Kurious Kitty's Kurio Kabinet

Poetry Friday--"Moon and Water"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 05:00:00 +0000

I was going to look at moon poems today in recognition of the upcoming total eclipse, but then I heard the news of Mary Oliver's death, yesterday.

So, in celebration of the life of this modern master poet, here is a moon poem from Mary Oliver's 2009 collection, Evidence [811.54 OLI]:

Moon and Water

I wake and spend
the last hours
of darkness
with no one

but the moon.
She listens
to my complaints
like the good

companion she is
and comforts me surely
with her light.
But she, like everyone,

has her own life.
So finally I understand
that she has turned away,
is no longer listening.

She wants me
to refold myself
into my own life.
And, bending close,

as we all dream of doing,
she rows with her white arms
through the dark water
which she adores.

We have many volumes of Oliver's poems in the 811.54 section for you the enjoy. Rest in peace, Mary Oliver.

The Poetry Friday Round-Up is being held by Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect. I'm sure there will be many remembrances of Mary Oliver and many meaningful poems shared.

Look Up at the Moon

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 15:23:00 +0000

Guess what? If we don't have snowy skies on Sunday, January 20, we should be able to see a total eclipse of the moon at 9:15 pm. It's also a Super Blood Moon! And, if you borrow folk terminology, which labels the first full moon of the new year as a "wolf moon," then Sunday's moon will be a Super Blood Wolf Moon!

How cool is that? Sky & Telescope magazine has a detailed explanation of this weekend's celestial phenomenon, click here.

Little ones, with early bedtimes, will miss the Super Blood Wolf Moon. Before they drift off to sleep, read one of the classic Frank Asch Moonbear books. Of those books, my favorite one is Happy Birthday, Moon [J ASC]. Other titles that include the moon are Mooncake [JP ASC], Moondance [JP ASC], and Moongame [JP ASC]. (There are several others that don't specifically have the moon as a "character," but are fun just the same.)

When the weather grows warmer and skies are predicted to be clear, borrow the Orion StarBlast 4.5" telescope we own, and take the family outside for a little nature, science, and memory-making.

Who's Up for a Tea Party?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 14:00:00 +0000

The English are noted for their love of tea, and the habit of drinking tea came over to America with the colonists. We can't forgot what an important role tea played in Boston's Revolutionary history.

Even though coffee is the hot beverage of choice in the United States today, tea continues to hold its own in supermarket aisles next to coffee and a distant third hot beverage--hot chocolate.

Many children grow up drinking pretend tea, and there are still miniature tea sets sold for contemporary kids. The idea of being invited to a castle to have tea with the king and queen, and wearing gowns and tiaras or bowties and tophats, informs imaginative play such as is found in these:

Dyckman, Ame. Tea Party Rules. [JP DYC]

Hall, Kirsten. Our Tea Party. [E HAL]

Kann, Victoria. Pinkalicious: The Royal Tea Party. [E KAN]

Kirk, David. Miss Spider's Tea Party. [JP KIR]

O'Connor, Jane. Fancy Nancy: Tea Parties. [JP OCO]

January is National Hot Tea Month, so let's all celebrate with a cuppa!

Artful Tunes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 14:00:00 +0000

Okay, this may be pushing it...Monday we covered "Artful Fiction," Tuesday "Artful Film," so today we'll look at MUSIC about art and artists.

The movie mentioned yesterday, Sunday in the Park with George [DVD SUN], is a film about a French painting. It has music by the noted American composer and lyricist, Stephen Sondheim. Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981-2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany [782.14 SON] contains the lyrics to the songs in Sunday in the Park with George.

The great vocalist and jazz pianist, Nat King Cole, recorded a song titled, "Mona Lisa;" it was top radio hit back in 1950. You can find it on The World of Nat King Cole [CD JAZZ COL].

