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This is one of my favorite pictures – maybe THE favorite – from the Civil War demonstration. The book is a family Bible dating to pre-CW.

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In Hyde Park there is this crazy little used book store, with the stacks of books piled so high and so haphazardly that I’m convinced someone is going to die in a bookvalanche some day. You feel utterly disoriented and displaced in this shop. I took this picture of one tower of unorganized books by setting my camera on the floor and aiming upward.

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I like Neil Gaiman. Currently reading American Gods…

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As a matter of fact, no!! I asked for Dewey Decimal, not alphabetical!

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I can’t very well NOT post this as today’s Daily JPG:

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See, I could have written something worth reading. Instead, I’ve just finished reading what may the best book I’ve read in a Very Long Time.

If you want to read something more substantial, I’ve got a suggestion. Click here. The password is my real first name. You’ll enjoy, I think.

And in the meantime, a hastily posted Daily JPG before I get some much-needed rest.

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This is a picture of one wall of the Baker Family Library. I’ve got my back to another wall (which is currently the “unsorted books” bookcase) and the rest of it is in my office on the other end of the house.

The shelves aren’t really leaning in from the wall, it’s just an odd visual effect from taking the picture from the side like that.

You can’t see a whole lot of detail if you enlarge, but there are some interesting little treats tucked away amongst our books.

In related news… I think I’m going to make it. The library is almost done. The kitchen is almost done. The bathroom is… done? The living room and dining room are done, with the exception of one box of mislaid nonsense that I need to stow somewhere. I don’t think I’m going to get the office presentable, and I’ve quite given up on the notion of having the bedroom door open, but at this point all I need to do is tidy the laundry room, and make sure the floors get mopped, and vacuum the library. Maybe shovel the walk if I get ambitious. And then tomorrow it’s bake the cake, cook the dinner, and we’re off to the races!

This feels good. I should clean more often. Or rather, I should keep the house clean better so that I don’t have to do this more often.

In Which This is Not a Good Post, But is an Update Nonetheless

Man, am I tired.

Lots of things soaking up my mental energy, none of which are the least bit interesting. I’m planning a company picnic for about 1,500 adults and 400 kids. That’s this Saturday. Maybe that’s a good excuse for exhaustion, but honestly, it’s one of the least of my brain-drains…

I sat down on the couch for a few minutes last night to nurse an icky stomach, turned the wrong way, and pulled a muscle in the left side of my back. That laid me up for the rest of the night, and I’m still having trouble moving around. Very unpleasant.

I’ve been spending most of my creative energy reading (like it’s goin’ outta STYLE, baby) and reviewing. I’ve got a couple of books I’ve been wanting to make, but just haven’t had time to dig into crafting. R and I are doing some heavy-duty housecleaning and whatnot lately, which obviously takes up a lot of time.

Looks like I’m getting my A’s for both summer courses! Hooray!

Oh, and if I haven’t already mentioned it on this blog… I got my placement to student teach. Whoo! It’s not a junior high, which kind of weirds me out, but I’m still excited.

Well, I’m too tired to think about complete sentences anymore, so I’m going to stop boring all two of my readers with this rambly bad post and go… uh… wish I could take a nap, I guess.

Anderson’s Grimoire – in 3D!

My Defense Against the Book Arts professor is in the process of building what may be the first 3D website in teh intrawebs. Yes, that’s 3D as in blue-and-red goggles and nasty headaches. He rigged up a 3D camera and took our pictures with our Donkey Man books so that they could be the first content on the site.

Yesterday I received the following press release:

TALE OF THE “DONKEY MAN” POPS OUT OF BOISE STATE BOOK ARTS CLASS*
WORKS WITH HELP OF 3-D GLASSES

Boise State University professor Tom Trusky is inviting the public to learn a little bit more about Pacific Northwest history and enjoy the works created by his book arts class – all in 3-D.

