TV Team Roles

Have you noticed how TV police procedurals use the same types to make up a team:

You need leader, ladies' man, black guy, girl and rookie (newbie).

Most teams have most of these roles, some with substitutions (e.g. Asian for black). In small teams, 1 person may play 2 roles. Big teams may have more than fill the role.

Add a backroom geek or scientist if the team is not all nerds already.

This applies to criminal teams as well, e.g. Italian Job and Inception.

Bruges, Day 1

Here are pictures from my recent trip to Bruges, Belgium. I'll be doing this in 2 parts.

We went to Bruges by ferry from the UK.

The white cliffs of Dover...

The Library's Helpful Sage of the Stacks
By Sam Roberts
New York Times, December 31, 2007

"I first heard about him a few years ago from a friend, also a writer, who whispered his name as if it were some sort of Masonic secret passed on down the ages,” Alexander Rose recalled."

Article about a reference librarian at the New York Public Library.

Recently read: The New Policeman by Kate Thompson.

What a find! I haven't been so pleased with a new children's story since Harry Potter first came out.

The New Policeman is set in Ireland, and has to do with Irish music, dancing, and legend. At the beginning of every chapter, there is sheet music for a traditional or contemporary tune.

The book is gracefully written and is a great story. There is a boy, a mother, a mystery... Where does all the Time go? It's both old and new at the same time, with contemporary sensibilities and timeless myths intertwined. Basically, the story revolves around JJ Liddy, a boy born into a musical family, whose mother wishes for "more time" for her birthday present, and he sets out to get it for her. On the way, he unravels an old family mystery, and meets people he never knew existed. It's a good read; the only unfortunate thing is that the villain (if there is one) is the Catholic priest.

More on libraries and digitizing books... some who have rejected deals with Google and Microsoft

Libraries Shun Deals to Place Books on Web
by Katie Hafner
NY Times, 22 October 2007