If you’re having trouble seeing the video here, you can also watch it on YouTube.

	Katie Breithaupt
	Library Assistant
	KBreithaupt@friscotexas.gov

The theme this time is “winter memories.” After you read some of our favorite winter memories, share yours in a comment below, and you could win an FPL book bag, as well as some other FPL goodies. We’ll pick one commenter at random to win the prize. Maybe it’ll be you! Leave us a comment by next Thursday and we’ll see!

So, without further ado, here are some of FPL’s favorite winter memories:

When I was a kid, Christmas was a pajama day. The rest of the year, everyone had to be up and dressed for the day to begin, but on Christmas morning, we woke up in pajamas, and then made it through present opening, gift wrap cleaning up, cookie deliveries to the neighbors, and cookie deliveries to our own tummies without ever changing into anything with buttons, zippers, or ties.
-Katie Breithaupt

Growing up in Southwest Florida, where it’s sunny and warm 24/7, cold weather and snow and chimney’s were a foreign concept. In our small town, the big holiday event was when Santa would arrive in a helicopter at Grant’s Department Store parking lot. He’d step out of the copter dressed in his traditional red coat trimmed in white fur but sporting shorts and flip-flops from the waist down—then we’d go to the beach!
-Jan Jackson

My immediate family is full of people who can’t wait until the proper time to do things, so we open presents on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning we get stockings with candy and socks and things. During Christmas Day we go visit our family in Gainesville, TX and exchange our “Secret Santa” gifts with our assigned extended family members. Good food, good people. What more could you ask for?
-Amanda Poore

Two words: Christmas Pageant. We’d go through the whole show with the singing and the lines and the dressing up, just as we rehearsed. But my favorite part was right at the end. The director would give everyone in the room a candle, even children (as long as they were older than nine). Then an usher would walk down the aisles, lighting the candle for the person at the end. That person would pass on their light until every candle was lit. Then we’d turn off the lights, and while the entire room glowed, we’d sing Silent Night very softly—first in English, then in German.

Frohe Weihnachten!
-Lisa Kilian

My favorite winter memories spring from living in El Paso, Texas for a few years when I was very young. The idea that you could have freezing temperatures and snow in the morning, and then go out in the afternoon in short sleeves to play, was astounding. Now mind you my parents didn’t send me out in short sleeves but pretty quickly you figured out they were just trying to get their money’s worth out of the coat they bought when you lived in Amarillo. Now that place has winters!
-Gary Werchan

Seeing Santa skate at the Galleria and the lights at Frisco Square.
-Anna Mazumdar

We had lots of traditions growing up in Northern Ontario, Canada (200 miles north of Toronto), but my favorite was going to get the Christmas tree with our best friends the Scott family. We didn’t just go to the local tree farm or corner grocery store, oh no, a few weeks before Christmas, my Dad would bundle my brothers and me up in our snowsuits and boots, load us in the car, and we’d head off down the highway. As we drove, my Dad would be scouring the countryside looking for just the right spot, and when he found it, we’d stop, scramble out of the car, and follow my Dad and Mr. Scott into the bush.

The Dads carried the axes and pulled the toboggans in order to drag the trees back to the car. We’d all spread out looking for just the perfect tree, everyone wanting their choice to be picked. My Dad liked the Spruce with its nice short needles, while Mr. Scott preferred pine. After a round of snowball fights, and a healthy debate over which trees were the best, the Dads would chop them down and we’d get ready to head home with our finds. Unfortunately, after a couple of hours of trudging through the trees with snow up to our hips, we kids were exhausted, so the Dads ended up using the toboggans to pull us back to the car with one hand while dragging the 6 or 8 ft. trees out with the other. We couldn’t wait to get home to show our Moms the trees, and to warm up with a mug of hot chocolate and some freshly baked cookies. Ah, those were the days!
-Lorrie Puchala

Leave us a comment by next Thursday, the 22nd, and we’ll include you in the random drawing. Our lucky winner will be announced on Tuesday, the 27th when we reopen after the holiday. That’s your name all over Twitter, Facebook, the Library website, and, of course, this blog! We can’t wait to hear your favorite memories!

