I am pleased to see that William Blake was wrong: in the end, the devil really isn’t all that interesting. If you live in a toxic vortex of negativism, eventually you run out of things to say.

You don’t need to be oblivious to the challenges and problems in librarianship to be able to have a balanced view. But AL is just as unbalanced as the folks out there being uncritical fangirls and fanboys of the latest trends.

It’s true it’s hard to explain to some administrators why unconferences (or unconference-style activities) can be as much or more useful than traditional “sage on a stage” presentations. Perhaps AL is in fact one of these administrators, chortling as he/she stamps “DENIED” on a conference request. What a card.

But let’s take an analogy from church experience. One thing I know is that engagement in church (temple/mosque) activities is more spiritually satisfying than simply asking to be fed. The same is true of unconference activities. (The same is true of teaching, come to think of it.) Encouraging librarians to really dig deep and engage with the topics of the day — and help define them! — is crucial for their development and therefore, for the profession at large.

Anyway… AL, you disgusted me from the get-go, and now you’re simply boring. Which perks me up immeasurably, because you aren’t here because you’re speaking truth to power, you’re here for LJ’s publisher’s revenue stream. I shall go light a candle that you will soon need to go spend more time with your family and reassess your priorities, as they say.

They are the only ones going to conferences, un or not. The rest of us are just plain working to keep our doors open.