Miskatonic University Press | Miskatonic University Press Miskatonic University Press About Sweet Treat 27 January 2021 archie libraries In “Sweet Treat!” we see Betty’s committed involvement at the Riverdale Public Library. It starts with two friendly librarians (an older white woman with glasses (and brown hair, not grey) and a youngish Black woman) admiring Betty’s volunteer work helping with the library’s programs for teens. Librarians admire Betty's library volunteer work (You’ll notice this looks different from usual. It has a “new look,” but I don’t know if it’s the new look.) Betty’s helped Archie with math. He’s grateful and wants to take her to Pop’s and a movie, but has no money. Betty tells him about one of the programs she’s helped start at the library: a free movie day for teens, with free popcorn and ice cream! But she can’t watch with him because she has to train some new teen volunteers (one of whom is Nancy). Cover of Betty 190 Back at the library, the older librarian thanks Betty for all the work she’s done—the librarian is happy with all the teens coming in. But while Betty’s working, Archie and Veronica are having a cuddle and enjoying the free snacks, so once again Betty loses out. Betty’s library work even made the cover of Betty 190. This is a great story about engaging teens at the library. The librarians found an excellent volunteer in Betty, they encouraged her ideas and then helped implement them, and the results are very successful. Everyone’s happy and everyone benefits. “Sweet Treat!” first appeared in Betty 190 (April 2011) but I read it in Betty and Veronica (Jumbo Comics) Double Digest 260 (March 2018). It was written by George Gladir, pencilled by Tim and Pat Kennedy, inked by Mike DeCarlo, coloured by Digikore Studios and lettered by Jack Morelli. It is copyright Archie Comic Publications. Jackpot 27 January 2021 covid19 literature Here’s a telling sign of how bad things are: this exchange between William Gibson and Wendell Pierce on Twitter. Screencap from Twitter Pierce: “With the new variants of Coronavirus, the slow production of the vaccine, the millions that will refuse to take it, the millions who ignore the slightest health preventions, [and] the steady death march of this disease, [are] we in an extinction event? Has anyone considered this?” Gibson: “Potentially, but it’s going to be multi-causal, and far more incremental than we culturally have imagined any apocalypse to be. In a sense, we caused this pandemic to happen, but very gradually.” Gibson’s describing the “Jackpot,” which is the background for his excellent recent novels Peripheral (2014) and Agency (2020). From an interview in the New Statesman last year: [I]t might be worrying to learn that Gibson’s latest novel, Agency, is largely a credible account of a coming apocalypse. His characters call it “the Jackpot.” “It’s multi-causal, and it’s of extremely long duration,” he explains. Over many decades, climate change, pollution, drug-resistant diseases and other factors – “I’ve never really had the heart to make up a full list, else I’ll depress myself” – deplete the human race by 80 per cent. The Jackpot is the mundane cataclysm of modernity itself. It is hundreds of millions of people driving to the supermarket in their SUVs, flying six times a year, and eating medicated animals for dinner. “If the Jackpot is going to happen,” Gibson says, “it’s already happening. It’s been happening for at least 100 years.” Miriam Lahrsow's data set of self-annotated literary works 26 January 2021 footnotes literature Here’s an amazing data set: Miriam Lahrsow’s Self-Annotated Literary Works 1300-1900: An Extensive Collection of Titles and Selected Metadata. The Introduction to the Collection (PDF) explains what it is and why she made it: This collection was created in the context of my PhD thesis titled The Author as Annotator: Ambiguities of Self-Annotation in Pope and Byron (Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, 2021, GRK 1808 “Ambiguität”, DFG- Projektnummer: 198647426). It lists more than 1100 literary works published between 1300 and 1900 that feature self-annotations, i.e. marginal notes, footnotes, or endnotes written by the author of the work. Self- annotations here only refer to notes that were published in a work, not private, handwritten comments in the author’s own copy. The aim of this collection is threefold. First of all, it shows the prevalence and variety of literary self-annotation before 1900. While authorial notes in post-1900 literature have received a considerable amount of critical attention, the number and ‘experimentality’ of earlier self-annotations is often underestimated among literary scholars. The present collection strives to correct this view. Secondly, the collection reveals general tendencies in the field of literary self-annotation, providing tentative answers to questions like ‘when did it become popular to use both footnotes and endnotes in the same work?’