Lost Between The Pages

Laughing Out Loud: Maurice Sendak on Colbert Report

2012-01-25T08:16:00.000-08:00

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Thanks to Tiffany for mentioning this on Twitter. I am not sure why the Washington Post says that Sendak is having a bad day. Because to me, he seems in very good spirits. Is it because of the comment about Newt Gingrich? Maybe because I'm kind of a curmudgeon my self.

Book Drops: The Last Airbender: The Promise Pt. 1 by Gene Luen Yang, et. al.

2012-01-21T08:31:00.000-08:00

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise Part 1. By Gene Luen Yang, Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko. Art by Gurihiru. Dark Horse Comics. ISBN: 9781595828118. Feb 2012

My friends, Headphonerecord and Daku, introduced me to the Avatar series shown on Nickelodean. I spent a good couple of days watching each episode back-to-back. So, you can imagine my excitement when I saw that the galley was available on NetGalley.
The Avatar team does not disappoint in the next installment of the series. We left off with Aang ending the war, but we were left wondering, what happens next and that is where these new tales begin. Aang knows that he has not completed his task, he must also bring peace to the 4 nations. He volunteers, with the help of Kataara, Sokka and Toph, to help transition the people of the nations to an era of peace and harmony. However, the new Fire Lord, Zuko, is struggling with what that means and discovers that this move, is not as simple as it appears to be.
If you love the Avatar series or not, this is a great beginning to a new adventure with Aang and the gang. Also, Momo and Apa are back and you know, I love those characters!

Returning to Cataloging

2012-01-19T13:25:00.000-08:00

I have to share. I've started cataloging again with CZ. CZ is slowly retiring. I don't want her to leave. I don't think anyone should retire until I am ready to retire!!! Anyway, I forget that I have been here for 6 years and they have been here for....a while. So, when my coworkers start talking about retirement, I just don't believe them. I know, I'm in denial but CZ is so amazing, awesome, fun and the best cataloger in the world, that I just can't let her go...even though, I have no say in the matter, I like to pretend.
So, here it is. My first batch of cataloged books, with their shiny new labels. It has been *cough* 10 years *cough* since the last time I've cataloged so this took a while. Like 4 hours. But I finally got it done. I will start with fiction and then move to other types once I get this down.
I really do enjoy cataloging but I know, I will be no where near as incredible at it as CZ.

Book Drops: Dotter of her Father's Eyes by Mary and Bryan Talbot

2012-01-18T09:45:00.000-08:00

Dotter of her Father's Eyes by Mary and Bryan Talbot. Dark Horse Comics. ISBN: 978159528507 Feb 2012.

If you happen to be in London or live in London, I would say, go to this book signing and release party at Orbital Comics. Dotter of Her Father's Eye is a wonderful graphic novel that describes the parallel lives of Mary Talbot, the author, and Lucia Joyce, James Joyces' daughter. The imagery by Bryan Talbot really conveys the story of how these women grew up. I especially liked the image of Lucia's hospitalization incorporated with modern dance movements. It shows how much of our views of ourselves rests on how our parents dealt with us. It is beautifully written and illustrated and would be a wonderful addition to a school library collection.

Book Drops: Chomp by Carl Hiaasen

2012-01-17T21:03:00.000-08:00

Chomp by Carl Hiaasen. Knopf Book for Young Readers. ISBN: 9780375868429. March 2012

Carl Hiaasen returns with a hilarious, off beat adventure featuring a quiet kid named Wahoo Cray, who does whatever it takes to keep his stubborn, animal wrangling father in check, while taking care of his family's home and animals. Wahoo knows that his family is nearly broke. His father is sick and can't work. And his mother has to take a job in China. When they receive a call about job working for a reality TV show, the only thing they can do is take it. What happens next is more than any of them hoped for.
This story is fast-paced and made me laugh out loud. Hiaasen is the Edward Abbey for young kids. If you liked Hoot, Flush and Hiaasen's other books, you will definitely enjoy Chomp.

Commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

2012-01-15T21:11:00.000-08:00

I really love this Google Doodle :)

Video of the Day: The Joy of Books

2012-01-11T07:29:00.000-08:00

I love this video by crazedadman. Thank you DF for emailing me the link. Enjoy!

LibrarianInBlack on Ebooks and more

2012-01-05T09:22:00.000-08:00

School Library Monthly posted this interview with the Librarian In Black on a show called Social Jumpstart. She is talking about Overdrive, Amazon, DRM and privacy. Worth the 28 minutes.

Hunger Games: Taylor Swift feat. The Civil Wars "Safe & Sound" (from The Hunger Games ...

2012-01-04T15:28:00.000-08:00

Gosh, it is nice to be excited about a movie adaptation again. I haven't been this excited since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Ok, I'm not super into this song but it definitely helps with the build up. Can March get here already?!?!

A book mark would be better! (LOC)

2012-01-03T13:10:00.001-08:00

A book mark would be better! (LOC)
Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress

I love this old poster. Wouldn't that be a great one to have in the library? I would put this up when we do our 9th grade history lessons.

Happy New Year

2012-01-02T17:05:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Tomorrow we head back to work. I tried to get as much reading down this winter break but did not really succeed. I spent a week with my family in San Diego and then spent a week back in Los Angeles. It was nice being in LA when everyone else is gone. I actually find it really relaxing.

So, here is the list of what I read over break:

The Swerve by Stephen J. Greenblatt. There is a review in the New York Times that made me interested in picking this up. I thought it wasn't inaccessible and made the story of Poggio's search and discovery of Lucretius' On The Nature of Things was really fascinating. I have never read anything by Greenblatt but he also writes a lot about Shakespeare so I think I will check those out in the future.

Rotters by Daniel Kraus. This might be one of my favorite reads for 2011. I am not sure why I am reading so much horror lately since I don't like scary movies or things like that, but I could not put this book down. It is dark, sad, exciting, mysterious and just really a fun twisted tale. The protagonists are grave robbers. I think, after all the dystopian, vampire, werewolf and spy books, it was really really refreshing to pick up a book about grave robbers! There is even some interesting facts about those "resurrection" men and their history. I highly recommend reading this one if you haven't already.

I also attempted to read Colin Meloy's Wildwood but I am just having a hard time getting into it. I also tried another book but again, it's not really grabbing me at all.

Year in Photos 2011

2011-12-21T01:04:00.001-08:00

Year in Photos 2011, a gallery by U.S. Yahoo! Editorial on Flickr.

as chosen by the folks at Flickr / Yahoo. What was memorable for you?

Holiday Break

2011-12-20T14:10:00.000-08:00

by CÃ©sar Poyatos

It that time of year..where we go on break.
Hope you and yours have a wonderful winter break.

I am hoping I come back feeling refreshed. It is crazy how exhausted I feel right before school gets out. I think, everyone starts feeling it and we all start looking like we could really use a nap about 1/2 way through the school day.

Anyway, have a very happy new year!

Nerdy Book Club

2011-12-12T08:39:00.000-08:00

This is my new favorite blog. The Nerdy Book Club!!! They focus on children and young adult literature and it's just fun!

Go vote for your favorites for the first annual Nerdies awards :)

Embrace your inner and/or outer nerd self :)

The Library as a Maker-space

2011-12-11T16:16:00.000-08:00

Just finished reading a story on NPR about libraries making "hackerspaces." I am always put off by adding the "hacker" in front of words but that is a whole other post entirely.

Anyway, one of the standouts of this article is the quote from Library Director, Jeff Krull,

"We see the library as not being in the book business, but being in the learning business and the exploration business and the expand-your-mind business," he says. "We feel this is really in that spirit, that we provide a resource to the community that individuals would not be able to have access to on their own."

I love that public libraries have the opportunity to create these kinds of spaces. I think, this has been done in the craft world, with places like the now-closed Home Ec. Shop (I LOVED this place and I met the most wonderful Mrs. Jenny Ryan there), Urban Craft Center, and Tech Shop SF, places where people can rent equipment and hangout and create with like-minded people. It also reminds me of the Makery, which I learned about at http://www.punahou.edu/page.cfm?p=3238 this past summer. These are places where people learn and collaborate, just like a library.

Maybe I can use this to justify teaching kids how to bind books. :)

Holiday Baking 2011

2011-12-10T00:11:00.001-08:00

Sample
Originally uploaded by Miss Martini (AnnaLynn M.)

Last week, I did my annual holiday baking extravaganza for my co-workers. I ventured away from just baking cookies and added a few new things which are featured in the picture. I added the pear bread, cranberry-pecan muffins and egg nog cupcakes. The egg nog cupcakes are so good! If you want to try it, the recipe is from King Arthur Flour.

I always enjoying baking and it was fun having housemates around to taste everything. I actually have less of a sweet tooth than I used to so I hardly taste what I make. I know, I'm a baker, you would think I would eat all these things.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank my coworkers for always making the school year fun and for making the workplace a good place to be. I know, the workplace could be much more drama-filled like other places I have worked.

Plus, my coworkers really appreciate a good baked good!

Book Drops: "The Dark and Hollow Places" by Carrie Ryan

2011-11-26T09:20:00.000-08:00

I finished Carrie Ryan's final installment of the Forest of Hands and Teeth series, The Dark and Hollow Places, during this Turkey Day holiday. I thought it was a pretty good ending for this horror series. Annah is still in the City, waiting for Elias. 3 years have passed and she still cannot leave even though the City is getting worse. As she tries to leave, she notices a girl who looks just like her. Could it be Abigail? Annah needs to find out and strange things begin to happen. Annah struggles with her own self-doubt and insecurities as she tries to deal with the hordes of zombies that are beginning to infiltrate the city as well as dealing with the discovery that Elias and her sister are still alive.

If you liked the series, you will enjoy this finale.

Also, how come the UK cover of this book is a lot better than the US version? I am not a fan of the all the people on the covers. But again I guess that what the American audience likes.

Take A Look: 10 Steps To Better Web Research

2011-11-21T07:45:00.000-08:00

Teaching the Ten Steps to Better Web Research

View more presentations from SweetSearch

Free Tools For Technology shared this slideshow created by Mark Moran and Shannon Firth of Dulcinea Media and I recommend taking a look at it.Going through this slideshow, I feel some validation and assurance that our web search unit is a step in the right direction. I also learned some new tips like AROUND(10), which is a function that can find a specific term 10 words from another term. They example they use is "Kennedy AROUND(10) moon."

They also are school librarian supporters, which is always a plus in my book.

Talking about internet security and safety...

