Archives for October 2012

It’s that time of year again. The leaves are changing, the wind is howling, and people are dressing up. Yes, Halloween is here, but that’s not what I’m talking about. However, while we are on the subject, are you dressing up for Halloween this year? I did. I bet you can’t guess what my costume is. (Spoiler: I’m a younger librarian).

Back to the original subject of this blog: dressing up. And not for Halloween, but for a more formal event. The President’s Ball is this weekend, and this special event calls for some special attire. While you will not be shunned from the door if you arrive in your cleanest jeans and lesser-distressed Vans, it is expected of you to spruce yourself up a bit from your usual schlepping-to-class attire. It’s a perfect occasion and excuse to go shopping for a new dress or a new button down. So, what are you going to wear? Let’s discuss some options.

Gentlemen: If you have a suit, wear it. Ladies love a man in a suit (especially if you have a vest that matches that jacket). Extra credit will be given to those who consider paying tribute to the host of the ball (Roanoke College President Mike Maxey) by wearing a bow tie to the event.

If you do not have a suit, then at least wear some nice pants (not jeans) and a button down shirt. If you do not have these things, then there are a few options. There is Valley View Mall in Roanoke, which has stores like Belk and Macy’s, which would surely have some nice things to wear. For the fellas on a budget, there’s TJMaxx at Tanglewood and Goodwill in Salem. For those of you who might scoff at finding semi-formal wear at Goodwill, you should visit the place before you judge. There are some excellent items there, but you might have to dig for them.

If none of these options work, then ask a buddy if you can borrow his suit. It will be worth it, especially if the buddy is not going to the Ball. This means there will be more lovely ladies for you to take out on the dance floor.

Also, be sure to wear shoes with toes.

Ladies: Do you have a nice dress that’s been sitting in the back of your closet and you haven’t had a nice event to wear it to? Wait no more. This is the place to wear that dress you bought a year ago and your friend said it was too dressy for college. This is the event to go all out for. Get your hair done. Get your nails done. Go big.

If you’re struggling for where to find a dress, then see the above locations listed for the guys (Valley View Mall and TJMaxx are great places for women’s dresses). There are also local places that have some unique clothes if you’re looking for that stand-out dress. The shop La De Da in Roanoke and the shop Because Girls will be Girls in Salem both offer unique clothing for women. The Girls will be Girls shop in Salem also offers some vintage clothing in their consignment shop, which is always a creative choice.

And if you’re not up for leaving the comfort of your computers, you can always shop online. This librarian’s favorite clothing store, Anthropologie, has overnight shipping so you can get your dress in time for the Ball.

We will see all of you at the President’s Ball this weekend. Good luck, be safe, and have fun.

The Roanoke College Book Club will be meeting this Sunday at Fintel Library to discuss the book Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. They will be on the ground floor in Library Room 1 at 4:00-5:00pm.

The time is upon us.

Dude, Whoa, when’s it due?

The end of the semester is nigh.

OMG!…Like I have like so like many like papers and like projects to like do!

However you want to say it, midterm marks the start of the busy season. Papers and projects that seemed so abstract, and deadlines that seemed so far into the future now loom on the horizon like Viking raiders.

Don’t Panic!

And whatever you do, make sure to save your work when you are working in a campus computer lab. Make sure to save it in the right place as well. The right place to save your work is…well actually, there are two places:

1. Your Z: drive. The Information Technology department goes to considerable lengths in both effort and money to maintain a reliable system of personal network drive space for students, faculty, and staff. The data there is backed-up often and is recoverable should something tragic happen, like an earthquake, or a zombie apocalypse. You have to PAY ATTENTION to where you are saving that paper you have been working on for the past umpteen hours, make sure it gets onto your Z: drive.
2. Your personal USB flash drive, or thumb drive, or whatever you want to call it.  These devices are inexpensive, effective, and come in many fashionable colors. Having the added security of a second copy of your work is a good thing. The only downside of USB flash drives is that, because they are so small and work so transparently, they are easy to forget. Every year, thousands of thumb drives are abandoned by their owners in USB ports all over the country. Please help bring this tragic neglect to an end. Remember to take your Flash drive with you when you leave.

The C: drive is not your friend.

Speaking of tragedy, every year some students will experience the heartbreak of losing a paper or project (forever and for real) because he or she inadvertently saved work to the C: drive of the lab PC he or she was working on. This loss is often accompanied by actual tears, sometimes some foul language, and always a bit of genuine panic because the lost work is due in a very short time.

When the lab computer restarts, which it will do on its own if left alone for 90 minutes, by the way, all changes (this includes papers) are wiped out instantly, completely, and permanently. They are not recoverable; they are gone, gone, gone forever and anon.

The reason the security software is so, shall we say vigorous and mean in its cleansing is so that any malware, keystroke loggers, viruses, worms, or other creepy-crawlies are exterminated before the next user comes along.

Save early, save often, and save to the right place.

It’s National Banned Books Week, and to celebrate the event we wanted to catch an RC student reading a banned book.

RC student Dan Zimmerman (’13) is holding one of the most controversial items published in the twentieth century: Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer.

Henry Valentine Miller, an American writer and painter, had moved to Paris in 1930 and remained there until 1940 when he returned to the United States. Miller wrote Tropic of Cancer between 1930 and 1934, and its content was largely autobiographical. When asked why he chose the title, Miller replied, “It was because to me cancer symbolizes the disease of civilization, the endpoint of the wrong path, the necessity to change course radically, to start completely over from scratch.” The book was first published in 1934 in Paris, France. Immediately following its publication in France the United States banned it due to obscenity, and would not consider publishing it for another 30 years. The United States eventually allowed the publication of Tropic of Cancer in 1961, but it continued to be at the center of court trials until the Supreme Court ruled it non-obscene in 1964. Tropic of Cancer is listed as one of the top 100 banned or challenged books in the United States, and it is still considered banned in the country of Turkey.

Is one of your favorite books on the list? Celebrate the freedom to read by checking out a banned book today!