feast day

Today is the feast day of St. Jerome, according to a post made by the Congregational Library facebook page and then corroborated by Wikipedia.

You may well be wondering why I bring this up, since I'm definitely not Catholic. Well, Jerome is the man who translated the Bible into Latin, creating the Vulgate, which was used until the Reformation, when Martin Luther went back to the original texts, inspiring a surge in popular language translations.

More to the point, Jerome is also the patron saint of archeologists, archivists, Bible scholars, librarians, libraries, schoolchildren, students and translators. In essence, Jerome is the patron saint of everyone I know--the patron saint of nerds.

So today we celebrate nerdiness. Rock on, Jerome, rock on.

-Kim

enjoy the small things

I love living in Boston. I have had the opportunity to do the most amazing things in the past year, simply by virtue of residing in this great city. Yesterday, that meant getting a great new haircut for only $5 from the beauty school downtown. Tonight, that meant getting a free pass to an advance screening of the new zombie comedy "Zombieland."

This afternoon I was at an event called CollegeFest with Christina and Adrienne collecting free stuff from random vendors. One of the booths had posters for the movie, and a giand cardboard clown head. We threw a ball through the clown's mouth, and the prize was a free pass to the advance screening tonight at the downtown movie theater. Needless to say, we were pretty stoked.

In the end, five of us went to the show. We were a bit concerned about getting in, since these events almost always have more passes than seats in order to ensure a full house, but we were early enough to not have any problem getting in, though we did grab the last five seats together in the whole place, other than the very front rows.

Even just being there was quite the experience. Most of the people in the crowd had come in zombie makeup, some with very extravagant costumes as well. And two rows behind us, there was a zombie band, playing their ukulele and melodica to entertain us all as we waited.

I'd just like to say here that when Bostonians do something, they never do it by half measures. These people go all-out for every occasion. And apparently the zombie sub-culture across the nation is the same way. The crowd had a few more regular folks like us than it might have because of the passes being given out at CollegeFest, but they were still a rowdy force to be reckoned with. I've never seen so much fake blood in one place before. Granted, I've never been to a zombie walk, so that's probably why.

And the coolest part of the night? After the movie two of the stars, Woody Harelson and Jesse Eisenberg came out to do a Q&A! So very cool. Best question: what would you do if there was a real zombie apocalypse? "Make a sequel."

As for the movie itself, it was pretty entertaining. It earned the "R" rating for language and the most realistic and disgusting gore I've seen in a zombie flick. So don't see it if you don't like zombie movies or have trouble seeing gore. Although, the worst visuals are right at the beginning, and then it focuses on the actual story. Yes, this is a zombie flick with some semblance of plot. If you liked "Shaun of the Dead" and don't have a weak stomach, you'll probably like "Zombieland." Do see it if you enjoy dark comedy. There's also a lot of lighter comedy, and one phenomenal cameo that I absolutely will not give away. Some moments were even heartwarming. I loved Jesse Eisenberg as the narrator, and the animated text visuals of his zombie survival rules. Also, whoever thought of putting zombies and amusement parks together is an absolute genius.

If I say any more I stand the risk of ruining the experience for any of my readers who want to see "Zombieland" when it comes out next weekend. So I'll end this post with just one more thought: I love living in a place where this sort of event happens all the time, and every so often even happens to me.

-Kim

Happy birthday Frodo and Bilbo Baggins!

walking around in a newspaper dress

It may come as a surprise to some of my readers that I enjoy the show Project Runway. I haven't seen every episode this season, but I watched last night and was intrigued by their challenge: to make a garment out of newspaper.

Having been in preservation class discussing the strength and preservation issues of different types of paper only hours before, I had a strange thought. Instead of wondering how they were going to make clothes that looked attractive out of newsprint, I wondered how they were going to preserve the pieces after the show.