2011-11-17T20:50:00.000-08:00

by Wilson Afonso
Last night, Dave and I hosted a presentation and forum on internet security and safety for the Parents' Association for our school. I feel like this is the first time I have presented professionally to a group that is not made up for children so I was extremely nervous.

We had a few months to get things ready but when school is in session, it is so difficult finding time to do all the research and it needs to be done outside of the school's normal operating hours. I am not sure how my counterparts do it. Do they ever sleep? How do you find time to exercise? eat? teach?

Anyway, it was a really wonderful forum. We invited one of the deans as well as our school psychiatrist to join us. Since we were in front of parents, we were anticipating being asked questions that would fall beyond our expertise as information professionals. Let me say, if you are ever going to give one of these presentations and host a forum like it, have someone from administration on board. Because those questions that you will worry about - questions about school policies, questions about what parents should do - will come up. Though, we know about the school policies, we really are not in positions to speak on behalf of the administration but a dean and also the school psychiatrist will have insight into those things and will know how to share that knowledge with the parents.

Dave spoke on internet security and of course, was incredible. He's one of the best speakers. He's funny and engaging. I wish I could be funny but most of the time, I'm thinking about what it is I want to say. I took the part about internet safety. The section that parents started asking questions about was on privacy. There was a lot of questions about Facebook and other social networking sites. We tried to calm their fears and I think, they calmed each others' fears. At one point, one of the parents asked if she should let her 7th grader have an account on Facebook. A lot of the other parents started saying, "I won't let me child have an account" and "I'm the system administrator in my home and I won't let that happen." Another parent said "Well, that child is just doing their job" by saying "everyone's on Facebook." We took an impromptu poll about how many 7th graders had Facebook accounts and the majority of parents said that their child did not have accounts. Seeing that, definitely, reassured the parents who were unsure of their decision to not let their child have an account.

It was such an interesting discussion and I also learned a lot about what parents are concerned with and also what our administration's stance is on things. I also have to trust that I know what I am talking about. Before going down to the room where we were presenting, Dave reminded me that we do know more about these things that other people because it is part of what we do.

Hopefully, we have another opportunity to show the community what we as librarians do as well as collaborate more with other people in our school.

New York Memories. Cecil Castellucci's Rose Sees Red

2011-11-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

by tibchris

Last night I read Cecil Castellucci's book, Rose Sees Red. It is a heart-warming, coming of age story set in 1980s New York City. Rose is in a dark place and cannot seem to get out of it. She's lost her best friend, she does not know who she is, and she basically built walls around her self to prevent her from getting close to anyone. Yrena is the girl who lives next door in a Russian apartment building that is under surveillance from the KGB and the CIA. Rose's room is directly across from Yrena so she knows that she is a dancer but that is about it. They have spent most of the time barely acknowledging each other, until one night, Yrena shows up at Rose's bedroom window. After that, everything changes...

Rose and Yrena spend the night exploring New York City. They get to know the city as well as each other.

It is a really wonderful story and reminds me of the one time I went to New York City. I wonder if I have already shared this story? I will share it again. I had less than 24 hours in NYC and I had gone with an ex-boyfriend and his family. Our mutual friend, Shanan, lived there so we went to visit him. What would you do in a city you only had less than 24 hours in? I wanted to explore. The ex spent the afternoon hanging out at his friends' apartment. Shanan and I took off and he set about showing me amazing spots in the city. It is actually one of my favorite memories. Sitting in front of a Miro at the MOMA, taking a bus to look at the empire state building obscured by clouds, racing through the windows in Grand Central Station, and sitting in a smokey jazz club listening to a John Coltrane tribute. I had not thought about that in awhile but this book reminded me of that day.

Definitely read it. It will make you want to go on an adventure with your friends :)

California Doesn't Value Librarians...

2011-10-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

Reading an OPED piece from the Los Angeles Times - these statistics caught my eye:

"Other states employ an average of one public librarian to 6,250 patrons. As of last year, 3,432 full-time librarians served 37,253,956 Californians. In other words, California librarians were each expected to serve 10,854 patrons. We also employ fewer school librarians than any other state, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Here, there is one school librarian for every 5,965 students; the national average is one librarian to 865 students."

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-powers-librarians-20111026,0,3265383.story

It just kind of mind boggling to see the disparity.

Yay! Teacher Song!

2011-10-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

I love Yo Gabba Gabba. This is so cute!

Sunset in Joshua Tree

2011-10-13T21:43:00.001-07:00

Sunset in Joshua Tree
Originally uploaded by Miss Martini (AnnaLynn M.)

I got back from retreat week today. I went to Joshua Tree again. This is just my favorite retreat. I never get tired of this trip. It's always fun even if the activities are not always new.

Our naturalist this year was one of the best. He just had the best rapport with the kids and even taught them how to read a topography map. I was really surprised at how engaged the kids were. They just circled around him in rapt attention. It was really surprising. Then I thought, "Wow. When are they ever going to get a lesson in how to read a topo map with all the GPS and navigation tools out there." They even asked about where they could pick up maps.

I also got to ride home with some of my co=workers, who camp and travel all over the place so I learned a few things about backpacking and also got a list of camp sites to check out. HURRAY!

I've Got Spirit! Yes I Do!

2011-09-30T15:57:00.000-07:00

Today was Spirit Day. It's funny. When I first started here, I never really took part. I'm not really a school spirited type of person. I mean, I'm a Banana Slug for one thing... But the last couple of years, I started dressing up a little bit. I'm still much more reserved than some of my coworkers.
But this year, I thought, let me do something fun. I love dancing so when the opportunity came where I could be part of the pep rally with some of my favorite people at work, I said "Yes!" So, today, was the day. I totally messed up. I lost count at times but it was so fun!
We did a flash mob and danced our butts off first and then slowly the kids started joining. We had teachers and students planted in the audience and before you knew it..everyone was up and dancing. It was so great to see everyone having so much fun. One of the great things about working at a middle school is that you can dress up like a clown for spirit day, help lead a dance and then just have fun because it is all part of the job. I think, that is one of the reasons I really like this job. I can actually be as silly as I want to be and it's all okay. The bosses laugh, the kids laugh and of course, I laugh.

Happy Friday! and GO WOLVERINES!!!

Thinking about blogging...

2011-09-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

Blogging Research Wordle by Kristina B (flickr)

I was reading an ...And This is Why Teachers Should Have Blogs post by George Couros that someone tweeted. And it has be again thinking about a post that Anil Dash wrote titled, "If You Didn't Blog It, It Didn't Happen." That post from Anil Dash started a pretty interesting conversation amongst my friends about blogging, our own blogging habits and its importance in our lives.

I agree with Couros that having a professional blog is important and is a great tool to reference what you did in the past or what one's thoughts are on trends in the field. I have been trying to be much better about posting here. However, one of the concerns I have is the fact that these blogs, which can be both personal and professional, can be taken out of context and used against you in court. (Read MizzMurphy's post here).

I have 2 blogs. Both are fairly public and I try to keep my personal one as separate from my professional one as possible. However, I struggle with that decision, which is probably one of the reasons why I hardly blog anymore. It is difficult to divide those 2 parts of me. I find that sometimes this blog just lacks personality. I always wonder how those people out there balance the two? Do you have a super secret blog? That's password protected, invite only? Or do you just write about it all in one place?

I do find that keeping a blog helps me re-evaluate my school year. And helps me think out loud things I am struggling with as a teacher. However, if this blog could possibly be used against me...why should I do it?

This year, I am trying to start a class blog but that has its challenges. I want to open it up but at the same time, I wonder about how we are affecting our students "digital footprint." I do have issue having students creating accounts even if there is approval from administration and their parents. Do teachers who have their students blogging think about the digital footprint they are creating for their students?

Baked French Toast

2011-09-11T15:34:00.001-07:00

Breakfast
Originally uploaded by Miss Martini (AnnaLynn M.)
My friend asked me to post the recipe if the baked French toast I made this morning was good. I thought it was pretty delicious so I will share it here.

Most of the recipes I found called for soaking the bread overnight so the time always said 9 hours or 15 hours. I'm sorry, I am impatient and don't really have time for that. I did find a recipe that had the time as 1.5 hours so I went for that. I used a little bit of Paula Deen's recipe and another recipe. Basically, it's a bread pudding.

Ingredients

French bread baguette (you won't use the whole thing - I think I used 1/2 a baguette)
1-1/2 cups of half & half
4 eggs
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 a teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Slice baguette. I made them maybe an 1/2 inch to 1-inch thick. Depending on the size of the casserole dish, you want to slice enough to line the bottom of the dish. I overlapped my slices and then squished them down once I poured the custard base.

Mix the half & half, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla. You might want to add some nutmeg. I always like nutmeg with my cinnamon. Dip the bread in the mixture and let them soak for a little bit. I was soaking and slicing. Place the slices in the casserole dish and line the bottom. I liked layer the pieces but you don't have to do that. I then poured the custard base on top. I only poured the base so that it was level with the top of the bread. I just discarded the extra custard.

I covered it with a plastic wrap and let the french toast sit in the refrigerator for about an hour to 1-1/2 hours.

I then baked the casserole for 50-55 minutes at 350 degrees. While the French toast is baking you can poach your fruit.

I decided that instead of the praline or brown sugar topping that a lot of people use, I wanted to poach some fruit. I was inspired by my friend, Jen, who poached some plums. I picked up some pluots and plums from the farmers market. I also ended up running into one of my former students walking his dog. He's a good kid so it was nice to see him and see how his first week was.

Recipe for the poached pluots & plums -
I really like David Lebovitz's How To Poach Pears post. Very helpful and informative.

Poached fruit

2 plums and 2 pluots - sliced
1/2 cup of red wine
1/2 cup of cointreau
1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of water

I guess the trick is to not make this mixture super sweet so you will have to taste your mixture.

In a saucepan, that is deep enough so you can add your fruit, boil the wine, cointreau, sugar and water. Once the mixture comes to a boil add the fruit and bring to a low simmer. You will need to cover the fruit so that it stays submerged. I cut a piece of parchment into a circle and just laid it on top of the fruit. I let is simmer for about 10 minutes and then removed the fruit from the mixture with a slotted spoon. I threw in a few handfuls of dried blueberries in the warm liquid and let them rehydrate.

I then fried up some chicken apple sausage.

Once the French toast is done, cut and serve with the poached fruit and sprinkle with powdered sugar. I used the liquid as syrup.

