Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library
Not every day – at least, I’m not happy all the time. It’s probably not realistic or sustainable to always be happy. Being happier in general might be a reasonable goal, and you’re in luck; Happiness Research has taken off as a field in this century. A search in our catalog under the subject “happiness” might be a good place to start, including: “The calculus of happiness : how a mathematical approach to life adds up to health, wealth, and love” QA93 .F467 2017.
I’d love to see you here! I always look forward to answering more students’ questions, as do my colleagues at the reference desk. Sadly, the transfer application site (bit.ly/BC-transfer) says the transfer application deadline for Fall is March 15, and all applicants hear by May 20. If you’d like to apply for Spring transfer enrollment, the deadline is November 15.
I happen to be acquainted with a game theorist. He applies game theory to football pools and wins big every year. Hardly anyone will let him into their pools any more, because word has gotten around that with him in the pool, nobody else stands a chance. But he never bets on baseball. He says there are too many variables: too many games, too many potential pitcher-batter match-ups, winds & humidity that affect home run potential, minor injuries… I mean, a hangnail can kill a pitcher’s ERA! There’s just no way to tell, which is why baseball is the best sport: just as in life, you never know what will happen. Go, Sox! (In the meantime, I why not read The fix is in: A history of baseball gambling and game fixing scandals, by Daniel Ginsburg. O’Neill Library GV863.A1 G58 1995.)
Please enjoy these pictures of my cousin the Express Yo’self Wall at Brandeis University’s Goldfarb-Farber Library. I visited earlier this summer. We had a great time! As you can tell, Express Yo’self is a little more freewheeling and adventurous than me.
![Express Yo'self Wall at Brandeis: realistic drawing of girl's face and hair. Chinese writing. Please! Next time I want to have a crush on a non-gay...[illegible, obscured by drawing of girl]](http://library.bc.edu/answerwall/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/IMG_4020-copy.jpg)
![Express Yo'self Wall at Brandeis: We are either our greatest enemies or our greatest friends. Or both. Live Your Life. Love Trumps Hate. [drawing of chameleon]](http://library.bc.edu/answerwall/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/IMG_3998-copy.jpg)
![Express Yo'self Wall at Brandeis: [cartoon figure peering out from behind another] SMAE](http://library.bc.edu/answerwall/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/IMG_4006-copy.jpg)
![Express Yo'self Wall at Brandeis: [drawing of palm tree and monkey] Be Happy, DJ Ross, Hour 7! [small cartoon faces]](http://library.bc.edu/answerwall/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/IMG_4008-copy.jpg)
It’s also possible your mojo is working, but just not working for the purpose you want. Like Muddy Waters, you might explore either going to Louisiana to get a mojo “hand,” or consulting with a Roma soothsayer: bit.ly/mojo-working. (At the very least, listening to his music should spark some mojo.) You might also try the unacknowledged queen of the blues, Ida Cox, who sang about mojo way back in 1927, and later sang about how wild women don’t have the blues: bit.ly/wild-women. Ida’s advice: “You never get nothing by being an angel child/ You better change your ways and get real wild.” Another way to think about mojo is a variant on “lean in”: are you avoiding something? Don’t run away from it; move closer, and turn fear into excitement.
Why not both? Sam Adams’ new Sam ’76 is a blend of an ale and lager designed to appeal to the Budweiser crowd – my human friends tell me it’s pretty good for what it’s trying to be. Generally speaking, if you want fruity or more adventurous beers, you’re looking at an ale. Lagers should be crisper and cleaner on the palette (i.e. they should not have strong aftertastes like a stout or an IPA – both ales). Both have their strengths and both can be delicious.
Of course. LeBron is a monster. A generational talent. Arguably (and there’s lots of argument) the best ever. LeBron will make any team better. BUT, we need to consider the Celtics locker room. Kyrie left Cleveland, ostensibly to get away from LeBron, so bringing LeBron here would probably bode poorly for how well the team gels. I also don’t know how coach-able LeBron is these days, having basically coached the Cavs himself for the past few years. Personally, I would be excited to see him come, but I also think there would be a lot of adjustment early in the season.
Number 1 most frequent question on the Answer Wall! Here’s how: My assistants use this template: bit.ly/print-postit to create the ‘document’ and then send it to the printer as a manual feed. Then they put the actual template of sticky-notes into the printer’s manual feed tray.
![Why can't our degrees be in English? [C'MON MAN BC]](http://library.bc.edu/answerwall/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/aw061118-2.jpg)
Because tradition, the Wall suspects–lots of colleges and universities do it, and use pretty much the same language. Here’s a brief history of BC’s diplomas from 2013. bit.ly/bc-diploma1. The official English translation is here: bit.ly/bc-diploma2. Think of it this way: if a time machine dumps you out at the University of Paris in 1302 your diploma will still get you into grad school.
I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t had luck in requesting additional shuttle service, but I’m sure that Transportation Services will track feedback on this issue for the future when they develop new schedules. In the meantime, I would recommend taking the shuttle to the Reservoir T-stop, walking from there to the C-Line at Cleveland Circle and taking that three stops to the Star Market. If you don’t have access to a car, that is probably the easiest grocery store to get to from here. Alternatively, you could try to organize trips with friends – either asking a friend to drive you or meeting up with a group of car-free friends to share a taxi, Uber, or Lyft to the grocery store and back. Good luck!
