anywhereisbetter

I’ve discovered a surefire way to pick myself up whenever I’m feeling down. The next time I’m struck by a bout of self-pity, I shall think of this picture:

This is a lifeboat full of people that survived the sinking of the Titanic. Next time I feel alone in a cold and hopeless world, I shall think of this gaggle of unfortunate cruise ship patrons, who truly were alone in what looks to be a pretty cold and uncaring ocean. And to think the greatest malady I suffer from is a recurring case of malaise. And then there’s this:

This is a photo of Julius Rosenberg, accused of spying for the Soviets and ultimately executed for treason, at the time of his arrest in 1951. If you ask me, he should have been picked up by the Fashion Police for wearing that suit‚ just look at those lapels! And while you can’t see them, do those vague waves in the front of his pants betray pleats? Oh, Julius. If clothes make the man, as they say, then your threads are a serious liability. And don’t get me started on that mustache.

I frequently come across fascinating stuff like this for my job, which requires me to frequently sift through various photo archives, digital and not. If you haven’t spent any time looking at sites like the New York Public Library’s Digital Collection, or the National Archives’ Archival Research Catalog (ARC), you don’t know what you’re missing. Check this out:

I found this by searching the ARC for photos available at the National Archives’ New York office. I don’t even know why it’s there! Why would you save something like this?!!!
I’ve been doing this job for less than a year, and already I’ve stumbled on a whole horn o’ plenty of distraction-worthy material. Surrounded by so much good stuff, it’s a wonder I get anything done at all. Between scouring picture collections, searching websites, and paging through nearly a sesquicentury (yeah, I probably made that up) of college yearbooks, here are a few things I’ve learned:

- Sarcasm is anything but new to students at Columbia University, as yearbooks from as far back as 1867 (the oldest in the school’s archives) exude the same sardonic tone and sharp wit as is displayed by their privileged and entitled counterparts more than 130 years later. (To be fair, I quite enjoyed reading these entries year after year.)
- The New York Freemasons maintain a well organized library of documents dating back more than a century; the New York Democratic Party has stacks of hastily labeled boxes in a room resembling an apartment that has not yet been unpacked.
- No corporation has any idea where they keep their records, and no one at any of those companies is the least bit concerned about this.
- It could be worse. I could be stranded on a boat after my luxury liner sunk into the Arctic deep, or accused of treason and awaiting execution‚ in a bad suit, no less.

And the most important thing all of this has taught me:

- I have an awesome job. Quit complaining, and get back to work.