	Jake Gauslow
	Adult Services Librarian
	jgauslow@friscotexas.gov

It was originally done in 1893 by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, whose birthday is today (1863); between 1893 and 1910, he produced several different versions. Munch began painting in the middle of the Impressionist movement, but soon decided that it was too superficial and that it limited his ability to express himself. His new direction–deriving his works from highly personal, emotional expression–heavily influenced the Expressionist movement.

Interestingly, Munch’s works seem to be highly susceptible to theft. The Scream was placed in a special gallery for the 1994 Olympics, but was stolen on the opening day while security was, presumable, focused on the games. While it was eventually recovered undamaged, a different version of The Scream, along with another Munch painting, Madonna, was stolen from the Munch Museum in 2004. These thieves were more careless; both paintings were damaged, and The Scream could not be fully repaired. Finally, in 2005, several other Munch works were stolen from a hotel in which they were on display; one of these was damaged as well.

A few final pieces of trivia regarding Munch:

• While American bank notes feature former presidents and other important figures in the founding of America, Norwegian ones feature important figures in the arts and sciences. Munch is on the 1000 Kroner note.
• You’re probably familiar with the Scream movie series–the iconic mask from these films was based on Munch’s painting.
• In 2006, while The Scream was still missing, the makers of M&Ms used the painting in an ad and offered a reward of 2 million M&Ms for its return; the paintings were returned within a few days. The company has offered to donate the cash value to the Munch Museum.

If you’re interested in reading more about Munch’s life, Sue Prideaux has written a biography entitled Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream. You’ll find it on the fourth floor in our biography collection.

	Jake Gauslow
	Adult Services Librarian
	jgauslow@friscotexas.gov

But let’s face it; you haven’t truly celebrated the holidays in Frisco until you’ve been to Merry Main Street.

Instead of telling you my own rendition of Merry Main Street, I decided to go right to the source. I contacted Cara Harting, City of Frisco Special Events Supervisor, and asked her to give me the skinny on this year’s event.

LIB: So what exactly IS Merry Main Street?

Cara: The event is the official kick off of the holidays in Frisco with the lighting of the Christmas Tree, the (legendary) light show, and this year –– a fireworks show.

 LIB: How long has Frisco been putting on the event?

Cara: This has been our tradition for 21 years.

LIB: What can event goers expect to see at this year’s event besides the Christmas tree and the lights?

Cara: During Merry Main Street, the following activities happen:

• Photos with Santa
• Performances by 32 FISD Elementary Choirs, 1 LISD Choir and Legacy Christian Academy’s Choirs
• Free horse and carriage rides
• A brand new ice skating rink with shows and public skating
• Santa’s workshop with Christmas crafts
• A gingerbread house contest
• Model train display
• Food court
• Arts, crafts, businesses and sponsor booths each with great activities
• Radio Disney Festival of Giving and Fun Zone for kids
• Holiday store for kids to shop for their families

LIB: Sounds like a lot of fun! What time does it begin and end?

Cara: It goes from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Find available parking at Pizza Hut Park.

See You There!

	Lisa Kilian
	Library Assistant
	lkilian@friscotexas.gov

Yes, you read that right. In the very southern part of Argentina, very near the border with Chile, lies the town of Veintiocho de Noviembre–November 28. It got its name from the date it was founded in 1959, when several smaller settlements were combined to form a single town.

It also serves as  a reminder that, when it comes to naming towns, there really don’t seem to be any rules. You’ll find all of these examples in the United States:

There are exciting towns, like Surprise–5 of them, actually (in Arizona, California, Indiana, Nebraska, and New York).

There are also towns with less exciting names:

• Boring (Maryland and Oregon)
• Normal (Illinois)
• Ordinary (Kentucky and Virginia)
• Okay (Oklahoma)

And towns with names that are just plain strange:

• Odd (West Virginia)
• Peculiar (Missouri)

There’s a Why in Arizona and a Whynot in North Carolina. If you’re Uncertain, there’s a town for you in Texas. Texas also has Happy and Smiley, not to mention both Telegraph and Telephone. The Internet is represented by Half.com, Oregon (seriously). Eighty Four is in Pennsylvania, Ninety Six is in South Carolina, and Hundred is in West Virginia. Smartt is in Tennessee–and yes, it’s spelled with two Ts!