A decade later a number of vocalists recorded "Portrait of My Love." Here's a look at Perry Como's rendition as you would have seen it on television's Kraft Music Hall:

In the 1970s, friends from the Rhode Island School of Design formed a band called The Artistics. They went on to become Talking Heads. "Artists Only" is a song found on The Name of This Band is Talking Heads [CD ROCK TAL].

I think I've wrung this subject dry, don't you?

Artful Film

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 14:00:00 +0000

Yesterday we looked at novels about art and artists, so I thought today we'd see what we have in the way of film.

One of the most striking films is one that is animated, but animated in a way you haven't seen done before--with reproductions of an artist's paintings and style. The movie is Loving Vincent [DVD LOV] and it deals with the last days of the troubled painter.

The life of the legendary Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, is presented in the bio-pic, Frida [DVD FRI].

Girl with a Pearl Earring [DVD GIR], based on the novel of the same name, imagines the circumstances behind the painting of Johannes Vermeer.

Little Ashes [DVD LIT], explores the relationships between Salvador Dalí, Luis Buñuel, and Federico García Lorca in 1920s Madrid.

The Miniaturist [DVD MIN], also based on a novel of the same name, was shown on PBS "Masterpiece" last year. It is a story of intrigue revolving around a miniature recreation of a young wife's new home in Amsterdam.

Sunday in the Park with George [DVD SUN] is a musical interpretation of the scene presented in the painting by George Seurat, "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte."

Mr. Turner [DVD MR] tells of the tempestuous life of British painter J. M. W. Turner.

Artful Fiction

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 14:00:00 +0000

The GMILCS consortium of libraries in southern NH, of which Nesmith Library is a part, offers eBooks and eAudiobooks through a service called CloudLibrary. (The learn more, click here.) GMILCs member libraries each have a representative on an eBook committee that is responsible for spending money allocated for CloudLibrary content.

The committee does its best to keep up with items in high demand--the things everyone wants to read right now--so a good portion of our funds go to buying multiple copies of "hot" items to fill holds. After 6 months or so, demand generally drops off and we are left with multiple copies in our collection that don't get utilized. There are also items we bought initially for our base collection when we started in 2013, which tend to be available because everyone wants something from the bestsellers list.

The committee, beside ordering books, also maintains several browsing shelves on the CloudLibrary app. These shelves contain newly purchased items or items that have been collected around a theme. Last week I put up a shelf I titled "Artful Fiction." On the shelf you'll find novels that feature artists or art-related themes.

It's an interesting collection and I thought I'd share it here, in case you're not an eBook reader and so won't come across it. Here are ten titles from the shelf (there are 25 in total). These ten are found, in hard copy, on our real library shelves:

The Art Forger by Barbara A. Shapiro [F SHA].

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant [F DUN].

The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachman [F RAC]

Letters from Paris by Juliet Blackwell [F BLA]

Lisette's List by Susan Vreeland. [F VRE]

The Muralist by Barbara A. Shapiro [F SHA].

The Muse by Jessie Burton [F BUR].

Robert B. Parker's Old Black Magic (by Ace Atkins) [F PAR].

Stars of Fortune by Nora Roberts [F ROB]

The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud [F MES].

Poetry Friday--The Moon in the News

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 05:00:00 +0000

On Thursday, the Chinese National Space Administration's lunar craft, Chang'e4, landed on the far side of the moon. It is a landing that is significant because it hasn't been done before, despite the lunar landings which took place 50 years ago!

The far side, also referred to as the dark side, has always presented a problem because of lack of communications capability. The Chinese appear to now have conquered the communications problem and it looks like the "space race" is on again.

Those of you who lived through the 1970s--tell me you don't have Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album [CD ROCK PIN] running through your head! To learn more about the dark side of the moon, click here. What's really exciting is we now have close-up photos!

I suppose writers will now start writing poems about the far side. Until then, here's an Emily Dickinson poem about what she was able to "see" of the side facing us:

The moon was but a chin of gold
    A night or two ago,
And now she turns her perfect face
    Upon the world below.