Visitors to Trusky*s Web site (English.boisestate.edu/ttrusky/index.htm) will be able to see the class project with the help of 3-D glasses, which can be obtained by calling (208) 426-4210 or by e-mailing Trusky. The students were asked to create a book that dealt with the story of the “Donkey Man,” J.
Fred Anderson, a photographer who worked in northern Idaho and eastern Washington at the turn of the 20th century.

Anderson found a suffering, abandoned donkey in Lewiston and nursed it back to health, later enlisting the donkey to carry his chemicals and other photography equipment. Anderson would travel from town to town,
often taking photos taking photos of children riding the donkey and wearing costumes, as well as portraits of American Indians in the region. He married a young woman that his family later referred to as
“The Child Bride,” according to Anderson*s son, Howard. The Child Bride ran off, and Anderson eventually married again and fathered Howard Anderson and a daughter. After being mistreated by his father, 17-year-old Howard ran away from his parents and Idaho, never to return.

The book arts class was tasked with using some part of the story in a creative way. Some of the creations deal with Anderson’s camera, or are told from the point of view of The Child Bride.

3-D enthusiasts have another opportunity to use their special glasses by visiting the Idaho Center for the Book*s Web site at http://www.lili.org/icb/. Trusky worked with Kathy Robinson at Boise State Printing and Graphics Services to turn his photos into 3-D creations.

“I only regret that the glasses are red and blue instead of blue and orange,” he said.

-30-

Contact: Tom Trusky, English, (208) 426-1999, ttrusky@boisestate.edu
Media Contact: Julie Hahn, University Communications, (208) 426-5540, juliehahn@boisestate.edu

In addition to 3D images of book artists in all their artisty splendor, the website includes the following description of Anderson’s Grimoire:

6 x 5 1/2″ (irregular; spine “wand” 12″)
“Corset-stitch” sewn
Numerous artifacts (photographs, feathers, broken spectacles, lavender, a key, a nail…)
24 pp.

From information about J. Frederick Anderson Kate Baker has created a “Grimoire,” a witty, twisted homage to fairytales by not only imagined-distant-relative Hans Christian Anderson but also those German brothers Grimm. Baker was told this tale, she tells us, by Howard Anderson, son of J. Frederick Anderson. She cleverly includes faux facts, artifacts and photographs with real Anderson facts and photos in a bursting, suede paper-covered book held almost-closed by a band of beaded jute. In Baker’s biblio witches brew, Anderson senior is a malevolent magician given to fits of pique. In one of them, he turns Howard’s mother into a pooch. Proof’s not in the pudding, but in the photo Baker inserts at this point in the narrative she’s typed (on an antique machine known as electric typewriter): we see JFA’s Victorian-style photograph of son Howard, his drowsy, unsuspecting Little Lord Fauntleroy head resting on the family dog. But Baker’s told us who that woof once was….

Book Dragon

They say that the trick to hooking into the blogging community (that is to say, building a readership – and that is important to me, whether that’s “right’” or not) is to have a focused blog. Journal blogs are generally only interesting to the blogger’s friends and family. Which is fantastic – that’s exactly why I set up this blog. But I get discouraged sometimes, that there’s no real indication of anyone reading this blog, so I decided to think about directing what I was writing.

I write a lot about books. I make books, I buy books, and I read books. A lot. And that’s not very interesting to read about, unless you happen to be a part of the avid bookblog community out there in El Blogosphero. So… I’ve decided to give that a shot.

(This isn’t a very coherent blog entry, and I’m blaming that on the late hour and the fact that I seem to be coming down with a cold. I’m sorry if I sound like a half-literate typewriter monkey.)

The point of this is, this blog isn’t going anywhere – this is my journal, my way to share what I’m thinking with my family and friends. But I am going to put all of my book-related stuff over here.

It’s not really “another blog” – this is stuff I was writing anyway – it’s just a special sub-blog for biblioposts. I’m hoping to write some good stuff and recommend some good books – not to mention sharing the books I create – so please stop by and check it out.