Hungry? You could go to Sandwich in Illinois or Massachusetts, or Toast in North Carolina. You could also go to Meat Camp in North Carolina, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it.

You may have heard of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, but are you familiar with Result, NY? How about Accident, Maryland?

If you haven’t been to Waterproof, Louisiana, you may not want to visit Mudville (also in Louisiana). If you do, you may want to stop by Hygiene, Colorado afterward.

You’re probably already aware that Hell is located in southeast Michigan. I can only assume they get their paving materials from Good Intent, New Jersey.

Enough? (That’s in Missouri)

If not, come on in and we’ll hook you up with our Weird U.S. collection!

	Jake Gauslow
	Adult Services Librarian
	jgauslow@friscotexas.gov

The library is closed today as we celebrate the holiday. We will remain closed through the weekend, and reopen again at 10AM on Monday. The book drop on the south side of the building will remain open for returning materials.

Have a great holiday! See you next week!

	Jake Gauslow
	Adult Services Librarian
	jgauslow@friscotexas.gov

WE HAVE A NEW TOY!!!

OK, so it’s not actually a toy, but it is pretty cool. It’s an Automated Materials Handling System, which, translated into English, means Machine That Instantly Checks In And Sorts Your Items (but that doesn’t sound nearly as important). What does it do? Exactly that. When you come into the library, you’ll notice that, where there used to be three different slots to return materials according to their type, there is now only one. All you have to do is put your books/DVDs/CDs into the slot, and the magic begins. It will automatically check them back in—immediately! The items will travel along a conveyor belt, and the machine will automatically sort them based on where they live in the library.

What does this change for us? It allows our staff to focus more on getting these items back on the shelf more quickly so that someone else can check them out again. It helps us to be more efficient and allows us to do more for you with the same amount of staff.

More importantly, what does this change for you? Well, in one sense, it changes nothing. You’ll still return your materials in the same places—the drive-up book drop on the south side of the building will remain the same, and the only difference in the inside book return is that there’s only one slot—so you don’t have to learn any fancy new procedures or anything like that. But in another sense, it changes everything. Because items are checked in immediately, you won’t have to wait 10-15 minutes after returning DVDs to check new ones out anymore. We’ll be able to get items back on the shelf faster, which means they’ll be available for you to check out sooner, which is important, because you use your library more (per capita) than almost anyone else in the region! It also means that you’ll get your holds just a little bit faster.

Odds are, you’ve probably got something checked out right now. If so, we’ll see you soon!

Oh, and one more thing: for those of you who may be tempted to try to peek inside and see your book get sorted, we’ve got an easier way—Book Cam! You can also see pictures of the installation process on our Flickr page.

	Jake Gauslow
	Adult Services Librarian
	jgauslow@friscotexas.gov

Behold—a gently used laundry basket!

Laundry basket

I guess someone really wants us to clean up around here. First a laundry basket appears on the donation cart, then a feather duster.

Feather Duster

We receive VHS donations sometimes, but this is a new one. I mean, it is actually new—as in ‘never having been used’—and still in a wrapper. Did I mention that it is blank and can be used to record your favorite TV shows—assuming you still have a VCR…you do remember those, right? You’ll never have to miss Miami Vice again!

Blank VHS tape- still in the wrapper.

Another type of outdated media that is donated to us occassionally is the record album. But seriously—why would anyone want to part with this little gem?

Saturday Night Fever soundtrack—on LP

Finally, one of my personal favorites. I felt compelled to demonstrate this one as a picture alone cannot do it justice. Ladies and gentlemen, I present Mr. Wonderful!

Other noteworthy donations not pictured: Printers from the 1980s, junkmail, microscope slides, gummy worms.

So what do we do with all of these unusual items? They go into the Book Nook, get recycled, get reused, or just get kept around for good feelings.

Like Mr. Wonderful, who will always brighten my day. Thanks Frisco!

	Lori Carson
	Senior Librarian
	lcarson@friscotexas.gov

	Jake Gauslow
	Adult Services Librarian
	jgauslow@friscotexas.gov