Ch-ch-ch-changes!

This is the blog formally known as Cocuyo. I changed the title because there was some confusion between it and my other blog, The Incredible Cocuyo. Hopefully, this will keep them distinct for readers.

I Am Officially a Librarian!

Pic by Ian Simmons

I just finished my Masters in Library and Information Science. (Didn’t know you needed a Masters to be a Library Scientist, huh? I didn’t either when I started! Imagine the horror when I learned my hard-earned Bachelors wasn’t good enough!!!) I will say that despite all my crying and complaining these two years have flown by and now I am done. MUAHAHAH!

In another cruel twist of fate, I am the Children’s and Young Adult Librarian at the JFK Library. This is only ironic if you’re privy to the fact that I grew up coming to this library. I used to steal (um, borrow and then forget to return) the comics, I used to skate in the parking lot and front steps to the detriment of older patrons who were afraid a stray skateboard would crush their weak ankles, I used to play games for hours on the computers and argue with the staff, and most importantly I supplemented my crappy Dade County Public School education at JFK.

And now, I am forced to track down and replace conveniently forgotten comics (called manga now) with an ever-shrinking budget. I have to shoo away the rowdy skaters and threaten them with the police, while secretly admiring their awesome Kick-flips or Ollies. I have to tell the geeky kid, ready for a day of gaming, that PC Reservation won’t allow him to use the computer because he owes $5.20 (for that manga he’s yet to return.)

Of course, I turn a blind eye a lot of the time because these little bastards are inadvertently learning something while they hang out at the library (Lord knows I did!) and you never know which one will be the next Library Scientist.

Hialeah Library free of the Evil Eye!

I got in to work today at the JFK Library in Hialeah only to discover a bunch of bananas tied in a red ribbon near the entrance. Someone left "un trabajito" on our stoop! Everyone was freaking out about it since they don't really know what it means and who ever left it is keeping mum on the subject. I thought it was actually kinda cool (enough to blog about it) so I did what any self-respecting librarian would do... I Googled it!

It seems this is an Ebo of the Santeria religion to remove the harsh effects of the dreaded Evil Eye from a specified area. The bananas absorb the bad juju while they rot. So you see, there's nothing to worry about. It was actually a beneficial trabajito or Ebo, as the case may be.

I think it's safe to say there aren't many other libraries in the United States that get ritualistically cleansed of the Evil Eye. To put this into perspective Hialeah has the largest population of Santeros in the U.S. and this sort of thing is quite common.

Yoga

Last night I started going to yoga class. An hour into it time lost all meaning. I can’t say for sure if it was the swirling incense, the faux-Indian music, or my blurring vision, but as I held myself in some inhuman position, sweat generously running down my nose, chin, and earlobes, my body shaking like a cold Chihuahua... I came to an ultimate truth: I am soft in the middle.

Now this isn’t a spiritual truth, although I’m sure it wouldn’t be too far off the mark, this is harsh, material truth. For all my running and working out my abs and lower back are so soft and weak that even Lord Ganesh himself had to laugh.

I think I’ll stick with yoga, if only to strengthen my core… And you never know if that strength will eventually translate to another plane.

Up, Up, and Away!

"You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior. But every day I hear people calling out for one." - Superman

I've been holding back on posting political stuff on here since this blog is mostly reserved for general geekery, but I have to admit, I totally geeked out when Barack Obama finally won the presidential nomination. I'm not the sentimental type, but I got goosebumps. The U.S. has come a long way in the last 40 years and this is actual, tangible proof that we live in a better world.

Now on to save the day from the rich, white guy in the expensive suit.

Lots of Space: Both Real and Fictional

Wow, I can't believe I let the month of May go by without posting. Is it me or does time seem to be speeding up? I have been very busy lately, first with my Spring semester finals and then with starting my hectic and final Summer semester, so I’m sure it’s not due to some temporal anomaly of some sort. On to the post:

Despite my crazy schedule, I still find time to read regularly. I’ve been making my way through Alastair Reynolds’ Revelation Space series. So far, I’ve read the novels: Revelation Space, Chasm City, and Redemption Ark and I’m currently reading the novel Absolution Gap and the anthology of short stories, Galactic North. The series is great. Lots of big, insane ideas with realistic characterization. If you like hard science fiction mixed with a healthy dose of space opera, you'll love these books.

On the “real” space news front, lots of interesting things are happening. First, the Phoenix Lander arrived on Mars and almost immediately found ice, which is no big deal on Earth, but is huge for the potential past and present life on Mars, not to mention future life (i.e. us). Analysis of the soil and ice should begin next week.

Also, astronomers have discovered 45 Super-Earths around other stars. These are rocky planets that are slightly bigger than Earth as opposed to the gas giants they’ve been finding. This means that planet finding techniques are becoming more refined and it’s only a matter of time before we find an Earth-like planet. So far the smallest planet found is MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb, which is 3 times the mass of Earth. The article tantalizingly hints that the planet might be covered in an ocean, but doesn’t really go into detail. Bastards!

I figured out who the final Cylon is!

I think I’ve figured out who the final Cylon is on the show Battlestar Galactica. This isn’t strictly a spoiler because this is simply my speculation but just in case I’d stop reading here if you don’t even want to speculate.

If you look at this sketch of the final five you’ll notice that it seems like they are 3 males and 2 females. So the last Cylon to be revealed is probably a woman.

The show runners have said that the mystery Cylon isn’t in the above picture. The individual would probably go in the gap between Tigh and Lee Adama. Instead there is a chalice. If you’ve read or seen the Da Vinci Code you know that a chalice is a feminine symbol so right off the bat I’m thinking the Cylon is clearly a woman. Also, I think it’s telling that Lee is by himself when Kara is with her Cylon husband, Anders, on the other side of the table. Where is Dualla?

Think about it. All the major players in human affairs is coupled with a Cylon: Adama has Tigh, Roslin has Tory, Starbuck has Anders, Baltar has Six. (Okay… I' not sure how the Chief applies, but maybe he’s like Boomer in that he was sent to breed.) Why doesn’t Lee, who has been a heavy hitter from the start, have a companion Cylon? Maybe he does.

If you look at Anastasia Dualla’s bio page on the Battlestar Galactica Wiki you’ll read that the name Dualla is linguistically related to the word Duality, something composed of two things (such as a humanoid Cylon). Also the name Anastasia is Greek for “Resurrection”. This wouldn’t be the first case of a Cylon infiltrator using a variant of the word resurrection as an alias. The Six in the Pegasus, Gina Inviere, notes that "inviere" is the Old Gemenese word for "resurrection". There are other linguistic clues thoughout the series, such as the Cylon (Lucy Lawless) that was looking for the final five was called D'Ana and the ship that was captured during the first Cylon War (whose crew was used to create the humanoid Cylons) was called the Diana... (Dee Ana)stasia!

This could all be a massive red herring, but why go to all the trouble of laying these subtle clues just to misdirect viewers?