Preparing Norc, no, Eldo for a life of college debauchery. Though it won't exactly be college; the grad school version of debauchery being far more refined.

Thanks so much guys! I'm still pretty excited and bouncy today after waking up. I really appreciate all you guys' encouragement.

Amarië wrote:Love how the wolves in the signature follow up on the happy tune and goes Woooohoooo!

The battle for title of Lore Master is really intensifying!

(As a Whovian though I have to voice some concern that you so willingly join anything called "The Master"...)

Going on my renewed Lore kick was actually a big part of the reason why I started seriously considering going to grad school for the first time since my Junior year of college when I decided that I didn't want to go to Law school. In part 'cause of how much I enjoyed the research and writing and in part because of how many prominent Tolkien scholars are librarians in their day jobs.

Norc wrote:CONGRATS ELDO! I AM OVER THE MOON FOR YOU!        


..this thread made me so confused..still makes me confused.. especially since it seems it was split from the-hobbit-spoiler-free-discussion.. ?? what happened? why's my name there?!?

halfwise wrote:You of all people have to wonder about a Norced thread?

I'm pretty sure this thread is actually the origin of the term "Norcing".

http://www.hobbitmovieforum.com/t473p25-preparing-norc-no-eldo-for-a-life-of-college-debauchery-though-it-won-t-exactly-be-college-the-grad-school-version-of-debauchery-being-far-more-refined#45141

But I rediscovered it last fall when I was looking for my old electoral college thread so I could copy and paste my explanations into the new election night thread. And I was still amused by my choice of title for the split thread, although I am even more amused by Amarië's update to it and halfy's description of grad school debauchery.

how about.. university

Eldorion wrote:

Norc wrote:CONGRATS ELDO! I AM OVER THE MOON FOR YOU!        


..this thread made me so confused..still makes me confused.. especially since it seems it was split from the-hobbit-spoiler-free-discussion.. ?? what happened? why's my name there?!?

halfwise wrote:You of all people have to wonder about a Norced thread?

I'm pretty sure this thread is actually the origin of the term "Norcing".

http://www.hobbitmovieforum.com/t473p25-preparing-norc-no-eldo-for-a-life-of-college-debauchery-though-it-won-t-exactly-be-college-the-grad-school-version-of-debauchery-being-far-more-refined#45141

But I rediscovered it last fall when I was looking for my old electoral college thread so I could copy and paste my explanations into the new election night thread. And I was still amused by my choice of title for the split thread, although I am even more amused by Amarië's update to it and halfy's description of grad school debauchery.

but i went back and checked and i can't find where the exact norcing happened?!

Norc wrote:petty, I totally agree with you. By not letting youth drink alcohol, it makes it more common to smoke weed and seriously guys.. that is much worse.

oh my what an innocent soul i was. weed is sooooo much better.

halfwise wrote:That's huge, Eldo.  And the job of modern library science is very technology oriented, which is something you definitely have a leg up on.

I was at UMD college park for my PhD in atmospheric science; there's a lot going on there.  I definitely suggest checking out the a capella concerts: there's at least 8 groups, quite amazing and every bit as entertaining in performance as Pitch Perfect makes it out to be (at least it was 8 years ago, I'm assuming it still is).  I was kicking myself for not discovering this underground culture until my last year there.

Thanks halfy! The emphasis on information technology was one of the things that jumped out at me when I started looking into MLIS programs more deeply which definitely increased my interest. Baingil, who is doing a work study in the library at her university, recommended that I focus on digital librarianship as my specialty, and when I talked things over with some people at my old school they seemed impressed that I was planning on pursuing that track.

The prompts for the application essays asked about experience with technology and leadership potential so, upon the advice of several people, I devoted a decent chunk of the essay to talking about my experience with running and posting on forums, as well as using the Internet to do research and stay connected to the academic world after graduation. I was kinda unsure about discussing my private hobby like that but apparently it worked out.