Remembering 9/11

2011-09-10T20:08:00.001-07:00

Brooklyn Bridge - 9/11 Memorial Lights
Originally uploaded by DiGitALGoLD

I can't really believe that is has been 10 years since 9/11 happened...
I was not so sure how the kids at school would feel about it. Most of them were babies. We did have a memorial service at the school but I know, that it is something very distant from their lives.

Today, I was driving with MisterJT and we were talking about how much has happened in 10 years in our own lives. It is sad that that event is marker. I lived in Albany, CA. I was a bartender. I was a circulation assistant at an art school. Since then, I lost my dad. I worked at Dreamworks, Fox, and the UCLA Film Archives. I graduated from UCLA. I became a school librarian. I started baking more. I started making things. I broke someone's heart and I was heart broken. I now have 10 beautiful nieces and nephews. I went to China. I went to NOLA. Life goes forward.

I am not sure if the events of that day will hit me tomorrow. I wish our soldiers were back home. I am not even sure if we are safer now. I feel like there is more hatred in this country since those events. I hope things get better...My thoughts go out to the families who mourn this day, the soldiers we've lost and those who are still fighting the war....

I love Wyatt Cenac

2011-09-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

Jokes.com

DVD Exclusive - Wyatt Cenac - Animated Extra - Medieval Times

comedians.comedycentral.com

Jokes

Joke of the Day

Funny Jokes

This has nothing to do with libraries but I love Wyatt Cenac.

Hunger Games Trailer

2011-08-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

Get More: 2011 VMA, Music

I'm so excited! Also, this was our community read. So hopefully the discussions will be interesting.

Spiders and pigs and my love of E.B. White

2011-08-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

How fitting that when I opened up my Blogger role, the first story was a post from the LA Review of Books Blog called The Books That Made Us: Charlotte's Web. The last couple of evenings, my housemate and I have stared outside freaking out over the spiders that are living in our backyard. My other housemate, B, loves them. He's always telling us that they eat those mosquitos that are now plaguing our neighborhood and spreading West Nile (which is another post all together).

The post was accompanying a review of Michael Sims' The Story of Charlotte's Web, which I have just added to my wishlist. I have enjoyed reading the other authors remembrances about when they first read Charlotte's Web. So, I thought, I would share my little remembrance about it.

I spent a lot of time in the library at George Dewey Elementary School. Mr. Frank was our school librarian and he was always aware of the types of books we were reading and ready to make suggestions. My Auntie Femi worked there too as the library assistant so you know, we couldn't get into any mischief. I was in 4th grade and one of my nerdy aspirations was to read as many books as I could from the library. I really loved books about with animals because what I really wanted to be was a veterinarian. So, I thought, if I read all the animal books I could, I could tap into what they were thinking. Even if it was a fiction book. What did I know? I was just a kid who loved to read.

Wandering around the stacks one day, Mr. Frank stopped me and handed me this book, a little girl on the cover, holding a small pig. The words "Charlotte's Web" written in a spider's web. That was it. That was all I needed to see. I checked out the book, writing my first name in 4th grade scrawl. I took the book home, walking the few blocks to our house and just holed up on our old rocking recliner for the next few hours reading.

I never liked spiders or pigs. But this story definitely made me appreciate them more. I don't kill them though. Also, I just learned from Headphonerecord that if you see a spider in the evening it's good luck.

"Villiers noted that in France during the 1920s, "the sight of a spider in the house is not fortunate in the forenoon, but if you see it in the afternoon, you may certainly expect a present, the value of the gift increasing according to the lateness of the hour." from Lucky Mojo

So spiders and pigs..thanks to E.B. White and Charlotte's Web, I will leave you alone and appreciate your webs and hunting skills.

From EdTech magazine : Cloud Computing in the Classroom

2011-08-07T16:29:00.001-07:00

SOURCE: Cloud In the Classroom

Sundays at the Public Library

2011-08-07T15:44:00.001-07:00

Children's Library
Originally uploaded by Miss Martini (AnnaLynn M.)

I have worked 2 jobs and some times more for years now. Honestly, I thought that after I received my masters degree that I would be able to have just one job like "normal" people. Unfortunately, I tend to like the jobs that people do not think deserves high pay - teaching, librarianship. I suppose, I could have just become a nurse, which is kind of one of those jobs that as a Filipina girl growing up, I should have had. But, being that I'm not very practical, I went a whole other route...

That said, here I am, working 2 jobs. (Well, 3 actually, counting my "consulting" gig). And old girl is tired! And this girl really wants to be able to focus on 1 job. To focus so that I can actually become better at it. I noticed that I don't have enough time to actually focus on things other than working. Though, trust me, this is not a whoa-is-me sort of post. I know, lots of people need jobs. Maybe I should make room for those people...This way I can actually make room for other things.

I almost did it. I almost gave notice the other week and then I had to take my car into the shop. See, this is what happens - I think, I'm going to quit!!! and then a few days later something happens. This time is was needing some work done on my car. Last time, gas prices soared to $6. Before that the economy went to hell...

Anyway, public library life is a bit quiet this Sunday. Everyone's enjoying the final days of summer though we are getting a few kids and parents coming in getting ready for the school year. I think, the public school kids have 1 more week and then they are back to work for the school year.

Luckily, I have a bit more time...

Quick update

2011-07-15T01:00:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is the last day for Lab School @ Punahou. It has been amazing, enlightening and inspiring. I will write more later. But today's keynotes were fantastic.

More soon.

Learning about bit more about James Thurber

2011-07-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

I was watching some animation from the 1930s and 40s and noticed this post of James Thurber's The Unicorn In The Garden. I remember reading a few articles here and there about James Thurber but never really went into depth with that research. I knew, he was a major cartoonist for the New Yorker.

Someone posted a comment that the video is about his first wife. The woman character is awful! Anyway, I really love this quote from Thurber:

"For the hawk eyed person life has none of the soft edges which for me blur into fantasy…” -James Thurber

"Taking A Seat At The Table"

2011-07-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

Old School by alamosbasement

I recently read the article in the New Yorker about Sheryl Sandberg by Ken Auletta. One of the points that Sandberg makes is that women should "take a seat at the table" and be part of the conversation instead of just sitting in the background waiting for things to happen.

With the recent interrogation of school librarians by LAUSD, the cutting of school librarians jobs across the country, and the lack of awareness of that librarians do and are knowledgeable about, as well as my participation at Lab School @ Punahou, I have been thinking about that phrase.

There are only a few librarians participating in this conference. My self, Dave Wee and sometimes Deb Peterson. The rest of the participants are subject specific teachers, a lot of whom are part of their technology integration teams. But, where are the librarians? They are discussion digital and media ethics, integrating technology into the curriculum, gamification, the filter bubble, and so many more topics, that we in the library profession have been talking about for years and have been implementing.

Whenever I go to these educator professional development programs, I always feel like the loner. I know, I am very lucky to be working at the school where I work at, have the Library Goddess as our advocate, but what about the other school librarians out there? How do we become more a part of the conversation at these conferences?

Yesterday, I actually gave a brief demo about searching for images for reuse because the copyright and fair use question came up. I had questions about how to teach kids about how to attribute and cite images properly. And at one point, one of my colleagues commented, "Wow..our librarian never even talked about this with us."

Our colleagues do not even know what it is we know!!! My eyes about popped out of my head.

We need to share, we need to be at less librarian-specific conferences, we need to get out there.

Paperkraft.net - Free Papercraft, Paper Model, & Papertoy: IT Crowd - Maurice Moss Papercraft

2011-07-08T16:30:00.000-07:00

Paperkraft.net - Free Papercraft, Paper Model, & Papertoy: IT Crowd - Maurice Moss Papercraft: "Cubee Maurice Moss (played by Richard Ayoade) based on the British sitcom, The IT Crowd - Morris is your typical computer nerd and known f..."

Aloha! First Days @ Lab School @ Punahou School

2011-07-08T08:32:00.001-07:00

The Duke
Originally uploaded by Miss Martini (AnnaLynn M.)

The first few days of Lab School @ Punahou are behind me and today is the last day of week 1. I have already taken part in some really interesting discussions, learned about new techniques and methods to apply to my own teaching and have met and talked with some very inspiring educators.

The Lab School is a 2-week professional development program, that Ted Landgraf described more as an unconference. There are cohorts, which are basically groups of specialized interests. This year, I am participating in the Mobile Technology cohort and Dave Wee (Big Building, Lots of Books) is auditing the Media and Digital Ethics cohort. However, one of the great things so far, is that you are not super tied to attending just your cohort meetings. If there is something you are interested in participating in, you can just talk to your facilitators and attend. I am making it sound like it is very formal but it's not at all.

Another great event are the keynotes. They are on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and there are 2 speakers for each keynote session. This week we had:

Katie Morrow, who is the Tech Integration Specialist at O'Neill Public Schools in Nebraska. She's doing some incredible things over there and was just an inspiring person to here speak and to talk too. She's over at Teach42Morrow website. Definitely check out what she is doing and follow her on Twitter! Katie spoke on "Choice, Challenge and Change in the Classroom."

Miguel Young from iTunes U was iChatted in. He spoke about some of the trends in mobile technology in education and pointed out some great new partners on iTunes U.

Dr. Neil Scott talked about the Makery Cloud Project. He is over at the University of Hawaii and they are just doing some incredible things that include teaching students the importance of design, curiosity, invention, entrepreneurship, making things and taking pride in their work. One of the points he made was about keeping workers relevant even with all these things that are used to automate things. You have to see what these kids are creating! It's incredible!

Hillary Freeman, from Nueva School, spoke about 21st century thinking skills (computational thinking, ISTE) and how these can be applied to any curriculum.

There was a lot of discussion and modeling of challenge-based learning methods practiced by a lot of Apple Education sponsored schools.

The entire environment in this program is about sharing and collaboration beyond the school walls. It is inspiring and exciting to be a part of this group of innovative educators.

The Sunday Library: Etiquette

2011-06-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

Working on Sundays for the past 4 years here at the BPL, I am sometimes surprised at what our regular kids are interested in. Today, one of our regulars asked for George Washington's book on etiquette. We actually do have a copy at one of the other branches. I have never even heard of this book - Rules of Civility and neither has my cohort. But I am so glad that I get to read them now.

Here are a few links:

NPR - George Washington's Rules of Civility

History.org - Colonial Williamsburg

I think that I was a bit surprised that there is this interest in etiquette especially when there is a lot of bullying out there.

Anyway, something to think about on a Sunday afternoon.

Losing space...ebooks versus physical spaces...