Her forehead is of amplest blond;
    Her cheek like beryl stone;
Her eye unto the summer dew
    The likest I have known.

Her lips of amber never part;
    But what must be the smile
Upon her friend she could bestow
    Were such her silver will!

And what a privilege to be
    But the remotest star!
For certainly her way might pass
    Beside your twinkling door.

Her bonnet is the firmament,
    The universe her shoe,
The stars the trinkets at her belt,
    Her dimities of blue.

Found in Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson [J 811 DIC]. I'll save you the trouble of looking up "dimity": it is cotton fabric with woven stripes or squares.

Join Sylvia at Poetry for Children for the first Poetry Friday Round-Up of 2019--she'd love for you to stop by!

Il Duce

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 14:00:00 +0000

Leader of the Italian National Fascist Party, Benito Mussolini, became Prime Minister in 1922. On this date in 1925, he dissolved the Italian parliament and declared himself dictator. He gave himself the name, "Il Duce." Mussolini continued to run Italy until the war in Europe was winding down and he was executed by firing squad on April 28, 1945.

The following quote sums up his view of humanity, "War is the normal state of the people."

It might be interesting to view two DVDs in our collection Benito: The Rise and Fall of Benito Mussolini [DVD BEN] a fictionalized version of his life, and Tea with Mussolini [DVD TEA] a look at the dissolution of normalcy in Italy during the period leading up to WW II. It is based loosely on director Franco Zeffirelli's autobiography. It is a comedy, but with dark undertones.

Happy New Year and Happy Oatmeal Month!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 14:00:00 +0000

Nothing says warmth like a bowl of hot oatmeal on a cold January morning. Is it any wonder then, that January has been declared "National Oatmeal Month"?

Besides being a heart-healthy breakfast, oatmeal is also gluten-free. The Whole Grains Council shares this bit of good news about oatmeal:

Unique among the most widely-eaten grains, oats almost never have their bran and germ removed in processing. So if you see oats or oat ﬂour on the label, relax: you’re virtually guaranteed to be getting whole grain.

That's definitely worth knowing if you're concerned about your family eating highly-processed foods!

Here at the Library our collection of cookbooks has a nice variety of recipes using oatmeal. From cereal: "Overnight Baked Oatmeal" found in Gluten-Free on a Shoestring, Quick and Easy: 100 Recipes for the Food You Love--Fast! by Nicole Hunn [641.5638 HUN] to cookies: "Oatmeal Bar Cookies" in 101 Great Gifts Kids Can Make by Stephanie R. Mueller [J 745.5 MUE] to bread: "Peach-Oatmeal Bread" in King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains [641.815 KIN]--this hefty volume has several dozen recipes that use oatmeal--not just bread!

And, here's a bonus: oatmeal is a natural ingredient in many facial scrubs and other health and beauty products! Look for Natural Beauty at Home: More Than 250 Easy-to-Use Recipes for Body, Bath, and Hair by Janice Cox [646.72 COX] where you'll discover soaps, bath treatments, and more you can make at home.

Poetry Friday--Winter Morning Walks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Winter Morning Walks [811.54 KOO] is a slender volume of one hundred postcard poems that Nebraskan poet, Ted Kooser, sent to fellow writer, Jim Harrison.

Kooser, recuperating from a bout with cancer in the late 1990s, began a daily practice of walking and writing a small poem to fit on a postcard. Each poem is prefaced with a single sentence about the conditions outdoors.

Photo courtesy National Archives.

Here is the poem dated December 28:

Windy and at the freezing point.

There are days when the world
has a hard time keeping its clouds on,
and its grass in place, and this
is one of them, tumbleweeds
huddled up under the skirts
of the cedars, oak trees
joining hands in the windy grove.
Even the dawn light, blocky
with pink and yellow and blue
like a comics section, quickly
fluttered away, leaving a Sunday
the color of news.

What a masterful little poem! Sadly, a dozen years from now, readers may no longer understand the references to a comics section, and, the news.