. Thirdly and most importantly, this collection is meant to provide an incentive and starting point for further research by laying the (albeit yet insufficient) groundwork for quantitative research, by including a multitude of now-forgotten works, and by citing relevant secondary literature on as many titles as possible. It’s mostly focused on English poetry from 1700–1830, but there’s a lot else in it. She generously cites my Fictional Footnotes and Indices page, which as she notes is mostly post-1900 work, and also Bernhard Metz and Sabine Zubarik’s Noten, Anmerkungen, Kommentare in literarischen Texten, which was new to me. The data is available in XML (and as an Access database, if you run Windows) and human-readable as PDF or HTML. Obviously it took a huge amount of work to assemble this, and it’s delightful that it’s now available online. This is just the kind of digital humanities I like to see. Lahrsow has done marvellous work! Book Returns 26 January 2021 archie libraries Last summer someone gave me a beat-up copy of World of Archie (Comics) Double Digest 45 (January 2015) that has an Archie story that happens completely inside a library! It’s the mother lode! There are five librarians in it! The story is “Book Returns,” originally from Archie 480 (February 1999). It starts with the gang sitting at a table at the Riverdale Public Library … and a middle-aged male librarian is saying, “SHHHHHHHH!” He says it’s the third time he’s told them to be quiet. The gang are upset. Very bad librarian stalking off angrily That librarian is terrible. This is a dreadful way to deal with high school students who are talking a bit too loud. Look at what Reggie’s saying: “It’s obvious that we’re not welcome here, people.” Driving a student away from a library should never happen. However (this being an Archie story) the gang are cheerful and positive, and they begin to reminisce about things that happened at the library when they were kids. They’re all mishaps: Jughead let a bunch of dried leaves fly around, Betty was on roller skates and knocked over a librarian, and Reggie accidentally set off a smoke bomb instead of a stink bomb. It’s during these stories that we see three of the other librarians; the fifth is a smiling middle-aged black woman (with eyeglasses) who’s shelving some books. Why do the gang keep coming back? Because of the books, Archie says, naming Treasure Island, Black Beauty and The Cat in the Hat. “Our best memories of the library are the great books we used to read! That’s why we used to come here … and that’s why we keep coming back!” While they’re standing around talking about how much they love the library (Jughead even says, “I like reading almost as much as eating!”) the librarian comes over to tell them again to be quiet. The gang march out shouting “Reading rules!” The librarian’s angry gesticulations knock some books off a shelf. All librarians should read this story. The attitude of the teenagers is wonderful, and the response of this male librarian is a lesson in how not to behave. “Book Returns” was written by George Gladir, pencilled by Stan Goldberg, inked by Mike Esposito, coloured by Barry Grossman and lettered by Bill Yoshida. It is copyright Archie Comic Publications. YFile interview 26 January 2021 covid19 field.recordings I was interviewed last summer by YFile, York University’s news site, and the piece went up last week: Librarian and sound artist captures the unnerving silences of COVID-19. Megan Mueller asked good questions and I really enjoyed talking with her. I’m grateful for the interest shown in these recordings, and I hope it leads people on to Aporee’s Soundscapes in the Pandemic project and related work. When I made them last spring and summer I thought when I revisited the sites a year later things would more or less be back to normal. They won’t. I hope they will be when I go back again, fate willing, in 2022. Veronica does some research 26 January 2021 archie libraries “Just a Lonely Little Girl” is a story about Veronica staying in touch with all her friends by phone during the day. As part of her day she goes to the Riverdale public library to do some research and she borrows three thick books. Veronica at the circ desk The librarian is a smiling, attractive middle-aged white woman with glasses. Veronica has been talking on her phone while in the library, but if she was speaking quietly and wasn’t in a silent study space then the librarian wouldn’t mind. “Just a Lonely Little Girl” was written by Greg Crosby, pencilled by Dan Parent, inked by Jim Amash, coloured by Barry Grossman and lettered by Vickie Williams. It first appeared in Veronica 156 (January 2005) but I read it in Betty and Veronica (Jumbo Comics) Double Digest 277 (November 2019). It is copyright Archie Comic Publications. Fundraising for new library wing 22 January 2021 archie libraries In “Computer Recruiter” Archie and the gang are raising money for a new wing for the library. Archie asks Jughead to come help them at the car wash they’re doing (which wouldn’t raise much money, but is a good strategy because it shows support and involvement from Riverdale teens), but Jughead is too busy writing a computer program (on what seems to be a minicomputer). Next we learn Mr. Lodge is having trouble writing a program to manage his investments, and Archie suggests Jughead could do it. Panel showing proposed new wing Archie (of course) mixes up the floppy disks and gives Mr. Lodge the basketball program and Coach Clayton the finance program. Both are initially confused by the terminology in the advice they’re given, but translate it, follow it and are successful. Mr. Lodge is so delighted he says he’ll pay for the new library wing. It’s not specified, but this must be for the public library—the school library wouldn’t get a new wing. People all say “the library” so it seems in this story there is only one library building in Riverdale. “Computer Recruiter” first appeared in Jughead 334 (June 1984), but I read it in World of Archie (Jumbo Comics) Double Digest 94 (January 2020). It was written by George Gladir and drawn and lettered by Samm Schwartz (who did the best Jugheads). It is copyright Archie Comic Publications. Library and librarian at Greendale High 21 January 2021 archie libraries Here’s a view of the library at Greendale High, where