2011-06-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

Every time I see these new Kindle commercials, I cringe just a little bit. I was trying to pin point what it is that really bothers me and I think I know what it is after reading this quote that Bright As Yellow posted.

I used to enjoy the old Kindle commercials, they were much more alive and warm and kind of gave you this sense of transporting you to another place.

Or this commerical:

But now there is this starkness, like the Apple commercials and there also seems to be this battle with place. I am not sure if I am making sense here but I will try to articulate what it is that I am thinking and feeling. The first of the new commercials I watched was the one above - I'm going to the bookstore (or library), but hold on, you don't have to GO anywhere, I just bought the book you wanted in 60 seconds. Girl stops and just starts reading. The second commercial, the same girl has a book and again the guy has a Kindle (which probably deserves a comment as well) and she's describing being outside and the physicality of the book and again gets awed by the amazing-awesomeness of the Kindle.

I don't want to people to stop going to bookstores or libraries. I think, even with these e-readers that it is still important to have these spaces to go to where you can browse the shelves and maybe find something else to read or run into friends or have a place where you can feel the weight of a 200 page book in your hand.

Don't get me wrong, I read ebooks, I listen to audiobooks, but I don't really like that there is this battle between the physical book and the ereaders as well as what looks to be as this battle between going out to places where these books are shelved and the ease of the download (never leave your home again!!!!)

Book Drops: Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

2011-06-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

I finally got to read Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi. This book is a National Book Award finalist and I can now see why. Also, one of our former students came for a visit and highly recommended it.

Honestly, I think the market is pretty saturated with these dystopian reads - Matched, Water Wars, The Uglies series, Hunger Games (which is now a movie) - so I was a skeptic about how good this book would be but it was engaging. I wasn't sure what exactly ship breaking is but lead me to another link - The Ship Breakers of Bangladesh. Nailer, is a teen ship breaker, and the world is pretty much destitute for everyone except for the very rich - the people who own the oil companies, food companies, etc. Regular people are strung out or just surviving. The only way out of the gangs of ship breakers is to get a lucky break, and then hope that no one else kills you to take it from you. Nailer needs to get out, his father is abusive, he's almost at an age where he needs to join the older or "heavy" crew, how is he going to get out of this life?

Another thing about this book that I loved was that it was obviously a multicultural group of characters. Sometimes, when you read these books, it's obvious that they are not colored people. In Ship Breaker, you have Latinos, Caribbeans, Indian (Asia), and of course, the hybrid people. I wonder, if that was why they didn't put a portrait on the cover. That is the trend now, all these portraits on the cover of YA books. I guess, it's what the kids like...

Anyway, you should definitely check this out at your library or pick it up or download it.

Next on my reading table: Invasion (A C.H.A.O.S. Novel) by J.S. Lewis. So far it reminds me of Ender's Game and the movie, MIB and maybe a bit of Alex Rider and Star Wars. All of which I like so I'm pretty into this book.

Happy Reading!

Letters to the Children of Troy on Flickr

2011-06-12T12:41:00.001-07:00

Letters to the Children of Troy, a set by troylib on Flickr.

Have you seen these wonderful letters to the Children of Troy Public Library. It's making me smile and kind of tear up. The joys of a new public library opening up. There are 97 letters. I really love the one from E.B.White.

Books are Evil! Don't Read Them!!!

2011-06-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

I have been busy with the end of the school year and am now reading all of these articles. Here is the thread of articles I've been reading so far...

WSJ "Darkness To Visible" by Meghan Cox Gurdon - it started it all. I completely disagree with her and I wonder what YA books she's actually really sat down and read. There, I said it! I mean, not all YA books are violent. My favorite book is 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson, which is actually happy and positive. The sequel is coming out or just came out too! No suicide, no vampires, no self mutilation. But I guess, Ms. Gurdon didn't go looking for THOSE kinds of books.
SLJ Blog response "There's Dark Things In Them There Books! - great links and says what I think..pretty much
Libba Bray's response on Twitter as posted by WSJ
Teens responding on the Figment forum
Search #YAsaves on Twitter
Josie Levitt on PW - Young Adult Fiction Not All Doom and Gloom

If you have more helpful links..feel free to comment or post..Thanks!

Also, I really didn't appreciate her tone about the challenged books...If they take away all those "bad books" I would never have read Harry Potter..and MILLIONS of kids would not have read them either and developed a love for reading.

Practical Advice on Picking a Portable Camera for Schools

2011-05-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

We are on the hunt for an alternative to the awesome Flip Videos cameras that Casio has decided to discontinue. Why, Casio? Why? This portable video camera is perfect for a school. It's durable, it used 2 double AA batteries, it's plug and play/download/work, super easy to use and has help up pretty well with the amount of students we have using the devices.

There is a great list that someone from AISL emailed me
12 Fabulous Flip Camera Alternatives

The thing with the list is that it reviews the products but does not really take into account workflow and how these items are when used in the library, classroom and in an environment where there are 700+ users checking them in and out, plugging and unplugging them into computers, and where the librarians are maintaining them in addition to our daily tasks.

I posted a tweet, checked in with my friends' on various SNS sites, and posted to the list-servs. I did not get too many responses. However, I did receive the helpful link above and a few recommendations for Kodak's Zi8 video camera. I was also testing Sony's Bloggie Camera. However, it did not meet our requirements.

What are some of the factors we considered when testing video camcorders and/or looking at the specifications you wonder?

Durability - this is key. We have over 700 students ages 11 - 15 with varying approaches of how to treat things they check out from the library. You know what I'm talking about...
Easy of Use - kids just want to get the project completed ; can you plug and play? are there a lot of buttons to distract them? Do you need a separate SD card?
Charging/Batteries - can we use batteries? does it need to charge attached to a computer? is there an adapter? do we need to set up a charging station?
Format - what is the video format? is it compatible with our PC school? Do we need to have our Computer Services set up the computers to deal with the format?

I looked at a lot of specs since we cannot buy all these different devices. That's just not realistic so here is what I found:

Though the Kodak Zi8 is great. It's going to be discontinued like the Flip. We definitely need something that will be around for at least a little while which means more than a year or two though who can control that? we thought the Flip would be around for a while.
Buying up all those Flips out there is probably not a good option since out CS department does not seem keen on us using them anymore
The Sony Bloggie - though pretty is more for a single user who really loves all the bells and whistles it has.
Mac products are just out (yeah..I know, we are freaks here and not on the Mac worship train)
The other Kodak options listed on 21st Century EdTech and Learning blog - specifications wise were a bit too much for our users
Smart phones - most of our kids have iPhones and those videos, when transferred to our computers, turns upside down and we can't "fix" them so those are out

These are the two I picked based on specs and considering our community:

Creative Vado - simple to use; not too many bells and whistles; removable and rechargeable battery (we can order more chargers and batteries); built-in USB - the downside is the auto-sharing option which is now unavoidable on all these camcorders
Samsung HMX-U20 though I am wondering if this will be around much longer.
More point-and-shoots

Now, also, a lot of these cameras also use SD cards which for us is not a problem but for a lot of places would be. Hopefully, something comparable to the Flip will come out again soon because for schools it is pretty much a perfect portable camcorder.

The Future Library

2011-05-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

The Boundless Library: Explore the New York Public Library Collections on Your iPad

Now THIS is what I'm talking about! I might be one of the few people who was not all up in arms about Seth Godin's post about "The Future Library." I agree with him!

The library (school, public, academic, etc) is leading the way in how we use all these technologies. We are not just an old stuffy building filled with books. We are a vibrant workspace filled with tech labs, laptops, kids talking and collaborating, books, audiobooks, dvds, electronic media carriers!!!, pens, papers, glue, etc. If you've ever worked in a school library like ours it's is a "makerspace"

Anyway, we have to reach out and not fight the future. We have to evolve just like everything else out there is evolving...

And here is NYPL learding the way with this great app!!!

I'm excited. I'm excited for our students. I'm excited for us as librarians who are open to exploring all these things.

Yay! NYPL!!!

Fruit Tart Failed Experiment

2011-05-09T11:53:00.001-07:00

Apricot peach almond tart
Originally uploaded by Miss Martini (AnnaLynn M.)

I've never made a tart before so I thought I would make one for our "Birthday Bake Off" this week at work.

This tart was a serious failure for me. The crust was okay but I really was not sure what the consistency should be. Then,the filling was too runny. It tasted good but no way was I going to bring this to work to share.

I will attempt it again tonight...

Wish me luck!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

2011-05-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

I just finished Alice Ozma's The Reading Promise which is about a daughter and father's love of reading and it got me thinking about who fostered my love of reading. It was my mom.

Growing up, my mom was (and still is) a sales woman. She was a sales person for Avon, Mary Kay, Temp Tone cookware, Amway, Rainbow vacuum cleaners, and World Book Encyclopedias. She really instilled in us the importance of education and wanted us to have those resources in the house. She would also "win" all of these things so that she could pass them on to us when we had our own families and houses. (Little did we know that you should probably update encyclopedias every year!!!)

One book I kept with me at all times was called Animal Stories or Animal Tales. It was a thick paperback full of folktales featuring animals. I was obsessed with all animals as a kid and even thought I would be a veternarian one day.

My mom also worked at the school and after she got off work at the cafeteria, she would meet us in the library, which was run by Mr. Frank and my Auntie Felly, who was the library assistant.

The only problem she had with my reading habit was that I would spend all night reading instead of sleeping.

Anyway, thanks Mom for always having our house filled with books and for taking us to the library whenever we needed to do research. Love you!

Summer? What Summer?

2011-05-05T20:46:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my 5th year at the middle school is almost over! It's gone by so fast!

This summer is going to be so busy. Here are my plans, which didn't seem like such a big deal until someone at work asked me about what I was doing this summer:

May - the wedding of the year in New Orleans (my best friend is getting married to another one of my best friends so..yes! wedding of the year!)

June - big hike up a giant mountain (my sister and I are hiking up Mt Whitney together. Sister bonding time)

July - first 2 weeks - Lab School in Hawaii at Punahou School ; 2nd 2 weeks - teaching crafts during Ms. Simon's summer enrichment program.

Also, taking a summer school course starting on June 13.

Whoa...now I need to take a breathe.

Checking Out: Universal Subtitles

2011-05-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

One of the projects our amazing foreign language teachers created involves having students create subtitled videos. We have them use MS MovieMaker and at times, it can be quirky when dealing with characters or accents so I have been wondering if there was an easier tool to use that would allow them to subtitle their video projects and as I was reading through PBS NewsHours site, I saw a call to subtitle President Obama's speech from last night using a tool called Universal Subtitles. I decided to give it a shot. It look me about 20 minutes with their helpful tutorial to subtitle the President's introduction at the Correspondents Dinner.

