“Ring out old shapes of foul disease”

On the reverse side of scrap paper used by Du Bois’s secretary, M. G. Allison, to write a response to Dean James at Evanstown College of Liberal Arts.

Photo by Lesley Arak

After a successful first season,

Surly needs skates!

Help by making a donation to the Skates for Surly Fund. Ms. Mental will be gathering funds until after her birthday (November 21st).

A few things are timely about this campaign. First, I’ve just finished my first season. I wore used skates through my first two bouts, making sure this is something I want before considering the hundreds of dollars needed for new skates. Now, I know what I want out of my wheels.

Second, since skates are a big investment, I’ve been watching the stores/websites and sales. Bruised Boutique is a genuine ROLLER DERBY SHOP in Nashua, NH. Not only will I be able to support a regional, derby owned shop, but I will be able to take part in the 30% off skates sale going on this Black Friday. So, the $300 skate package I’ve been drooling over will now be closer to $200. Hell yes.

Here’s the order as it stands (basically, the Riedell “She Devil” Package):

• Reidell 126 boot (this link is to the 125 boot, see below for more details on the 126)

According to Sin City Skates, “These made in the USA boots feature super soft quality leather comfort with the Riedell patented “ever-dri” liner on the inside. They’re based on the 125 design, but altered to better fit female skaters, with a “combo last” – a C width toe and B width heel. They feature Lace-to-toe design for extra comfort on feet of any width, and a reinforced (now longer!) leather / velcro speed strap to allow the closest fit, and a rolled collar around the ankle. They also feature Riedell’s inner counter for extra arch support and heel immobilization, to minimize ankle rolling.”

• Powerdyne Triton Aluminum Plates
• ABEC-9 Speed Bearings
• Adjustable toe stops
• Radar Tuner Wheels (red grippy or black sticky)

Any more upgrade to the wheels would consist of going through our league mechanical engineer, Sideswipe/Jacob, who has been known to craft specialized wheels and put them on aluminum hubs instead of nylon. Support your local machinist!

Additional wish list items:

• Customization for white leather tongue on skate for “mary jane” stylization (yay Temple!) – One customization is $60, but for three it’s only $90. The white tongue is the only cosmetic change I would make, but I might add more padding to the tongue for my bony foot or more heel support.
• 187 Pro Knee Pads
• Toe Saver Toe Guard

So please, help Surly get new wheels!

Visit the campaign page here:

Skates for Surly

Photo by Jared Barney

…

Yeah, the cheer is actually: “Eat, Skate, Fornicate”. Heh.

“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.”

Bruise from practice on day 3

Finally I’m falling on the right places.

This was a very swollen bruise, only took about two weeks to heal with plenty of ice packs and arnica.

Last night after roller derby practice I got pulled over by the Palmer police…

For going slow.

The positive spin on the situation is that I was going slow.  I wear contacts for practice because they are more comfortable than glasses when I’ve got a helmet on, and they provide better peripheral vision; last night was the first time I had worn them in over a week and my eyes were tired.  It was also raining.  The officer was on the way to the station and wanted to make sure I was okay – he was actually nice about it and said I was doing the right thing by going slow (Yeah, I know) but that I had apparently cut over the white line a few times and he wanted to check.  Funny, Palmer’s white lines are somewhat non-existent. I’ll remember to pretend the paint is there next time.

It’s been a few weeks since an update on my internship project at Keene State. I’m actually just about to wrap up my work here at the Mason Library and it’s been an exciting and extremely informative learning experience.  I’ve navigated library politics, technological issues, interpersonal hurdles and archival methods questions.

[More later...]

[EDIT 2009.11.]

You can now find the Keene Normal School Digital Exhibit here:

http://www.keene.edu/library/speccoll/kns.cfm

Photo gallery : Excerpts from Keene Normal School Annual Catalogs 1910-1939

Mason Library at KSC :Mason Library Blog : Keene Normal School Archive

I also had my completed DACS and EAD ready finding aid from last semester :  KNS Finding Aid.

For an assignment in my Archives Access and Use class (LIS 440) this semester I marked up said finding aid in EAD.

Come out this weekend and see the men’s and women’s roller derby double header in Enfield – it’s only 30 minutes away!

May PVRD Postcard

And check us out here too:
Pioneer Valley Roller Derby is back in action!

Here’s a skater update on “Surly Mental” #56 on Western Mass Destruction:

Final projects are due in my second semester of graduate studies in library science and archives management, so I had to take a week off from derby :(  Since January I have been attending the skill training practice on Wednesday nights and the endurance practice on Monday nights.  When class is over next week I’ll be able to start attending scrimmage practice – the next step to getting on the roster! (Which would mean playing instead of watching – where I really want to be.) I’ve always like playing sports more than counting scores and stats.

SO come see the team play – and soon enough I’ll be rough n’ tumbling with them too!

NoHo Kickball starts today

I can wear sunglasses ’cause I got contacts. Wooo!

Pioneer Valley Roller Derby season kick off is tomorrow in Enfield CT at the Sports Center. Check out this article in the Republican or pioneervalleyrollerderby.com for info, news, tickets, or the next Fresh Meat Night!

Full Metal Jammer Postcard