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| Pondering great ideas amidst life's clutter |
Because this is the start of a new year, I‘ve been trying
to think of some different things I could do on my blog post regarding
recycling. I try to alternate my posts
by writing one that is more informational and one that is more personal. Meaning (sadly) as I’ve been told, one that
“preaches” and one that “prattles”. Nevertheless,
I will push forward – ignoring detractors.
I do a lot of upcycling myself and I’ve always included pictures of those endeavors
- though not always laying claim to them as mine. I think I will try to
identify and expound upon more of those. I really enjoy turning something
others consider trash into something beautiful or useful. The downside to this
little fixation is the amount of clutter that accumulates between the time you
first get the BIG IDEA, until the time you actually finish the job. This is a
problem for me because I have more plans than I can complete, and so I sometimes
abandon my first mission in order to start another one! This accounts for the large number of UFO’s
[Un Finished Objects] that surround me.
Therefore, in line with this UPCYCLE mania that I have, I will also try to collect one
piece of “detritus” each day, photograph it, and then turn it all into
something wonderful. I will call this project
Reclaimed Flotsam and it will be fun!
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| My 1st piece of Flotsam |
The second thing I am going to do is try to *REUSE at least one old book for each letter of the
alphabet by author’s last name. By
“reuse” I mean *REREAD. You see, in the
library world, we try to keep new and crisp copies of books in the stacks. Occasionally, you will find older rebound books
on the shelves because they are:
B. Circulating, but awaiting disposal as soon a newer copy arrives.
C. Not circulating [maybe because they look old ?] and will soon be weeded out of the system.
I’m going to confess something unorthodox right here and now before my library co-workers: I SEARCH FOR AND CHECK OUT REBOUND BOOKS! Yes, I do. I try to screw up the circulation statistics whenever I can to save the life of a book - and I am not ashamed! I feel bad for books that nobody checks out! Just because the author is obscure, the publish date is old, the covers are a little bland, or there is a bit of dust upon the book’s head doesn’t mean that it is unworthy to be read! Why, some of the most enjoyable books I’ve found are these that I’ve stumbled across while scanning the stacks! I think of them as geodes among the so-called gems – otherwise known as “Current Best Sellers”.
A book on the Top Ten Sellers
list merely indicates quantity sold, it doesn’t indicate QUALITY. More people
watch “Honey Boo Boo” on TV than they do PBS’s “American Masters”. I rest my
case. I am going to call this rebellious
reading and reporting on these old books the Rebound
Report.
I am hoping that by this time
next year I will have recruited enough flotsam recyclers and rebound readers to
start a small army. Click to hear a Rebel Yell
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| A = Asimov's "The Robots of Dawn" |
In the words of Russell Brand
“Rebel children, I urge you, fight the turgid slick of
conformity
with which they seek to smother your glory.”