You can view the subtitled video here.

Now, I just used a YouTube video and right now, it looks like you can use Vimeo and blip.tv. So, I will have to try to see if a TeacherTube or SchoolTube video works. But it was one of the easiest things I've ever used. Just follow along and presto!! Subtitles!!!

So here are the challenges:

where do you host your school's videos?
it is open to the public, so what if someone interferes with your students' videos (though, I wouldn't worry to much about this)
it is an extra step for students' projects
not sure how you would download the video if you did use it for class

Some pluses:

it is free and open
collaborate with people all over the world
multiple languages so this might prevent all the weird character/accent challenges that students deal with now
video is hosted online so you don't have to worry too much about storage space

I'm sure many more questions will come up but it was pretty easy and fun to use.

Grandparents Day!!!

2011-04-29T15:14:00.001-07:00

_DSC0117
Originally uploaded by Miss Martini (AnnaLynn M.)

It was Grandparents day at the school today. I've never had the opportunity to have grandparents visit my class because my former classes were always later in the day. However, this year was the first!
I totally didn't even know that they would be visiting my class until my student told me! (students can really save you some times!!!)
I had 9 grandparents with a class of 15 so my classroom was pretty packed.
We talked about our current project (Web 2.0 tools), we worked on Glogster and the kids had time to talk to their grandparents about what they were researching. Then we shared our finished book trailers.
It was really fun!
One of my grandparents came up to me and said, "I was going to leave because I thought this would be really boring. But I'm so glad I stayed! It was really enjoyable!" and all the grandparents seemed impressed as to what their grandkids were learning about and working on.
HURRAY!!!!

Happy Earth Day!

2011-04-22T17:54:00.001-07:00

Tree print
Originally uploaded by headphonerecord

Yellow cake with Lemon Frosting

2011-04-18T14:51:00.001-07:00

Yellow cake with Lemon Frosting
Originally uploaded by Miss Martini (AnnaLynn M.)

It's been awhile since I posted about my baking adventures. This month's Real Simple is filled with cake, frosting and filling recipes so I wanted to try one.
I have never made a traditional cake like this before. I have made cakes but nothing like what I used to make from a box. Growing up I thought that (insert brand name here) yellow cake was the best but it is a bit too sweet and they must add something else to it because this cake was similar but different.
The recipes are linked on my flickr picture post if you are interested.
I pretty much stuck with the recipe but substituted "coconut milk/half and half" for the "whole milk." You cannot taste the coconut at all. I was a little worried that it would make the cake mushy or something but that didn't happen at all.
I also didn't follow the instructions to a tee because i was pulling a Sarah Lee while I was baking it if you know what I mean. So, instead of beating the butter to a fluffy consistency and then adding the dry ingredients, I threw them all in the bowl. Opps!
Then, I couldn't wait for the cakes to cool so I threw them in the freezer for a bit. I know! BAD BAKER! BAD BAKER! But it didn't matter...it was still so good!
I also grated some lemon rind into the frosting. DELICIOUS! But I would have liked a bit more lemony taste so I will have to switch that up next time.

Happy Baking!

Screwy Decimal: The Library of the Future

2011-04-18T13:37:00.000-07:00

Screwy Decimal: The Library of the Future: "Recently, I was asked to be a judge for a children's essay contest sponsored by a local Councilman, who is a big champion for libraries..." Hurray!

New School Library!! Hurray!!

2011-04-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

New School Library Has PS 8 ‘Believin” : Norwood News

I love reading about new school libraries/media centers/information wonderland since most of the time I just read about them getting cut.

Congratulations to the city of Norwood! Hope your community utilizes their new library and all the services it has to offer.

Remember teachers - we want to work with you!!! so that your students learn and succeed :)

Testing Out JayCut for video editing

2011-04-14T15:10:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of years, we have used MovieMaker for a book trailer project that we do with our 7th graders to teach them about copyright, fair use and the program. MovieMaker, though a great tool, experiences some weird issues when it is being used by multiple users on a networked system, so we were trying to look for something that was "in the cloud" that would be comparable to MovieMaker...enter jaycut, a free online video editor. (thanks to Elisabeth at Archipelago for sending this to Dave (Big Building, Lots of Books) It looks similar to MovieMaker and iMovie and it relatively easy to use. However, there were some drawbacks that I found as I made this book trailer for Wendelin Van Draanen's The Running Dream.

One of the great things about Jaycut is that it does make your project available anywhere you have a computer and wifi access. I started my project yesterday at school and started working on it a few hours ago and all my files were there. With MovieMaker, we really need to emphasize file management and a lot of times, students will have to "search for missing files" because it is made for one computer / one user. With Jaycut, I did not have to worry about that because it's on Jaycut's servers. Also, it is pretty easy to use! Publishing and downloading was a simple click and the only thing is you have to wait for your movie to be rendered and emailed to you.

However, here are some of the drawbacks that I experienced while trying to make this book trailer and trying to think like a 7th grader.

transitions - you need to use transitions between video files and image files. You can't use transitions between image to image. Our kids use only image files for the project so having transitions between them is one of the fun things they can do
moving files - you are locked into your storyboard once you have dropped them onto the timeline. You can not just drop things and move things back and forth on the timeline. For example, say you have 10 images and you want to insert an image between 3 and 4. You will have to move 4 - 10 over to make room for the next image instead of just dropping it between those 2 images
credits - there is a text option which actually does not have that many options to choose from. There is no credits option and you cannot add a different animation to the titles/text. As you can see, at the end of my movie, there's just a single screen with the credits

I would recommend this program if you were making your own personal movies and were not concerned with having a lot of features or extras. But if you were doing an assignment with your students and needed them to cite their resources, it would prove a little challenging. Also, if have kids working on it at school and they were finishing it the first 10 minutes before class, the waiting time for publishing might prove to be a problem.

Let's Celebrate Libraries!! Happy National Library Week!

2011-04-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

This week is National Library Week!!

Please let your community leaders know how much you love and use and need your libraries!!!

For more information, check out the ilovemylibrary website. There are some helpful links and also this cool teen contest!

You Mean, I Can't Leave My Girlfriend's Kid Unattended?

2011-03-27T16:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, folks! That's right! There are rules to leaving kids unattended in the Children's room, especially if they are under 9 years old. Today, in the PL, a little kid was left in the library. Because you know, the library is safe and also, we offer free babysitting services. NOT! A lot of time, parents will leave there kids in here for a short bit of time so they can browse the main collection and do work on the computers in the main area. Usually, they drop in to just make sure their kids are here and doing all right. That's normal. However, this jackass (excuse me but I'm pissed) just dropped the kid off and went about his way. The kid came up to me and mentioned being done on the computer and headed out. Our supervisor came back to the Children's library to call the mom. They paged this paged this guy, walked around the library calling out his name and then nothing. So, we called the kid's mom. I sat with the kid for 30 minutes playing Life. Finally the guy shows up. And starts reprimanding the kid about how he told him where he was sitting and blah blah blah. Then walked away. After that the kid says "oh, I'm going to be in so much trouble." I told the kid it was an honest mistake. They tried everything they could do to find that guy but the kid seemed a little nervous of course. Then I guess, the mom kept calling the guy. Our supervisor warned him that if he did that again, she would call the police. And this guy had all this attitude about it too. WTFringe? I hope the kid will be ok. At one point the kid was all "Oh no...she's [Mom] not his girlfriend. He's just a friend." So who knows what kind of drama that's about. OY!

Book Drops: The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

2011-03-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been "in the zone?" It could be in anything: writing, sewing, drawing, shooting hoops, running. I like to run. When I'm running everything disappears. It's just me and the music I'm listening too and the world. Nothing else.

But what would happen if you couldn't do that thing you love any more? The thing that draws you into your own space for awhile? What if you lost something? What if you lost your arm? What if you lost your leg?

In The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, Jessica Carlisle is a 16-year old track star. Running is her life, her dream. However, after a track meet, the school bus she was riding in gets hit by an uninsured driver. Her injury is so bad that she has to have her leg amputated. The Running Dream is Jessica's journey to dealing with that loss and finding a way to keep her dream of running alive. She discovers people she used to ignore. She discovers people who inspire her. And along the way, she figures out that she's lucky to be alive, lucky to have people who support and love her.

This is now in my list of top books for 2011.

Even the breakdown of the book is worth noting. Part 1: Finish Line; Part 2: Headwind; Part 3: Straightaway; Part 4: Adjusting the Blocks and Part 5: Starting Line. It is a very fast read..it reads a bit like a race.

Also, if you were inspired by Bethany Hamilton's book Soul Surfer, you will be enjoy this story as well.

*Soul Surfer, the movie, is actually coming out on April 8.

Book Drops: The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

2011-03-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

What a heartwarming and heartbreaking read! It is such a different take on writing a story, using words and defining them with the story of a relationship.

I would definitely recommend this for probably 9th graders and up. There are some experiences that I think 7th graders don't really know about. Not saying that 7th graders haven't been in love but there are certainly things in this book that they could not relate too.

It's a pretty quick read too.

Book Drops: Tall Story by Candy Gourlay

2011-03-19T22:09:00.000-07:00

Tall Story by Candy Gourlay.

I read a review of this book in School Library Journal and was surprised that the main characters are Filipino. I find it is a challenge to find young adult novels featuring Filipinos. We have a lot of Japanese, Korean and Chinese YA books but Filipino is rare. We do not have that many Filipinos are our school, so far, I have had 2 students..but most go to other schools but we do have a strong Asian community so I thought it would be great to have a book that also covers Filipino culture.

I have to say, as a Filipina, there were so many things in this book that I could relate to but I think, a lot of Asian and immigrant families could relate to as well. Tall Story takes place in the Philippines, where Bernardo grows up, and England, where his mother, step-father and half-sister lives. It is filled with Filipino superstitions and tales that I remember hearing as a kid, as well as the Filipino love of basketball, and life as a family split between continents. Growing up, my folks spent years trying to get our Lolo (grandfather) to America, Bernardo's family spends 13 years waiting for approval from the British government to have him reunited with his family. These challenges are still occurring today. For example, my mom is just got approval for sponsoring my uncle and his family, we've been in the United States for 30 years.

Gourlay's story is deals with challenges that immigrant families face, the challenges of reuniting, sibling relationships and issues of growing up, finding one's self and being accepted. It was a good read and a nice reminder of my own childhood.

