa know.

From the Fact File

How's the Weather?

Last month's heat wave sent many of us to our basements or the nearest body of water in search of relief. It made us appreciate the air conditioning in the Knight Library (those who work until 9 p.m. know how reluctant some of our patrons were to leave during that handful of 100-degree days). But this summer's weather situation was little more than a source of temporary discomfort for most of us, especially compared with the terrible effects of some phenomena in the chronicles of weather. This month, we're taking a look at some of the signal events in meteorological history, as well as some of the people whose fame is at least partially a result of weather events.

1. In 1846, a group of about 90 emigrants traveled westward in covered wagons toward California. Their captain decided to take a "shortcut," a route that ultimately added three weeks to their trek. Further difficulties hampered their progress even more, and they didn't arrive in the Sierra Nevada range until mid-October. A series of powerful storms halted their progress entirely, and after food supplies ran out, and as reported in the California Star the next year, "the bones of those who had died and been devoured by the miserable ones that still survived, were lying around their tents and cabins." Tell us the name of this unfortunate group of migrants.


2. About two centuries ago, one of the most ambitious military and political leaders of all time, having achieved domination of much of Europe, decided to launch an attack on another imperial power. As the defending country's forces continually retreated, the attacking army was forced to advance further than originally planned, finally reaching the imperial capital, which had essentially been abandoned and largely destroyed. The attackers were left with no place to shelter and no provisions. The country's brutal weather had already reduced the "Grand Army" considerably, but it was during the army's retreat that the severe winter conditions took their most devastating toll and turned the tide in the series of wars that had ravaged Europe for years. Give us the name of the attacking leader, and the country his forces had attempted to conquer.


3. Winter weather has sometimes actually aided an attacking army's ability to advance. In 1951, Chinese generals, faced with the knowledge that U.S. forces had destroyed the bridges across the Yalu River, repeated a tactic that Genghis Khan had used seven centuries earlier, and launched an invasion after the river had frozen. Tell us what country was being invaded.


4. In 1792, Robert B. Thomas began printing an annual reference book that included weather forecasts, tide tables and astronomical information for an entire year, peppered with gardening tips, recipes, household advice and anecdotes. Give us the name of this "old" work, one that has continued publication to the present day.


5. Meteorological events have sometimes fostered scientific discovery, including one by an American patriot and polymath, who wrote in a letter: "When the Rain has Wett the Kite & Twine, so that it can conduct the Electric Fire freely, you will find it stream out plentifully from the Key on the approach of your Knuckle. At this key the Phial may be Charged, and from Electric Fire thus obtained, Spirits may be kindled, and all the Other Electrical Experiments be performed…& thereby the Sameness of the Electric Matter with that of Lightning compleatly demonstrated." Tell us the name of this person.


6. The Dust Bowl, the period in which drought conditions combined with decades of degradation of the Great Plains soils led to devastating dust storms and the resultant environmental disaster, caused one of the most significant economic and social upheavals in American history. The human impact was aptly depicted in the paintings of Alexandre Hogue, in a 1939 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, and in many of the songs of an Oklahoma-born folksinger whose album "Dust Bowl Ballads" was recorded in 1940. Give us the title of the novel and the name of its author, and tell us the name of the singer.


7. Seventy years before Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane hit Florida, taking the lives of over 400 people in Florida. Many of those deaths occurred as a result of the derailment of a train that was washed off the track by surging water and pummeling winds. There is a monument to the victims of this catastrophe in Islamorada, Florida. Give us the popular name of this hurricane.


8. Speaking of wind, in 1805, an Irish-born admiral of the British navy developed a rating system for measuring wind speed. The 12-category scale, familiar to navigators for generations, includes terms such as calm, gale, and hurricane. Give us the name of the naval officer who devised this system.


9. Several years ago, a devastating summer heat wave hit much of Europe, leading to the death of more than 35,000 people. The situation in France was particularly grim, owing to the country's lack of preparedness the crises. The French typically enjoy warm, mild summers, and the fact that a weeklong string of 40 degree C highs occurred in August, when many of the country's physicians and government officials were on vacation, created conditions in which more than 14,000 died because of the heat. Tell is which year this occurred.


10. A few years later, Europe went through another heat wave, with Britain experiencing the warmest temperatures in nearly a century, which prompted some British newspapers to relate stories about that earlier heat wave. According to the a report in The Times, citizens during that pre-World War I heat wave relaxed standards of modesty a bit, as "skimpy bathing costumes, with sleeves ending at the elbow rather than the wrist made an appearance at seaside resorts," and "The Editor of the Pall Mall Gazette joined Lord Curzon for a game of tennis in the nude." Tell us which summer that earlier wave occurred — it's the same summer that George V was crowned and that British members of Parliament voted to receive salaries for the first time.

Staff and faculty of the UO Libraries are invited to submit their answers to Fact File by August 25. The reader whose submission contains highest number of correct answers will receive a gift certificate worth $10.00 toward purchases at the UO Bookstore, courtesy of the Library Staff Association. In the event of a tie, a single winner will be selected by lot.

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

Thursday, September 10, 2009: Get your act together now for the 2009 Gonzo Revue! Eagerly awaited by many, cited in glowing terms by President Obama as "an institution which has had an important place in our democracy, and still has a vital role to play in a changing society", the Gonzo will take place from 1-2 p.m. in the Knight Library Browsing Room. Attendees can anticipate refreshments along with entertainment, and as always that entertainment is provided by you, the talented UO Libraries faculty and staff. So please email Tiff Thornton (or phone her at 346-1937) to get your act scheduled. She needs a title, a list of participants, and a brief description. If you have general questions about the Gonzo, life, the universe, or anything, address your queries to Dave Baker, the general information contact for the Gonzo.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009: The LSA Holiday Sale will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Knight Library Browsing Room. Shoppers' checks will be held until after payday on November 30. The Sale features just about anything library staff and faculty care to make and bring in to sell. Food items large or small are always welcome! There is also a rummage table. No books, please, unless they are hand-crafted blank books or your own small press printings.

NON-LSA EVENTS

Friday, August 14, 2009: Zimbabwean mbira player Patience Chaitezvi performs at Cozmic Pizza (8th & Charnelton). Opening the show will be Shamwari Marimba Ensemble (of which Terry McQuilkin is a member). The show goes from 7:30 to 11:00 p.m., and admission is $5 to $10 sliding scale, at the door.

People in the Library

Hello:

Goodbye :