LISNews: Librarian News

With clocks being built into almost every digital gadget and machine, wristwatch sales have seen a decline in the past few years. But market analysts say the centuries-old time-telling tool is trying to make a comeback.

Wristwatch sales are actually on the rise this year, according to June Rhee, the fashion watch buyer for the Macy's department store chain.

"The overall watch business and the watch industry have been experiencing an unusual growth this year ... it's explosive, and people who've been in the industry for 20, 30 years have never seen numbers like this," Rhee says.

Rhee says the watch has become the "it" accessory of the year.

Full piece on NPR

Making Ignorance Chic

Op-ed in the NYT by Maureen Dowd

Casanova’s rule for seduction was to tell a beautiful woman she was intelligent and an intelligent woman she was beautiful.

The false choice between intellectualism and sexuality in women has persisted through the ages. There was no more poignant victim of it than Marilyn Monroe.

She was smart enough to become the most famous Dumb Blonde in history. Photographers loved to get her to pose in tight shorts, a silk robe or a swimsuit with a come-hither look and a weighty book — a history of Goya or James Joyce’s “Ulysses” or Heinrich Heine’s poems. A high-brow bunny picture, a variation on the sexy librarian trope. Men who were nervous about her erotic intensity could feel superior by making fun of her intellectually.

Full op-ed

Libraries and librarians are always dealing with some sort of crisis. I recently saw this and thought that other librarians might appreciate seeing it.

Wikipedia entry for Keep Calm and Carry on

Great variation on Keep Calm and Carry On

Another good variation