Diversity and the Independent School

2011-02-20T15:26:00.000-08:00

The California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) is a non-profit organization of elementary, middle and secondary schools in California. The Association serves and strengthens its schools by setting standards of academic quality and ethical conduct, by providing for professional growth of faculty, administrators, and trustees, and by promoting ethic and socio-economic diversity.

- CAIS Mission Statement

I was sitting at my desk the other day and my coworker approached me about a student who apparently is pretty lost when it comes to completing history assignments. I have worked with this student before and this student tends to give you a blank stare whenever you ask about assignments. So, I do know first hand that this kid needs some help. However, I was struck by when my coworker said to me.

We recently sat down and listened to recommendations from the accreditation panel and one of the major recommendations was that our school work on diversity. This coworker became upset by the fact that this student was even at our school.

"They have private schools for non-traditional students" this person whispered. "[this student's] probably here because [this person] can play basketball or volleyball."

WHOA! Racist comment with a saucer of milk table 5!!!

How are you supposed to work on diversity and create an environment open, supportive and welcoming to "non-traditional" students and staff (most of our faculty seems to come from "traditional" communities as well) when people say things like that. I could even say anything because I was just shocked but now it's sinking in and it's making me more and more pissed off.

It is challenging being a "non-traditional" student (even that term is rubbing me the wrong way) but you really do not need faculty who are hostile to the fact that you are even there.

Trust me, there are also plenty of "traditional" students who are just as flightly or lost or spaced out or whatever.

How do other independent schools deal with diversity? or having kids from a different socio-economic background than the majority of their peers? Also, do you bring this up with your bosses? How?

PostSecret and Libraries

2011-02-20T08:16:00.000-08:00

This Sunday's Post Secret has a lot of library references. This one caught my eye because of the comment beneath it. The person collected things people left in their library books. I guess, if I ever found cool things maybe I would keep them...Unfortunately, I've found things like used q-tips. Now if I found a nice note I probably would keep it....

Remember! Margaret H. Sanger (LOC)

2011-02-20T08:00:00.001-08:00

Margaret H. Sanger (LOC)
Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress

Please help support Planned Parenthood which has just been banned from Federal Funding. Don't let the work started by Margaret Sanger fall to the way side by individuals trying to take control of our bodies ladies.

Sign the letter on the planned parenthood site. Donate if you can.
http://bit.ly/fgZgKT

When I graduated from UCSC, the only place I could afford to go to was Planned Parenthood. I had a full time job but no health insurance. I actually worked about 3 jobs after I graduated. I didn't make a lot of money and Planned Parenthood was where I could go for my yearly exams. I could go there if I felt sick. I donated whatever money I had and I was thankful that there was a place for me to go even though I didn't have insurance.

Planned Parenthood is more than a place to have an abortion. It provides basic health services for those of us who didn't have insurance.

Sometimes I wish these people who make decisions about our bodies would just lose everything and live like a person who makes minimum wage and paycheck to paycheck and can't go to the doctor...maybe then they will understand that we need these services.

Classics on Read.gov

2011-02-15T11:46:00.000-08:00

Wow. To think, I actually was interviewed for job at the Library of Congress cataloging film...Anyway, obviously, I am not there and am doing something completely different but I still love to visit their various webpages. I especially love Read.gov and their literacy campaign.
If you haven't had a chance, you should check out their "Classics Books" page. I especially enjoy the childrens' books they have available.

Happy Reading.

Audio Drops: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

2011-02-15T11:00:00.001-08:00

In this audio version of The Elegance of the Hedgehog, we meet Renee Michel, a concierge in a Parisian apartment complex, and Paloma Josse, a 12-year old girl, whose upper class family lives in the apartment building. Both Madame Michel and Paloma have secrets and are not who they appear to be. The tale shows how their lives inevitable weave closer together when a widowed businessman, Kakuro Ozu, moves in to the building. It is funny and hopeful and makes one think of our own assumptions of those around us. Both actors who played Renee and Paloma were wonderful to listen too and I would definitely recommend listening to this story.

Games in the Library

2011-02-02T15:23:00.000-08:00

Board Games for Teens

I was going through my SLJ newsletter and the "Board Games for Teens" caught my eye. Last year, we implemented a "games in the library day" but devoted it specifically for non-electronic games. Every Friday, one of our students, brings out the games at the beginning of the day. Some of the games Liz Danforth posted are pretty interesting and we will have to take a look at those next time we go game shopping. The key is that they can complete a game during a free period, which is 40 minutes here at the middle school.

It is a popular day and recently we got a request for it to be every day. We are a very busy library so I only want to imagine the insanity of that. So, we have it every Friday and that's it.

Some of the games we have:
Monopoly Deal
Uno
Scrabble Slam
Scrabble
Jenga (which can get a little noisy but not too bad)
Stratego (they love this game)
Bananagrams
Applettes
Pair of Pears
Othello
Life
Chess
Checkers
Risk
Mankala

QR Code Fun!!!

2011-02-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

The Library Goddess forwarded an email to me about QR Codes in the Library so I decided to play around with it and brainstormed with one of my students about what we could create QR Codes for.

If you don't know what a QR code is read "What is a QR Code and Why Do You Need One?" or also, this article in FastCompany from last year is great (and also a reason why you should go to SXSW Education or Interactive this year) "What Business Card? Just scan my QR Code." And of course, you can always go to Wikipedia.

Here is a tiny glimpse of what our front page looks like. I am restricted in what I can do since this is only part of a bigger site but you get the picture. If not, check it out here. LibGuides actually has a nice mobile version so students can use their phones. I just discovered this when I created the QR code. A lot of our kids have smartphones and tend to work on the bus to games or what not. A lot of our students have iPads as well. I hope that when the new iPads come out with the camera feature, students can also scan these QR codes.

If you want to read more about how libraries are using QR codes, check out LibSuccess.org's QR page. If we had historical buildings we could actually put QR codes with the history of our campus around for when people are walking around campus waiting for their tours. But we are middle school so that might be a bit too much. I also was thinking it would be a great way to familiarize our kids about the library by using it for a scavenger hunt. Most of the libraries featured on that wiki page are universities but I don't see why it wouldn't be great to use it for a school.

Are you doing anything with QR codes at your school? I know one school is using it to promote books on their newsletter to parents.

Book Drops: Hagakure (manga) adapted by Sean Michael Wilson

2011-01-25T12:30:00.000-08:00

Tsunetomo, Yamamoto. Hagakure: The Code of the Samurai. Manga ed. Adapted by Sean Michael Wilson. New York: Kodansha International, 2010.

Why I Picked This Up: I actually read about this edition in Previews October 2010 issue. And Sean Michael Wilson (@boychild23) actually tweeted me. I always appreciate that and it does make me want to read it. Now that we have more a more global curriculum in 8th grade history, I thought it would be great to add this to the collection. There is a new assignment where the kids write a short story as someone from a different time period and one of the topics deals with being a member of Japanese society. Being in 8th grade, this version of Hagakure is much more accessible to our students.

Why I Didn't Put It Down: You could read this fairly quickly but I think the tenets are definitely ones you would have to sit and reflect on. The illustrations definitely reflect other manga comics. And some of the illustrations might be considered intense or too violent. I think, our kids can handle that. Half of them spend their time playing Black Ops so this is actually very mild. Plus, you need those images to understand what the master is sharing with the student.

Who Would I Recommend This To: If you like Japanese manga, definitely pick it up. If you are interested in Japanese history and samurais, definitely pick it up. I actually asked one of my students to read it and he came back very excited about it. He gave a glowing recommendation and told me to read it too.

On the graphic novels/comic books front - we are getting a lot of students interested in reading the ones we are buying and I am so glad that I get to build this collection. I can't wait to purchase more. I still want to separate them out from the general collection but I keep hitting a wall but I will be persistent because at other school libraries I've visited, they are separated out.

Book Drops: Matched by Ally Condie

2011-01-25T12:07:00.000-08:00

Matched by Ally Condie. New York: Dutton Children's, 2010. ISBN: 978-0525423645

Why I Picked It Up: I mentioned on Friday, that I read an interview in SLJ with Ally Condie. This book already received some notice so I asked Max to pick it up. I love the cover and it sounded like it would be a good bit of scifi/romance and I tend to enjoy those books.

Why I Didn't Put It Down: Matched is another dystopian novel. Similar to Hunger Games and The Uglies. Society appears so perfect. You don't even have to worry about finding the perfect mate because it's done for you. You don't even have to worry about dying..because when it's your time and you have lived the optimal amount of years, well, "they" let you rest. Everything is wonderful and there are even pills created to help you live your life. How could anything go wrong in a world where everything is decided for you?
That's when it happens. The once in a blue moon event where the match the government choose for you is a mistake. The mistake leaves you wondering and if you are anything like Cassia, you will not let it go. There are two faces on the microchip they give you. Both faces you know, one is Xander, the perfect boy and Cassia's best friend, the other is Ky, a bit of an outsider but he also is in your circle of friends. What do you do now? In order to find out, you need to read the book.

Who Would I Recommend This To: All of the kids who loved Hunger Games. However, I do have to preface this by saying that Matched does not have as much action as Hunger Games did. It is more of a science fiction romance and more on the romance side of things. I enjoyed it and there were some interesting twists. I definitely am looking forward to the second book.

School Librarian Check Out

2011-01-21T10:31:00.000-08:00

I haven't written a list of the things I've been checking out so here it is:

Reading:
Ally Condie Matched. There was an article on this book and on Ally Condie in SLJ and I had to pick it up. I loved Hunger Games so I thought I have some high expectations. On the back of the jacket it also mentions Twilight (cringe) so hopefully it's better written.

Graham Bowley No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 - I love these kinds of books. Also, this came highly recommended from students and Ambookgeek.

Clay Shirky Cognitive Surplus

Survey of EBook Penetration and Use in the US School (K-12) Libraries - you can download it for your appropriate library. If our school is any indicator, ebooks are where it's at (FINALLY)

Listening:
Jeff Lindsey Dexter By Design. This is making me want to watch the show.

