Hello, peeps!

What a wonderful time 2014 has been so far! In Gainesville, late January and early February mean the annual Hoggetowne Medieval Faire – knights! Combat! Jousting! Falcons! Turkey legs! Maidens! And for me? I chose time travel. Many people like showing up in anachronistic attire – pirates, ninjas, steampunk, etc…I chose The Doctor. AND I WASN’T ALONE.

Yeah, this happened. The tenth AND eleventh Doctors!

If you’re a Doctor Who fan, you should be in Time Lord Heaven. But wait, there’s more!

“There’s always more with you, Justin.”

Shut up, sarcastic voice in my head. It gets more hilarious! I had the pleasure of once again seeing The Bookaneer perform with her singing wench troupe, Just Desserts. What’s better than The Doctor? The Doctor in a dress!

I’m a pretty princess.

So now that we’re caught up with fun stuff, let me get to the more serious stuff – the main reason I’m posting this week. I’m a big fan of paying forward, giving back, being the force of change you want to see, and everything that ties into my superhero complex – part of why I’m helping out with this FSU fundraising. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ve recently joined together with FSU’s College of Communication and Information (home of Library School!) to help raise scholarship money for the college of Information and Library Science.

However, I know FSU is not the only group out there that needs help. I’ve recently learned that my favorite bar in downtown Gainesville, The Midnight, has been needing help too.

Best prices in town!

This bar has been my Cheers for years; I’ve played games, laughed, cried, sang, and hosted trivia here. I know the owners, the bartenders, the patrons – it’s a local business I feel at home in, and I’d never want them to close down.

I want to make sure nights with friends that make no sense continue to happen.

When they announced that they were hosting an online fundraiser, I thought I’d pay it forward and donate with the hope that karma would help aid me in my quest to help FSU. Here’s to hoping! Don’t forget to check out the CCI Goldstein Endowed Scholarship Fund at http://one.fsu.edu/goldsteinscholarships.

I’ll hopefully have more news for you next week on it – and more race pics! Yup, I’m running in the Tampa Spartan Mud Race this weekend and visiting family. It’s gonna be a great weekend!

Make sure you all have a good weekend as well! Donate, mud run, just get out there and pay it forward!

Justin Brasher, Brash Librarian