Head over to see Donna at Mainely Write. She is hosting the last of this year's Poetry Friday Round-Ups from her new home in PA.

Finally, join me in wishing a happy retirement to Library Director, Carl Heidenblad! He has new adventures in store.

Happy New Year to all! See you in 2019.

Romantic Comedies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 14:00:00 +0000

Yesterday we looked at the category of film known as the "Screwball Comedy," which featured socialites and other members of the upper classes; its heyday was the 1930s and early 40s.

World War II, and the equalization of the social classes led to a type of film more broadly known at the "Romantic Comedy," in which the main characters came from all walks of life. You'll also find that many of the romantic comedies from this period include music. And quite of number of them balance the comedic elements with rather serious social issues!

Look for these romantic comedies from the 1950s and 1960s:

The Apartment (1960). [DVD APA]

Can-Can (1960). [DVD CAN]

How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965). [DVD HOW]

Love With the Proper Stranger (1963). [DVD LOV]

Operation Petticoat (1959). [DVD OPE]

Pillow Talk (1959) [DVD PIL]

The Seven Year Itch (1955). [DVD SEV]

Some Like it Hot (1959). [DVD SOM]

Three Coins in the Fountain (1959). [DVD THR]

Phew! Now You Can Sit Down

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 26 Dec 2018 14:00:00 +0000

The rush of the holidaya is over! Now you can sit down and put your feet up and relax. Since you're relaxing, you may as well watch a movie. But, nothing too heavy. A laugh or two would be nice...

So, how about a good, old-fashioned "screwball comedy"? If you're not familiar with the term, here's how Wikipedia describes it:

Screwball comedy is a subgenre of the romantic comedy film that became popular during the Great Depression, originating in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s. It is widely known for satirizing the traditional love story. Many secondary characteristics of this genre are similar to film noir, but it distinguishes itself for being characterized by a female that dominates the relationship with the male central character, whose masculinity is challenged. The two engage in a humorous battle of the sexes, which was a new theme for Hollywood and audiences at the time. What sets the screwball comedy apart from the generic romantic comedy is that "screwball comedy puts its emphasis on a funny spoofing of love, while the more traditional romantic ultimately accents love." Other elements of the screwball comedy include fast-paced, overlapping repartee, farcical situations, escapist themes, physical battle of the sexes, disguise and masquerade, and plot lines involving courtship and marriage.

We have a nice classic movie collection and it includes a number of screwball comedies such as these five:

Bringing Up Baby (1938). [DVD BRI]

An heiress determined to catch a zoologist uses her pet leopard, Baby, to get his attention.

The Front Page (1931). [DVD FRO]

An unscurpulous newspaper editor tries to convince his star reporter to do one last story about a condemned man awaiting execution while at the same time, he tries to prevent that same reporter from marrying.

It Happened One Night (1934). [DVD IT]

A rich young woman marries an idle playboy against her father's will. Her father holds her captive on his yacht but she escapes and, while on her way to New York, becomes entangled with an unemployed news reporter.

The Thin Man (there were six films in "The Thin Man" series released 1934-1947). [DVD THI]

The jaunty whodunit that made William Powell and Myrna Loy the champagne elite of sleuthing. Nick and Nora Charles combine screwball romance with mystery.

Top Hat (1935). [DVD TOP]

Rogers and Astaire are caught up in a mistaken-identity plot, in which Rogers assumes that Astaire is already married and is alternately charmed and disgusted by Astaire's advances.

Poetry Friday--Phenomenal Sky!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 02:00:00 +0000

If you happened to have been in New Hampshire's north country last week, you may have been lucky enough to see a wonderful display of sky phenomena. Surprisingly, I didn't learn of it from our regional media. I discovered it on Facebook from someone who had read about it in the Washington Post!

Photo of ice halos by Steve LeBaron and posted on NH Department of Transportation Facebook page.

The Washington Post article explains the science behind the unusual atmospheric conditions. It is a fascinating account!