Highly Recommend:
You check out the Midwinter 2011 Tech Trends wrap-up presentation archived at ALA Techsource - so worth watching. Lots of interesting things - the Library in the Cloud is one of the things I'm interested in. Plus, @griffey 's gadget report. That alone makes it worth watching. I love gadgets even though I can't afford them! But at least I can drool over them :)

Also, read about this Librarian game on the Speak Quietly blog. What a great way to teach kids about how to shelve books. Actually, and parent volunteers. I want to use it next year for our call numbers lesson. I played it on Library Goddess' iphone. It was so fun! Except you need a bigger screen because some of the call numbers are hard to see. I say we get iPads for our library lessons. Wouldn't it be great to also have them using Noodle tools or some similar tool as well especially since after we started using LibGuides our database and ebook use is up pretty much 2 fold!

Book Drops: "Three Black Swans" by Caroline B. Cooney

2011-01-20T12:09:00.000-08:00

Cooney, Caroline B. Three Black Swans. New York: Delacorte Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-385-73867-5.

Why Did I Pick This Up: I really like the cover and also was intrigued by the Wall Street Journal quote at the beginning of the book.

But the future isn't a hat full of little shredded pieces of the past.

It is, instead, a whirlpool of uncertainty populated by what the

trader and philosopher Nassim Nicholas Taleb calls "black swans"

---events that are hugely important, rare and unpredictabl, and

explicable only after the fact.

Why I Didn't Put It Down: If I had to rate this book, I would give it 3 out of 5 stars. It was an interesting tale of 3 lost sisters, who happen to be identical triplets but it took a while to get started and then the story of the biological parents was too quickly dealt with. I liked reading about the 3 separate lives but it was strange that 2 of the sisters ended up being cousins. It also just ended too perfect for my tastes. Also, I think, with that strong quote at the beginning, it was a lot to try to portray in this book. The events were not so profound or that spectacular. 2 of the girls are cousins and 1 is from a "rich" family. I really was interested in the premise but the portrayal was just not as strong as it could be.

Who Would I Recommend This To: I would not put this on my list. Though, I know there are some girls who would enjoy this quick read.

Let Freedom Ring

2011-01-17T06:06:00.001-08:00

In My Lifetime
Originally uploaded by joecrowaz

Hope you enjoy this day. Thank you Dr. King.

Is The Vanishing of School Libraries Only A Public School Problem?

2011-01-16T13:51:00.000-08:00

Recently, I read a post by Geekandahalf regarding ereaders in schools. There has been a lot of talk about rise of the ebook, which if you remember has been going on for probably over 10 years once people realized they can digitize everything. There was an article that Geekandahalf linked too called "Libraries Vanishing From Schools" which I shared on one of the list-servs I'm a part of. I received a number of responses that were basically mocking my posting of the article. They focused on the editorial errors and not the issue. One of the responses I received stated that "the content doesn't have much to do with the Independent school world." I have to disagree. Maybe it is not an immediate problem but it will become a problem. For example, lets look at Cushing Academy and the controversy over the library going bookless. If there are no books, why do you need a professional librarian? Also, I have met a number of people, at an independent school librarian conference, who were not professional librarians. I also have to mention that this school year, a librarian left an independent school in our area and was replaced by one of the teachers. So, do we need to worry? Is this an issue already that we are just ignoring? My answer is "Yes." Once the trained librarian disappears, the classes we teach disappears. I'm not saying that these people cannot do the job, they can. But what we do is not measurable in AP scores and it is difficult to justify to a school board, whether it's at a public school or independent school, why so much money needs to be spent on books other than those used for specific classes or why you need a librarian to teach certain skills that cannot be tested. I think, it's pretty short sighted to think that this is only a public school problem.

Just out of the oven

2011-01-12T10:13:00.001-08:00

Just out of the oven
Originally uploaded by Miss Martini (AnnaLynn M.)

I'm home sick so I decided to make some scones. I love scones. They are one of my most favorite things to eat but the ones at the stores are either weirdly textured or too sweet. I've never made them before and I thought I would need a scone pan but thank goodness I have "Baking Illustrated." It's my go-to recipe book for all things baked. So far every recipe I've tried from it has been delicious.
Here is the link for the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Baking-Illustrated-Cooks-Magazine-Editors/dp/0936184752

It calls for currants but I had candied ginger so I decided to use those instead. Plus, ginger is good for you when you are sick :)

I am not sure if kids would be down with eating scones. We have a Book Bistro meeting tomorrow and I'm hoping I am feeling better. Tomorrow is actually a pretty busy day. We also have to celebrate the Library Goddess' birthday and I said I would bake a quiche. I've never made quiche before so that will be interesting.

A School Librarian's Creed

2011-01-11T12:46:00.000-08:00

from Joyce Valenza. Response to Marc Bernstein's op-ed in Newsday.

Book Drops: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by Green and Levithan

2011-01-07T09:50:00.001-08:00

Will Grayson, Will Grayson
Originally uploaded by Miss Martini (AnnaLynn M.)

This is the first book I read for the new year! Let the new list begin!

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green (Paper Towns and The Abundance of Katherines) and David Levithan.
New York: Dutton Books, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-525-42158-0

Why I Picked It Up:
I like John Green's writing. Also, I love the cover. It actually looks like the wall paper on my Droid. After reading the jacket, I wanted to read more. What would you do if you met someone with your same name? And actually ended up being connected in some way...

Why I Didn't Put It Down:
At the church I went to growing up, there was a man named Vicente Martino who was always mentioned in the church bulletin. The first time I saw his name in the bulletin I would think "why are they mentioning my dad in the bulletin?" My dad is named Vicente Martino too!!! I remember, being a kid and wanting to go up to the Italian Vicente Martino to go "Hey. My dad's named Vicente Martino too!" But, being the shy kid I was, I never did it. Plus, he sat at the very front and we always sat in the middle and my dad didn't go to church. This is what I thought about as I started reading this book. Will Grayson and Will Grayson are two completely different people. One is personable, talkative and straight. The other is angry, introverted and gay. One day, they meet in an unexpected place and things come crashing down in both of their lives. I could not put this book down. I love all the characters even the unappealing ones. It is such a compelling story about relationships, love, hate, secrets, lies and life that you just do not want to put it down. I laughed out loud at quite a few parts and some passages just stuck with me.

Who Would I Recommend This To:
Everyone. This is truly one of the books on my short list of books that I LOVE! It is up there with my love of 13 Blue Envelopes and Going Bovine. It's kind of like Glee in print format. Just a feel good story that anyone can relate to.

Book Drops: What I Read in 2010

2011-01-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by my friend, CP, to list out what I read this past year. I did it last year too but didn't lay it out as a list. Here's that post. I have to check a couple of different spaces I think because I started using Get Glue this year and I might have stuff on Good Reads which I don't really use. But let's see how I did because I know in the summer I got a bit lazy.

From Fear To Facebook - Matt Levinson
Freedom - Jonathan Franzen
National Geographic's Rare
Ghostopolis - TenNapel
Zombie Chasers Book 1 - John Kloepfer
reread - Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
reread - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkahan
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The Lost Hero - Rick Riordan
Fever Crumb - Philip Reeve
Here Lies Arthur - Philip Reeve
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
The Girl who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson
The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson
Robot Dreams - Sara Varon
The Wave: In Pursuit of Monster Waves - Susan Casey
Mouse Guard Vol. 1 - David Petersen
Lola: a ghost story - J. Torres
Creature Tech - Doug Tennapel
Pencil Fight Number Three
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Eric Shanower
The Marvelous Land of Oz - Eric Shanower
Bayou - Jeremy Love
Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing
Sense and Sensibilities - comic version
The Complete Alice In Wonderland - Dynamite comics
A People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn
Last Call - Daniel Okrent
The Tiger: A true story of vengeance and survival - John Vaillant
The Warriors: Power of three - the fourth apprentice - Erin Hunter
Everwild - Neal Shusterman
Asterios Polyp - David Mazzucchelli
Julius Caesar - Ellen Galford
The Forbidden School House - Suzanne Jurmaine
Extreme Scientists - Donna M. Jackson
Going Bovine - Libba Bray
To The Heart of the Storm - Will Eisner
Life in the Boreal Forest - Brenda Guiberson
Pedro and Me - Judd Winick
How Robots Work - Tony Hyland
The Ancient Persians - Virginia Schomp
Hush, Hush - Becca Fitzpatrick
Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld
Hatter M. Vol. 1 - Frank Beddor
Hatter M. Vol. 2 - Frank Beddor
Muckrackers - Ann Bausum
Isadora Duncan: a graphic novel biography - Sabrina Jones
The Raucous Royals - Carlyn Beccia
One Hundred Demons - Lynda Barry
Doomed Queens - Kris Waldherr
Britten and Brulightly - Hannah Berry
Getting Graphic - Michele Gorman
Escape: The story of the Great Houdini - Sid Fleischman
Peter and Max - Bill Willingham
Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger
Who was First? - Russell Freedman
The Runaways : dead end kids - Joss Whedon
The Story Behind Toilets - Elizabeth Raum
Aya - Marguerite Abouet
My First Book of Tagalog Words - Liana Romulo
Food For Thought - Ken Robbins

67 books!!! That's pretty good for the year. So much reading. It was nice going through my old blog posts to see what I read. I totally forgot about the history of toilets book! Lots of graphic novels, a good mix of nonfiction and pretty much a crazy variety. I also included the audio books on this list because why separate them out? Happy reading in 2011!!!

Communicating With Parents

2010-12-31T05:30:00.000-08:00

I am currently reading From Fear To Facebook by Matt Levinson and this struck a cord with me.

"[Coach] Bob Knight said that if the chemistry teacher at IU was making an impact

on a student and if Knight was struggling to reach the same student, he would go

talk to the chemistry teacher to find out what was working. Parents need to do the

same. They need to swap stories of success and failure, so they can find the right

catching point with their child" (p.78)

The last couple of years, I have had some great students with challenging traits. I have had students with ADD, ADHD and even a form of Tourette syndrome. I am so grateful that we have deans who help deal with the situation as well as parents who are willing to help us out. I am still not comfortable talking to parents but I am working on it. I have learned some valuable techniques and I can say that I think those kids are doing exceptionally well when that communication continues.

Recently, I emailed one of my former students parents because their child was taking initiative and coming up with amazing ideas for our book club. The student was creating book displays and leading discussions and I thought it would be great to let them know. I hardly ever email parents but there were some challenges the year I thought this child and it just seemed like a great way to tell them that their child was doing well.

This is a part of the email:

Thank you VERY much for your email. It isn't often someone stops and takes the time to let parents know that the little boy they were raising, is still somewhere in the adolescent cloak [their child] has adopted as [their] current attire.