Sabrina Spellman goes to school. Greendale is near Riverdale, and their high school libraries look much the same. Sabrina talking to her boyfriend Harvey Kinkle, who isn’t the brightest. Panel showing the library Mean Ms. Dewey She casts a spell to make him smart—but speaks too loudly and is shushed by the librarian, Ms. Dewey! (This is not the Miss Dewey that works at the Riverdale Public Library.) Harvey quickly becomes so arrogant everyone hates him, and eventually the spell is reversed. “No Pain, No Brain” was written by Bill Golliher, pencilled by Dan DeCarlo, lettered by Jimmy DeCarlo, coloured by Bill Grossman and inked by Bill Yoshida. It first appeared in Sabrina the Teenage Witch 10 (February 1998), but I read it in Betty and Veronica (Jumbo Comics) Double Digest 280 (March 2020). It is copyright Archie Comic Publications. Terry Pratchett biography 21 January 2021 literature terry.pratchett As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been rereading all of the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett (except for a few at the start, which I don’t think bear it). And as I also mentioned, I’ve been listening to Desert Island Discworld. I’ve now listened to all the episodes, even for books I didn’t really like the first time. Book cover Thanks to the podcast (see episode 4.03) I found out about The Magic of Terry Pratchett: A Biography by Marc Burrows, which came out last year. Burrows has done excellent work here. Pratchett was outgoing and friendly to fans, and was active in Usenet and at conventions and such, but nevertheless was a fairly private fellow. When he did talk about his personal life, he often recycled anecdotes, which got polished over time until they were sometimes more entertaining than the actual truth of the story. Burrows digs into Pratchett’s full history, including childhood and early years at newspapers, and puts together a thorough picture of his life. One thing that really comes through is how hard Pratchett worked. He put in long hours when he was a newspaper reporter and editor, and then in PR at an electrical utility where he started writing Discworld books in the evenings. They quickly became so successful he could write full time, and then his bibliography explodes. There were years he put out five books. When he got Alzheimer’s his productivity eventually slowed, but he also began public activity about Alzheimer’s and then assisted suicide. He’s another of those admirable people who don’t give up. Apparently there will be an authorized biography that will use Pratchett’s personal papers, which will be well worth reading. Burrows is always on the outside, without access to anything private and no help from his daughter (or wife, who is barely mentioned). Nevertheless, it is a complete biography, insightful and well-written (except for the footnotes, which are overused) and will be of interest to any Pratchett readers and Discworld fans. After reading it my next Discworld book was Thud!, which was a disappointment. The recent books have been excellent, especially Night Watch and the introduction of Tiffany Aching and Moist von Lipwig, but this had a bunch of wrong notes in it. The whole idea of the Summoning Dark taking over Vimes just isn’t right, the jokes in the scene where Angua (a werewolf) and Sally (a vampire) are naked (after transforming back from being a wolf and about 150 bats respectively) are embarrassing, and the way Vimes rails against the use of magic but then gets the wizards to help him get to Koom Valley quickly is part of a confused ending. From now on Pratchett was working with the embuggerance, as he called his Alzheimer’s, and knowing more about that now that I’ve read the biography, that will influence my rereading. More Nero Wolfe 18 January 2021 literature rex.stout A couple of weeks ago, before the new confused lockdown guidelines were announced for Ontario, I went down to Sellers and Newel to pick up some more Nero Wolfe mysteries that Peter Sellers had rustled up. Nero Wolfe book covers Too Many Women (1947) Three Men Out (1954, three novellas from 1952 and 1953) Might As Well Be Dead (1956) The Mother Hunt (1963) Trio for Blunt Instruments (1964, three novellas from 1961, 1963 and 1964) The Doorbell Rang (1965) The Doorbell Rang is the one where Wolfe takes on the FBI. I’ve read them all before, but those were library copies. They’re all great, I’m going to want to reread them multiple times, and I want them in my permament collection. List of all blog posts William Denton Toronto, Ontario "Legendo autem et scribendo vitam procudito." — Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) Search Contents List of all blog posts Blog posts grouped by tags Burton and Gordon Fictional Dentons Fictional Footnotes Hardboiled and Noir Library Science Publications and Talks RARA-AVIS Old Stuff Projects Conforguration: configure things (servers and dotfiles) in Org. GHG.EARTH: a sonification of climate change. Listening to Art: field recordings of visual art. STAPLR: Sounds in Time Actively Performing Library Reference. Theatre Science. France Audio Montage on framework radio: episodes #691 and #693. See also Kady MacDonald Denton, children's book author and illustrator The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto Atmospheric CO₂ March 1958: 314.43 ppm December 2020: 414.75 ppm Increase: 100.32 ppm Change: 31.9 % At Mauna Loa: data, code. Privacy Zero logging: As of 23 June 2020, no tracking is done on this web site and no logs are kept. I know absolutely nothing about how the site is used. © William Denton 1993–2020. CC-BY: Content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.