SHOP CLASS AS SOULCRAFT

Two books about work were recently featured in Newsweek, Shop Class as Soulcraft, and The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work. "Shop Class..." by Matthew Crawford focuses on the value of hands-on physical work. He says that the fastest growing demographic group at Community Colleges are people with 4-year college degrees who are going back to get a marketable vocational degree. He promotes the job satisfaction that is attained by having a job with a clear goal that is obviously successful or not. For instance if you are installing a new lighting fixture...does the light come on or doesn't it? Did you do it correctly? Or not?

In The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, author Alain De Botton looks at work from various angles and time periods. Among other aspects of work, he talks about why we think we should enjoy our work. Why isn't work...work? Why do we think it should be a fun and happy place?

REAL LIFE MEDICAL DRAMAS

The next book on my personal "to read" list is Life Support: three nurses on the front lines, by Suzanne Gordon. The book follows three nurses as we learn about the trials and also the positive side of this profession. In a similar category, the next book for my Book Group is Complications: a surgeon's notes on an imperfect science, by Atul Gawande

Activating the Stargate...

I heard that Dom Deluise passed away yesterday. I was always a fan of his screwball-like comedic antics, so I felt a little sad to hear of his death. I also thought about the tv series, Stargate SG-1. Why, you ask? Amazing how the brain makes connections from seemingly unrelated topics. If you aren't a Stargate SG-1 fan like I am, you probably won't know that Mr. Deluise starred in an episode called "Urgo." And you probably also don't know that he has three sons, all of whom either produced, directed or acted in the Stargate series. The "Urgo" episode is a good one, and it allowed Dom Deluise to do what he did best - make people laugh. I will miss him, and it still pains me that Stargate SG-1 ended its run after 10 seasons...at least there are reruns!

The library has quite a few books related to Stargate, and even (surprise!) a few titles related to Dom Deluise.

Stargate books:
The Barque of Heaven - Suzanne Wood
Roswell - Sonny Whitelaw
Stargate SG-1: The Illustrated Companion, Seasons 5 & 6 - Thomasina Gibson

Dom Deluise material:
Lamb Chop's Chanukah & Passover Surprise (this is a children's DVD - Dom Deluise is a special guest)
Dom DeLuise's The Nightingale (children's picture book)
King Bob's New Clothes (children's picture book)