Express Fish Tacos

I had a paper to write today so lunch had to be fast, but I've been trying to eat healthy. I remembered I had some basa from the market to use up (two pieces were pan-fried in spices, like so), some veggies and some tortillas, so I decided fish tacos would fit the bill.

I whacked some tinfoil into my Pyrex to make clean-up easy, then added the fish and squirted on some lemon, with a few dollops of salsa. Into the oven it went for 25 minutes at 180 (give or take - my oven's off). While it was baking I chopped up an eschallot, a bit of red pepper, and the corn off a cob. Cilantro* is what makes fish tacos delicious though, so I didn't skimp on that - and, tip from Jaime Oliver, you can chop the stems and throw them into your stir fry!

A bit of oil and heat plus a frying pan and I was in business. In went the veggies, except the leaves, for about five minutes. Next I took out the fish and chopped it roughly with a fork, then spread half a fillet on a whole wheat soft tortilla. The hot veggies and a spoon or two of salsa followed, along with a generous bunch of coriander.

Fold and place back in the Pyrex (having removed the tinfoil) to warm, then add salsa & sour cream to your plate, and enjoy! I swear this whole thing will take less than 40 minutes once the oven is up to temperature, and most of that is waiting for the fish to bake.


*Aussies call it coriander, whereas we Canadians differentiate between the leaves - cilantro - and the seeds - coriander. Don't ask me why. Eschallots and scallions and green onions are equally confusing but Donna Hay has an answer. Basically you can use any onion you have around; I had the little reddish ones that grow in clumps like garlic, which I know as eschallots.

Controversy at the Bus Stop

I know of two things that are sure to get librarians talking - censorship and social media.


Adshel pulled down these bus stop campaign ads after receiving about 30 targeted complaints from the Australian Christian Lobby:


ACL Queensland director Wendy Francis deemed the ads inappropriate for the space, but conceded the message was OK. Josh Thomas (comedian) tweeted, "Wendy Francis thinks hugging is foreplay. Remember that if you see her hugging her kids."


The gay couple pictured in the ad, supported by about 30 people, organised a protest via Twitter and Facebook in a "matter of hours" (brisbanetimes.com.au) and made their voices heard outside Adshel's Fortitude Valley office today. The company has since reversed its decision to pull the campaign, concluding that they had "been the target of a coordinated ACL campaign." (Steve McCarthy, Adshel chief exec)

Honestly, there are more provocative ads on daytime TV for perfume. I think the campaign is tasteful, and timely (according to Healthy Communities, more men were diagnosed with HIV in 2010 than in the mid 1980s) and there should be more safe sex messages like it, for both homosexual and heterosexual couples. Sure it's awkward to explain to kids, but that's assuming they recognise the little red packet - they might just see a couple embracing. I've certainly seen more PDA than that, live at the bus stop!


One of the hot topics in my collections development lecture was censorship, and LGBT literature - and literature about sexuality - are just as deserving of shelf space and circulation as other publications. The key is to balance to collection to represent varying points of view, and don't hide the more controversial texts in the restricted area.


I know it's something I'll be paying attention to when I go to work, and when I receive requests from clients, I'll do my best to abide by ALIA guidelines, not make judgments, and provide access to requested materials. I'm a librarian (in training), and I find stuff!


http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/safe-sex-ads-to-be-reinstated-20110601-1ff7u.html

http://7pmproject.com.au/gay-ad-ban-sparks-outrage.htm

The Perils of Poor Word Choice

I'll start off #blogjune on a lighthearted note. There may be no stupid questions, but there certainly are poorly worded ones. I can imagine that I'll be asked some strange and wonderful questions when I become a librarian, but hopefully no one will run screaming from the reference section at gunpoint.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about what kind of librarian I'd like to be. When I spoke to @katiedatwork back in January about the MLIS program, she said I could figure it out as I go. Thank goodness! The more I learn the more there is to learn. Over the past three months I've discovered professions I didn't know existed, and am now able to give friends less vague answers to the question: "What do you learn in your library degree anyway?"

I am so excited about the possibilities! I've been to lots of library tours and workshops to explore the profession I'll soon find myself in. Yes, I'm a bit of a nerd. And yes, the tours only made me more excited, and more intrigued by how many industries need librarians and information professionals. Unlike the career paths of my grandparents, mine won't follow a straight line.


Libraries Interact is hosting a challenge to blog every day in June! We'll see how I go. You can follow the 60 bloggers here - http://www.netvibes.com/katejf - if you understand how. I'll try to make sense of it tomorrow!

Comic from http://buttersafe.com/2011/05/31/advice/

French Elegance

Author: Muriel Barbery
Book: The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Language: Translated from French
Publisher: Gallic Books, 2008

A writer friend of mine urged me to read this book, so when I saw it in the airport bookshop I decided it would keep me company for the flight home from Barcelona. My copy has a beautiful cover, with dreamy-coloured French houses in twilight, a stained-glass window effect and (appropriately) elegant text. Humour and levity balance the profound thoughts of life,  culture and the delicacy of human interactions.

The hedgehog of the title is the book's main character, Renee. More cultured and observant than any concierge ought to be, Renee is a clever but understated woman who conceals her inner elegance. She is known as Madame Michel to the residents of the prestigious Paris apartment on the Left Bank. The novel is propelled by two narratives, one from Renee and the other twelve-year-old Paloma, who lives in the apartment where Renee is the concierge. Paloma is not your typical preteen. She is determined to escape what she believes is a 'predictably bourgeoise future' (Gallic, back cover copy) and is intent on writing 'profound thoughts' in her journal prior to committing suicide on her thirteenth birthday. She is one of three people who sees glimpses of the intelligence Renee tries to hide.

The characters' speech is nuanced just so, and the travails of everyday life are expressed in sure, deliberate prose. Barbery's supporting characters could easily have been empty caricatures, but each contributes to the atmosphere of Renee's Paris. The book is charming and accessible, and French down to the spine.