David H wrote:That's wonderful Eldo!
I'm a bit jealous. I did four years of archival work/study as an undergrad and considered pursuing it as a career, but I made other choices....
Wherever your life takes you, these skills will serve you well. Remember,  he who has the Lore has the Power

Thanks Dave! I've definitely always been interested in learning things and organizing information and sharing that with other people (one of the manifestations of that being my lengthy posts/explanations about various topics on here, especially relating to Lore or forum mechanics ), so the MLIS degree seems a kinda natural outgrowth of that. Plus I think it gives an opportunity to build on some of the things I like about working in a bookstore without the pressure of sales. The idea of working in a library has been in the back of my mind since I was a teenager first looking for summer work, but I'm trying to keep an open mind about the career possibilities. Though knowing that I want to work in the library/information science field is a lot more specific of a goal than I've had since I decided that I didn't want to go to Law school, back in my Junior year of college.

Norc wrote:how about.. university

One of the imprecisions of American English I suppose.

Norc wrote:but i went back and checked and i can't find where the exact norcing happened?!

Following the link in the OP of this thread, it seems that I made a passing reference to final examinations (IIRC because my schedule that semester precluded me from attending the midnight release of An Unexpected Journey, although I ended up not making the effort to go to any of the Hobbit midnight premieres) and from there the conversation turned to a more general discussion of college and college life.

Norc wrote:oh my what an innocent soul i was. weed is sooooo much better.

It's definitely a weird experience for me going back and reading posts on here from when I was 17 ... much less from when I was 14 and more active on the LOTR Plaza.

i was literally a different person, it is cringeworthy.

you were adorably feisty and foulmouthed, and we esteem you for that to this day.

But getting back to Eldo's life of debauchery.

On campus I'm afraid the best you'll do is a visit to the creamery. Not much to offer along route 1. No, I'm afraid you'll have to take the metro into town. Head for Adam's Morgan, which will require some walking from Dupont Circle. Better yet, seek out Madam's Organ in Adam's Morgan.

The National Zoo is far better than any free zoo has a right to be, designed by the same firm that did Central Park. You'll find slight debauchery in the row of restaurants outside, mainly in the Zoo Bar, with live music and a nice outdoor patio for a sultry night. But the food is terrible.

U street is the Harlem of DC, with blues, rap, soul food...quite a pedigree.

But the #1 A-rated place for debauchery is now H street, accessed from Union Station. Combination bar/put-put range, hookah bars, cabaret shows, burlesque shows, the whole deal. That's where a grad student should be hanging out to take a few years off his life.

DC is a city of neighborhoods, very much worth exploring. Take advantage of it.

I appreciate all the advice, halfy! I was fortunate to get to visit DC fairly often as a kid, and while that wasn't exactly an experience of debauchery, getting to see the baby panda at the National Zoo was a pretty good substitute at the time. I'll have to see about experiencing more of the city as an adult now.

NB I just noticed the latest update to my user title ... thanks Amarië.

{{{ Nice one Eldo - you'll do great And we can look forward to a few years of college campus gossip! }}}

Grad students are more locked into their departments than campus life, unfortunately. But we can still hope for some debauchery of an elevated sort: scotch rather than beer, etc.

Thanks Petty!

There's a number of things that I've missed about being a student but I'm sure this will be a very different experience than as an undergrad. It's not like I'd be able to recapture the experience of self-discovery and growing up even if I were to go through an identical program. I am looking forward to being back in an academic environment though. Homework is not necessarily one of the things I miss most about college, but learning is fun. Plus I'll be going in with a sense of the career I want my education to lead to, which I didn't have before. In my defense I dunno that many people know what they want to do with their life when they're 14.

Eldorion wrote:NB I just noticed the latest update to my user title ... thanks Amarië.

¨

Digital librarian? But that's what I'm writing about only from a legal perspective

writing, not waiting pos norwegian predictive text....

What's there to write about from a legal perspective concerning digital data? Is there something juicy we should all know about? Is Eldo's grad school education to be suitably debauched?