The picture above puts me in mind of moonbeams, and moonbeams led to "Heigho, My Dearie" by Eugene Field. It is also known as "Orkney Lullaby," but is titled "Heigho, My Dearie" in our copy of Poems of Childhood by Eugene Field (with illustrations by Maxfield Parrish) [J 811 FIE]. It is a reproduction of the original "Scribner Illustrated Classic" volume published in 1904.

A moonbeam floateth from the skies,
Whispering: "Heigho, my dearie!
I would spin a web before your eyes--
A beautiful web of silver light,
Wherein is many a wondrous sight
Of a radiant garden leagues away,
Where the softly tinkling lilies sway,
And the snow-white lambkins are at play--
      Heigho, my dearie!"

A brownie stealeth from the vine
      Singing: "Heigho, my dearie;
And will you hear this song of mine--
A song of the land of murk and mist
Where bideth the bud the dew hath kist?
Then let the moonbeam's web of light
Be spun before thee silvery white,
And I shall sing the livelong night--
      Heigho, my dearie!"

The night wind speedeth from the sea,
      Murmuring: "Heigho, my dearie;
I bring a mariner's prayer for thee;
So let the moonbeam veil thine eyes,
And the brownie sing thee lullabies--
But I shall rock thee to and fro,
Kissing the brow he loveth so,
And the prayer shall guard thy bed, I trow--
      Heigho, my dearie!"

Laura Shovan is hosting the Poetry Friday Round-Up today from Maryland. Be sure to stop by!

After today I'm taking a brief break from blogging. I plan to begin again on December 26, so, for now, I'll wish everyone happy holidays.

Holiday Cooking

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 14:00:00 +0000

Hanukkah, St. Nicholas Day, Bodhi Day have passed. Las Posadas, the Winter Solstice, Pancha Ganapati, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year's Eve (and Day), and the Three Kings Day remain. There are many, many others to celebrate, too, at this time of year. Almost all involve sharing food.

Explore different holidays through special food items. Look for these books, and then break out those pots, pans, and mixing bowls:

Berenstain, Mike. The Berenstain Bears' Holiday Cookbook: Cub-Friendly Cooking with an Adult. [J 641.568 BER]

Copage, Eric V. Kwanzaa: An African-American Celebration of Culture and Cooking. [641.592 COP]

Kaufman, Cheryl Davidson. Cooking the Caribbean Way. [J 641.59729 KAU] (Look for other areas of the world which are covered in the "Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks" series in the children's room. The individual titles all cover holiday cooking.)

Lemoine, Yvan D. Foodfest 365!: The Officially Fun Food Holiday Cookbook. [eBook]

Nathan, Joan. Joan Nathan's Jewish Holiday Cookbook. [eBook]

Simonds, Nina. Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes. [J 394.26 SIM]

Zalben, Jane Breskin. To Every Season: A Family Holiday Cookbook. [J 641.568 ZAL]

Happy Holidays to all!

GoodReads

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 14:00:00 +0000

The online site, goodreads, has been sharing book recommendations for more than a decade and has been steadily growing since it is readers, like you, who review books. 2018 is also the tenth year goodreads has issued a "best of the year" list, which is voted on by readers in the goodreads community. The 2018 list was determined on the basis of more than five million votes! You read that right, 5,000,000+!

Find the 2018 results here.

Billy Strayhorn

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 14:00:00 +0000

On November 30, the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, announced the acquisition of the Billy Strayhorn archives. If the name, Billy Strayhorn doesn't ring a bell, then how about "Take the 'A' Train"?

Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn collaborated on more than 200 pieces of music, the most famous being "Take the 'A' Train."

Saxophone player, Joe Henderson, recorded a tribute album, Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn [CD JAZ HEN], which includes "Take the "A" Train."