I think we've all made newspaper hats as children, so the concept of wearing paper is not completely foreign, but it's not a concept that I've ever associated with high fashion. The problem to me was not the concept of paper, but the type of paper being used. Newsprint is the worst quality of paper made, in terms of durability and by far the hardest to preserve. Now, if the designers had been given sheets of handmade Japanese kozu paper, I would believe that the finished products could truly be wearable. The paper is flexible and strong, and even has a soft feel, like fabric. But newsprint was designed to only last a day.

My doubts about the flexibility of the paper were allayed as the designers managed to create pieces that the models were able to strut in down the runway, but that's just one wearing. And none of them could sit down. In the Models of the Runway show afterward we were shown just how difficult it was for them to get into the dresses. And while they usually wear the runway clothes while they wait for the results, this time they all changed out as soon as possible so they could finally sit down and rest.

So even though the clothes looked impressive (for the most part), in the end they are just art pieces, and not durable fashion. They could easily have been ruined just by the stress of being worn. And I won't even bore you with the preservation issues involved in maintaining poor quality paper that's been through that much stress.

What would it be like to wear a paper dress? To spend so much time putting together a piece so fragile, knowing that it will only last through one wearing at best. If we're not afraid of a heavy-handed metaphor, it sounds like life. We can put our effort into the fashions of the day, striving to build a life out of things not meant to last, like money, fame, or ambition. But when things get tough and the rain falls down what we've built doesn't hold up. Far better, then, to put our efforts into gaining a permanent garment through faith, love and service, storing up treasures where moth and rust do not destroy. Now that is an archivist's dream.

Fashions change, God doesn't. And love is always in style.

-Kim

The actual designs from last night's show can be seen here.

(Image from http://gracelromero.tumblr.com/)

Semester Project

So, when the JFK Presidential Library turned me down for a student position in the Hemingway Archives, I was initially pretty bummed. But I consoled myself with the thought that my required LIS440 internship this semester would just have to be somewhere impressive so I could beef up my resume. But that didn't happen either. As it turns out, there was a project waiting for me that I never would have expected. And just as I had to be rejected by Harvard to spend the summer doing historical ministry at Park Street Church, I had to be turned down by JFK before I could get my dream project.

I'm actually going to be back at the Congregational Library, where I had my first experience doing real archival arrangement and description during my internship last fall. This time the project is quite a bit bigger. Of all the 440 internships available this semester, it is by far the most exciting. Check out the official description:

The intern will assist in researching, developing, and creating exhibits documenting the history of The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (A.B.C.F.M.). The American Board was the first American Protestant foreign missionary society and will be celebrating its two-hundredth anniversary in 2010. The intern will be responsible for selecting materials, creating labels, installing exhibits, creating publicity materials, and scanning materials for on-line exhibit use on the web site. The intern may write for the blog or the e-newsletter and may lead a discussion on the exhibits at a Brown Bag lunch event.

How cool is that?

As soon as I read the description I contacted my previous supervisor to ask about the project, and the short version of the story is that they are glad to have me back. I'll be starting my research on Monday.

In my research to be a PSC tour guide I read a bit about the ABCFM, as Park Street was one of the churches involved in commissioning the first group of missionaries the group sent out, including Adoniram Judson. Yes, that Judson. The man the best Christian summer camp in the world, where I spent the best weeks of my summers growing up, is named after.

So my job will be to put together both online and physical exhibits that showcase the various missions the ABCFM has supported through the years, beginning with Judson and moving forward through the present. I think that actually sounds far more interesting than sorting through Hemingway's old receipts.

On the practical side of things, this project actually will look amazing on my resume in spite of being at a smaller institution. My project will have a real finished product to show, and is completely different from what I did last year.

And I feel that this is the sort of work I am supposed to be doing. The more time I spend in the archives/library world, the more I think I want to work for a religious institution. It's always been in the back of my mind as a sort of "oh, it would be nice to work for a Christian school/organization someday." But now the thought has made its way to the front of my mind. I still don't know where I'll be going after I graduate next May (side note: I already had to turn in my petition to graduate; it feels far too soon to be doing that! Didn't I just get here?), but the opportunities I have been led to so far definitely have a religious trend. It just makes me wonder what opportunity God will open up for me next.

-Kim