A lot of juicy stuff to do with digital data and copyright One of my subjects is the access to ebooks for libraries in the EU.

https://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-policy/2016/11/ebooks-can-be-lent-by-libraries-rules-cjeu/

It's a big issue on both sides of the Atlantic.

https://www.boston.com/news/technology/2014/06/27/why-its-difficult-for-your-library-to-lend-ebooks

Eldorion wrote:After four years in the world of retail, I am very excited to be plunging back into academia, as I've just been accepted (and accepted my acceptation) into the Master of Library and Information Science program at the University of Maryland! It was my first choice and is the flagship public university of my home state, so I'm especially happy to be going to this particular school. (In-state tuition rates don't hurt either. ) I do have to get used to calling the College Park campus just "the University of Maryland" without qualifier, though, since I did my undergrad at one of the other branches (UMBC) and was always a little touchy about it being confused with the older and better-known school.

There are three American Library Association-accredited programs within feasible driving distance of where I live, and Maryland's looked to be the best. I've spent a lot of time in the past six months or so thinking about what I want to do in the future and was seriously considering applying to political science PhD programs last fall, but I think the job prospects for library science are much better, and it still leaves the door open to do research down the road. A lot of academic libraries look for people to have a second Master's or a Doctorate in a specialized field, as well as an MLIS. I'm not sure if that's for me but even if I don't take that route, I think I'd really enjoy working in an environment largely focused on knowledge and learning.

Writing about myself for the application essays was a somewhat agonizing process and my anxiety has definitely flared up at several points but for the moment anyway I'm feeling all bouncy and happy so I'm trying to savor that. And I do feel much more optimistic about the future than I have in a long time.

how did I miss this??? wow congrats Eldo. sorry to be late to the party. that's really great news I am sure you will have a wonderful time being a post grad.

Yes, def congrats, I'm seriously considering working in this field when I'm done

Thank you, Mrs Figg and Bluebottle!

Bluebottle wrote:A lot of juicy stuff to do with digital data and copyright One of my subjects is the access to ebooks for libraries in the EU.

https://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-policy/2016/11/ebooks-can-be-lent-by-libraries-rules-cjeu/

It's a big issue on both sides of the Atlantic.

https://www.boston.com/news/technology/2014/06/27/why-its-difficult-for-your-library-to-lend-ebooks

It's definitely a really interesting and important issue. One of my application essays had to be about what I thought were the biggest opportunities and challenges facing the field of information science and I almost wrote it about copyright and digital resources but I ended up going with information literacy and fake news (and the educational role libraries can play) instead since I figured it was even more topical and tied into my poli sci background a bit.

NB I hope your thesis is still coming along well, Blue!

It is coming along, whether well or not. But with 2 months to go my stress levels are constantly on the up.  

Thanks for asking

Eldorion wrote:

Bluebottle wrote:A lot of juicy stuff to do with digital data and copyright One of my subjects is the access to ebooks for libraries in the EU.

https://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-policy/2016/11/ebooks-can-be-lent-by-libraries-rules-cjeu/

It's a big issue on both sides of the Atlantic.

https://www.boston.com/news/technology/2014/06/27/why-its-difficult-for-your-library-to-lend-ebooks

It's definitely a really interesting and important issue. One of my application essays had to be about what I thought were the biggest opportunities and challenges facing the field of information science and I almost wrote it about copyright and digital resources but I ended up going with information literacy and fake news (and the educational role libraries can play) instead since I figured it was even more topical and tied into my poli sci background a bit.

I understand going for the topical option. Digital lending is highly topical on this side of the Atlantic too though. Particularly now that we have this fancy new judgement saying libraries can lend ebooks as they would normal books. Up until now that required seperate licences which were both expensive, and controlled re the substantive titels on offer from the publishers side. Best sellers would often be witheld and so on. Think things might be more complicated on your side of the pond in that regard.

Although this being a judgement on EU rules, and a judgement about an EU rule of competence it still relies on national implementation in most cases. (In EU Law there is a derogation for "Public lending" in the Rental and Lending Directive, but that derogation is optional. The general held view before the judgment mentioned in the article was that this Directive only applied to physical copies of books, and that is the way the rules were implemented in most EU Member States. (Including Norway.) ie. the rules need to be changed nationally for the judgement to take effect.)

I have 3 years to go. the worst thing is the procrastination. its never ending procrastination.