There are so many options for a bucket list, it is tough to contain them to the size of a post-it! Visit the Boston Harbor Islands, go to the beach, head to a Red Sox game. On a hot day, stay cool inside by visiting a museum or the aquarium. Play tourist and walk the Freedom Trail. Plan your own food tour or pub crawl. To see what is happening on a particular day or over the weekend, check out thebostoncalendar.com.
I kinda miss them, too. Let me check my sources and I’ll see what I can find out.
Sigh… I’m sad that you’re in a situation where going and staying both seem hard. But know that you aren’t alone in this predicament; it’s something everyone has to face at some point, one way or another. As Joe Strummer of the Clash so succinctly put it, “Should I stay or should I go now?/ If I go, there will be trouble/ And if I stay it will be double.” Whatever you do, don’t be hasty, and talk it through with a lot of people. Sometimes growth means persisting, and sometimes growth requires a change. If you don’t have anyone to talk to, try Counseling Services (bit.ly/BC-counseling) or Academic Advising (bit.ly/BC-advising), depending on the nature of the decision you’re facing. And if you need to vent, especially if the conundrum is romantic, I recommend the Clash on volume 11: bit.ly/clash-should-I
Warriors. The wall is a big fan of LeBron (not a hater at all) and his ability to get to the finals through sheer force of will with what is actually a D2 college team coached by a high school BB coach. But championships should go to the better team, and the Warriors are for sure the better team and more fun to watch. Plus, the Celtics deserve to be there anyway.
Yes! Counseling Services is open for the summer Mondays – Thursdays, 8:45 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. and Fridays, 8:45 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. They can be reached by calling 617-552-3310, by going to their website (bit.ly/BC-counseling), or by going to their office in Gasson 001. If you need/want to talk with someone outside of those hours you can call BC Police at 617-552-4444 and they will connect you with someone off hours. Please call. There are times when everyone needs to talk with someone and Counseling Services is here to support you during this time.
Oh man. So many options: Tiki Bar (it is summer): Blossom in Brookline, Bar by the Elevator near MIT Traditional Cocktails: Alden & Harlow in Harvard Square, Drink in Seaport, The Hawthorne in Kenmore Beer Bar: Lord Hobo near MIT, Publik House in Brookline, Deep Ellum in Allston Wine Bar: Spoke in Davis Square, Troquet in the Theater District Dive(ish) bar: Bukowski Tavern in Back Bay, Biddy Early’s in the Financial District, The Silhouette (or “The Sil”) in Allston Sports Bar: Game On in Fenway, Sullivan’s Tap in the North End (Bruins), Buff’s Pub in Newton Irish Music: Try Greenbriar in Brighton on a Monday night, there’s a cool traditional Irish music jam session starting around 7pm.
No matter what sort of test you are trying to pass, it is perfectly normal to get stressed. I can’t guarantee you that you will pass, but I can tell you two things: 1) I have confidence that you are talented and will be prepared for this test, and 2) even if you don’t pass any given test in life, the wonderful thing is that there are other chances. No test is determinitive of the success of your life. My advice is that you should go in with confidence and remember that sleep and relaxation are also important parts of the test prep process. You’ve got this and the whole library is rooting for you!
Thanks for asking… Now that the stress of preparing for my talk at the BLC Networking Day is over, I’m not planning on doing anything else out of the ordinary; just hanging out in the library and answering questions. One fantastic thing about this summer is, since I don’t get to go to the beach, the library has brought the beach to me. Turn around, you’ll see it. Can you hear the waves?
Being is definitely better than not being. Please recall that this quote, in Act III, Scene 1 of Hamlet, was asked by a young man who suspected that his mother and stepfather had arranged the murder of his father. He was thinking that not-being would “end/ The heartache and the thousand natural shocks/ That flesh is heir to.” If you’re suffering heartache that makes you think about not being, please get help immediately: call the counseling office at 617-552-3310 (8:45-4:45 M-F) and ask to speak to the Psychological Emergency Clinician (PEC), or visit the office in person in Gasson 001. (If you’re just quoting Shakespeare’s Hamlet to show your appreciation for a fine play, here’s a 3-minute version you might find entertaining: bit.ly/3-minute-hamlet. Click “show more” for the lyrics, so you can understand the thick Glasgow accent.)
To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: The only thing worse than writing is not writing. I think I’d say they’re comparable but different in quality, not just degree. The pain of writing is equivalent to the pain of stumbling blindly through the dark. The pain of not writing is the pain of avoiding doing the thing you know must be done, which only grows bigger the longer you avoid it. The pain of re-reading is the pain of your own vulnerability magnified by self-doubt. Offset the first by taking breaks as rewards, the second by setting a schedule, and the third by telling your internal critics to enjoy a vacation. It also helps to find a friendly, trusted audience, even of one. I look forward to hearing about what you’ve written!