Poetry Friday--Winter Lights

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 05:00:00 +0000

We're in the middle of the Jewish festival of lights, Hanukkah, which runs through Monday, December 10, so it's the perfect time to share a poem from the amazing collection by Anna Grossnickle Hines titled, Winter Lights: A Season in Poems and Quilts [J 811 HIN]:

Small Miracles

Hanukkah lights,
another each night,
until there are
eight in a row.
Flames romp on their heads,
and I don't go to bed
until they burn
down to their toes.

Just this small part of the quilt that accompanies the poem will give you an idea of the intricate fabric design and craft work found in the book:

If you're not familiar with Winter Lights, be sure to check it out for it is a celebration of all types of lights of the season from solstice fires to Christmas tree lights to Nian lanterns to the glow of the moon!

Visit Elizabeth Steinglass for this week's Poetry Friday Round-Up!

Edison and Recording

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 14:00:00 +0000

This is truly a momentous date for on December 6, 1877, inventor and visionary, Thomas A. Edison, recorded himself reciting the simple children's poem, "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

The idea that sound could be recorded and then played again and again, must have been an absolute marvel to 19th century citizens.

Today, our options have increased many-fold and the modes of recordings have gone through numerous changes--from wax cylinders to shellac 78s to tape to vinyl to...

Some of the history of recording can be found in A Century of Recorded Music: Listening to Musical History by Timothy Day [780 DAY].

Do you think even Thomas A. Edison could have envisioned the sound recording capabilities we have today?

President Polk and the Gold Rush

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 14:00:00 +0000

What do you know about President James K. Polk? If truth be told, I know absolutely nothing!

In looking, I found that on this day in 1848, James Polk announced the discovery of gold in California and set in motion the part of U. S. history known as "the California Gold Rush."

For a quick brush-up (a minute's worth) on Polk, watch this:

And, here's a short film on the how the Gold Rush began:

Many in the east traveled west in search of gold. A true story of those who were left behind in Keene, NH, can be found in Sisters of Fortune: Being the True Story of How Three Motherless Sisters Saved Their Home in New England and Raised Their Younger Brother While Their Father Went Fortune Hunting in the California Gold Rush by Nancy Coffey Heffernan and Ann Page Stecker.

Marble Science

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 14:00:00 +0000

On Thursday, December 13, 4:00 pm, the SEE Science Center of Manchester will be at the Library to conduct a maker space program for kids in grades three and up. "Magnetic Marble Race" challenges kids to think outside the box. Participants will be divided into small groups and will engineer a course for a marble to travel at a slow rate of speed. However, the marbles they will be working with are not glass, but magnets in marble-shaped form.

Through experimentation and play, the kids will learn more about the science of motion and magnetism. If they'd like to do some pre-reading, our children's room science section has books on magnetism in J 538. Look for The Science Book of Magnets by Neil Ardley, or Science Experiments with Magnets by Alex Kuskowski.

Just for fun, watch this video of a good old-fashioned glass marble race and think about motion and gravity:

Do You Have a Business Plan?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 14:00:00 +0000

If you're all finished with holiday shopping and you have a little time on your hands this month, consider this: December is "National Write a Business Plan Month."

If you have a small business, do you have a plan? If you don't have a business, do you have a plan for your career?

Before 2018 comes to an end, write a plan. You may find it will enable you to move forward when you seem to have been spinning your wheels.

Look for these to help you get started:

Blanchard, Kenneth H. Full Steam Ahead!: Unleash the Power of Vision in Your Company and Your Life. [AB/CD 650.1 BLA]

Covello, Joseph A. The Complete Book of Business Plans: Simple Steps to Writing Powerful Business Plans. [658.4 COV]

DuDell, Michael Parrish. Shark Tank: Jump Start Your Business: How to Grow a Business from Concept to Cash. [658.1 DUD]

Elizaga, Karen. Find Your Sweet Spot A Guide to Personal and Professional Excellence. [eBook]

Hawley, Casey. 10 Make-or-Break Career Moments: Navigate, Negotiate, and Communicate for Success. [650.1 HAW]

Selk, Jason. Organize Tomorrow Today: 8 Ways to Retrain Your Mind to Optimize Performance at Work and in Life. [eBook]

Williams, Edward E. Business Planning: 25 Keys to a Sound Business Plan. [eAudioback]

Poetry Friday--Happy Birthday, Shirley Chisholm!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Nov 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Shirley Chisholm was born on November 30, 1924. In 1968, she became the first first African American woman elected to Congress, and, four years later, she became the first African American candidate for a major party nomination for President of the United States! Shirley Chisholm was a mover and a shaker!

Source: Equality Now.

As a birthday remembrance, I've taken several of Chisholm's quotations and mashed them together to make this "found poem":

Shirley Ate a Bushelful
(A Found Poem)

There is little place...

for an independent
creative personality

for a fighter.

Anyone who
takes that role

must pay a price.

Be as bold as
the first man
or [woman]
to eat an oyster.

And...

If they don't give you
a seat at the table,
bring a folding chair.

Sorry, I don't have birthday cake to offer! But, there are plenty of poetry treats found today at Carol's Corner.

Pong

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 14:00:00 +0000

Atari brought Pong to the world on November 29, 1972. At first it was an arcade game, but it soon found its way into the home as a video game. How many of you remember that awful sound and being mesmerized by the rather tedious back and forth of the simulated "ping pong" ball? Looking back 46 years it is almost comical how simplistic the system was!

Video games have come a long way since then!

Gamers around the world will likely spend around $138 billion on games this year, according to Newzoo's Global Games Market Report. The market research firm tracks usage and trends of video games, mobile and esports. The figure represents a 13.3 percent increase year over year, or an extra $16.2 billion.

Source: CNBC.com/.

Did you know that the Nesmith Library has video games you can borrow? They go out for two weeks. Click here to see what's available.

From Haverhill to Hollywood

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 14:00:00 +0000

Famed Hollywood producer and studio head, Louis B. Mayer, was a junk dealer before venturing into the early field of movie entertainment. He opened a movie theater in Haverhill, Massachusetts on this date in 1907. From that time, until his death 50 years later, his rise to the pinnacle of Hollywood legends is a true American success story.

Mayer was born Lazar Meir in 1884 in Russia. His family emigrated to Canada, then Mayer relocated to Boston. By 1907 he purchased a burlesque theater, the "Gem" on Essex Street in Haverhill. (It was popularly known as the "Garlic Box," due to its Italian immigrant clientele.) Mayer did extensive renovations and renamed the theater the "Orpheum," hoping to attract a more up-scale clientele. The Orpheum opened on Thanksgiving Day (11/28/1907), and began showing films and plays, which, the city's many workers paid 10 or 15 cents to see. It was such a success that by September 1908, Mayer had expanded the theater to accommodate the crowds, and, changed its name to the "New Orpheum." He also began booking larger theater productions such as "Peter Pan." Mayer soon owned a half-dozen additional theaters in the city, and then the "Colonial," which had seating for over a thousand. He expanded his theater managerial business to other states in the northeast.

In 1912, Mayer became a U. S. citizen. The next step up from showing movies, was to make them, and the rest is Hollywood history!

Read Louis B. Mayer's extensive biography in Lion of Hollywood: the Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer by Scott Eyman [B MAY].

Robin Hood, Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 14:00:00 +0000

Many Americans grew up with the print version of Robin Hood by Paul Creswick and illustrated by N. C. Wyeth, first published in 1917. You can read it online here.

Others may have been exposed to a version written and illustrated by Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, which was first published in 1883. This cover and title page is from 1892:

Read it online here.

Fast forward to 2018 and you'll find a comix format version of Pyle's Robin Hood, adapted by Joe Dunn, illustrated by Ben Dunn [J CX DUN] and another comix version, Robin Hood: Outlaw of Sherwood Forest: An English Legend adapted by Paul D. Storrie, pencils and inks by Thomas Yeates [YA CX STO].