I forwarded the email to my fellow librarians and we all teared up a little. I forget that what we see and experience at school can be completely different from what the parents experience at home. It is also different from one teacher to the next. This is definitely something to keep close during the coming year. Also, I have to remember to not be so frightened by parents. :)

Reverb 10 #16 - Friendship

2010-12-19T16:35:00.001-08:00

Friendship: how has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this a gradual change or a sudden burst?

It wasn't a friend who changed my perspective on this but it was the nun who helps run the St. Bernard Project. She talked about the people who lived in St. Bernard's Parish and how most of the people never left. They went to school, got their jobs, got married, started their families and lived close to their relatives.

Growing up, I always wanted to just leave. I didn't want to stay in the same place and I never understood why anyone would stay where they grew up. Why not go out and explore the world? Why settle in the same city you grew up in when there is so much out there to see? I also got a bit snobby about it. I'm kind of snot when I get something in my head.

But I don't know. Something about how she said it that day, as we sat in that stuffy back area on the low bleachers looking at all the messages people wrote before heading out to rebuild houses, that just stuck. It opened my eyes to why people stay.

My sister stayed in SD. My brother says in SD. My cousins are there. They all live close to each other and if they need help, they call each other. The other day, my ate, who is 8 months pregnant, lost the feeling in her legs at Costco. She had my nephew with her and she just couldn't move. So, she ended up calling our brother, who picked her up and took her to the hospital. (She's ok btw). But there are things that you sacrifice when you leave. And of course, there are things that you sacrifice when you go.

But I think, now I get it...

Reverb 10 #19: Healing

2010-12-19T16:25:00.000-08:00

What healed you this year? Was it sudden, or a drip-by-drip evolution? How would you like to be healed in 2011?

Honestly, I don't think there was anything to heal me from this year. I wasn't hurt by anything or anyone this past year especially at work.

But maybe it is the fact that I said out loud why I don't get particular close to people anymore. I had a bad friends break-up so I tend to just not let new people in and when I do, I pull back. So, maybe saying that outloud will make me ok with being more vulnerable and open to people. We'll see what the future holds.

What Is The Point of the Children's Library?

2010-12-19T14:18:00.001-08:00

Today, a patron came and was really upset with me because I told him he could not use the computers in the Children's Library. This got me thinking about why there is a special area set up for the children's collection and I thought I should post about it for the benefit of all those adults who think there is no reason for the children's library except to keep them away from using computers and making their life difficult. (excuse the snark but I really am irritated at how entitled adults are)

In 1895, American libraries started building separate areas for their childrens books and media, later this innovation spread to Europe. The mission of these spaces were to provide a distinct area for children to use. It was to provide a space where children can learn about what the library has to offer, promote literacy, and provide other sources to enhance their interest in life-long learning. These spaces would be separate from the adult collection and also be distinct in their construction, layout, and decor. This mission has not changed, but I think, it's been forgotten by some of the people who come in to use the library, especially those people who do not have children.

So, this long established space now has dvd and cd collections and computers. Computers that are set up for children 14 and younger. There are reasons that kids have their own area with their own computers to use. And one of them is so that kids do not have to sit next to the older guy who decides he can look at porn on the library computers. It is set up so that kids can do their homework without interruption. It is also here so that kids do not have to battle adults for a library computer to use. You might laugh at that one but there are adults who use these computers all day long, steal other patrons card numbers and use them, and just are online for those 2 hours they have alotted under the library policy. It is also a "safe" area for kids to be.

So, I'm sorry if you think I'm being unreasonable because I won't let you use these computers. It's moments like these when I remember the father who came up to me and thanked me for enforcing the policy set up in this room. He said "My daughter would not be comfortable using a computer next to a man."

Reverb 10 #18: Try

2010-12-17T22:12:00.000-08:00

My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return.
Maya Angelou

Today's prompt is : Try What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did / didn’t go for it? (Author: Kaileen Elise)

Honestly, I suppose this should go on another blog because I'm getting a little personal but I would like to date more next year. There. I said it. Now I feel a bit embarrassed and kind of a little too open at the moment...so I will leave it to Maya Angelou to express my thoughts in the quote above.

Reverb 10 #10: Wisdom

2010-12-12T08:10:00.000-08:00

Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it
- Albert Einstein

I am having a really difficult time trying to figure out what decisions I have made this year. Maybe this is a sign that I haven't really been making any decisions at all. In my career, I am pretty comfortable with where I am at - though there are always new tools to use and incorporate into lessons. I've taken on more at school since I am also one of the heads of the Charity Council. I think I'm a much better team leader. We are really doing more innovating things and approaching the lessons with fresh eyes.

In life, I am still wavering on my "what is the next step" decision. I know, it's fear of change, fear of making the wrong decision, fear of failing. But when it comes to these things, the universe usually kicks me and then I jump. Sometimes, jumping isn't the best approach but for me, it seems to be the best thing to do to get my motivated and moving.

I am very proud of my effort to support the things I hold dear. I don't have a lot of money but if I can help my family, friends, and organizations, I will do it with what little extra I have. I have had the opportunity to help rebuild houses in New Orleans, I have donated to different charities, Planned Parenthood, the SPCA, and various online sources, like Wikipedia and Mozilla. It feels good to give to these great organizations. I definitely want to do more of that this coming year. And we already have our return to New Orleans and the St. Bernard Project happening in conjunction with the wedding of the year.

So, it's already happening. It's all happening.

Reverb10 #9: PARTY!!!!

2010-12-10T13:11:00.000-08:00

December 9 – Party

Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.
(Author: Shauna Reid)

The party of the year? I'm not much for parties but I do love going to shows. The best show of 2010 for me was the Aloe Blacc and the Grand Scheme. The show was at the Echoplex in Echo Park, which is basically the basement of the Echo. It is dark, small, has a great bar in the back, a lounge area, benches along the side and you can really get right up to the stage if you get there are the right time. The crowd was a pretty eclectic KCRW crowd - hipsters, soulsters, music lovers. The show was sold out. The line stretched under the bridge on Glendale Avenue. People were dressed in all sorts of styles but for the most part, the Stones Throw crowd is usually always dressed to the nines.

I love this resurgence of soul music and soul revues. Like a true soul revue from the 1950s and 60s. Back to that time when people cared about what kind of show they put on. The lights are perfect. The choreography is perfect. The band is ridiculously tight. The outfits are amazing and they don't look like they crawled out of bed or were drinking before coming on stage. They make the crowd a part of the show not just spectators.

I definitely want to go to more shows where everyone's happy and dancing and just enjoying them selves and spreading the love.

AMEN to the Church of Love and Happiness.

Reverb10 #8 : Beauty

2010-12-10T12:52:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I'm already behind on my #reverb10 posts. This week's prompt is about :

December 8 – Beautifully Different.
Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful.

Beauty - in projection and perceiving - is 99.9% attitude. ~Grey Livingston

When I first read this prompt, I have to admit, I kind of rolled my eyes. I don't feel I have low-self esteem or anything and maybe living in Los Angeles has warped my idea of beauty but I am just not comfortable thinking or talking about "what makes me beautiful."

But since I'm reflecting, I guess, I should put something down. I think my laughter is one of the things that makes me different. I laugh all the time. I laugh in class. I laugh with coworkers. I laugh with friends. I constantly see the humor in things.

I'm having a difficult time writing this post. I am not used to talking about myself. Some people are very good at it. I like to keep a lot of things to myself. So I'm going to stop now.

Cool Tools from School Library Journal

2010-12-08T11:26:00.000-08:00

I'm taking some time to read the December 2010 issue of School Library Journal. These are some of the things they highlighted that I plan on checking out or have my students checkout during one of our units.

Richard Byrne, over at Free Technology for Teachers blog, wrote a bit about Twiducate. Social network created by the teacher and similar to Twitter. What a great way to teach kids about online behavior and how to utilize SNS for education. Our students are still at the age where their SN is really more social than educational. You also have a lot of control over the site so I think this might make certain lessons more entertaining as well as educational.

There is also EduPad, which isn't even live yet but I thought would be great to look at. During the virtual ebooks conference a few months ago, one of the speakers mentioned how teachers and librarians need to be the creators as well as the consumers. This might be a great place to start - by creating apps related to our lessons.

On a personal note, I really want the Edifier Soundbar. My old iBook is now my giant iTunes player. (seriously, it cannot handle more than 2 applications at time and those 2 apps are iTunes and Last.fm) So, it would be great if I could have an amplifier.

I'll let you know how it goes.

I did write a lesson on how to use Google Docs - document for my 7th graders so I will have to post about that later after I see how it goes. It might be disaster but I'm hopeful.

Reverb10 #7: Community

2010-12-07T19:09:00.001-08:00

Today's #reverb10 prompt deals with "community."

"While the spirit of neighborliness was important on the frontier because neighbors were so few, it is even more important now because our neighbors are so many."

~Lady Bird Johnson

I have been reading a lot of posts about community lately. Finding it. Discovering it. Sometimes losing it. I am sort of at a point where I need a change and I have been thinking about the community I have here in Los Angeles. Do I want to move and lose some of that? Because when you move, you do lose something. However, now with everyone being online, do you ever really lose it?

However, reflecting on this year, my community grew because I joined my hula halau. This was really evidenced by the fact that our Thanksgiving friends dinner was huge! It had brought new people into my life who are inspiring and wonderful.

Online, I think, my community are those people I follow on Vox (so sad), Twitter, Friendfeed. These are the spaces where I have met people face-to-face. Or have sent postcards to. Amazing people who share interesting things.

Hopefully, next year, my community will continue to grow. It might be in L.A. in might be somewhere else...but either way, I'll keep myself open to it.

Reverb 10 #6: Make

2010-12-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

"What is produced in haste goes hastily to waste"
- Saadi

What was the last thing I made: Cookies! The last batch were pumpkin whoopie pies. NOM!

Materials: flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, dark brown sugar, vegetable oil, pumpkin puree, eggs, vanilla, powdered sugar, butter, cream cheese, cookie sheets, cookie racks, mixer, giant bowl, parchment paper (my favorite tool when baking!!!)

Since I started working here at the school, I have baked cookies for everyone during the holiday season. I know, there are a lot of jobs out there where companies give presents and all that or the boss gives presents so this is my small way of saying thanks for making the school year fun. I just set the cookies out in the faculty lounge and post a note on the school website and everyone can go and enjoy cookies for the day. Normally, I just put the cookies out and don't leave a note. No one really reads the online message board so I used to be pretty anonymous but now, it's kind of "my thing." People ask about it and that's cool. Also, this year, I did it a lot earlier because last year the cafeteria did something similar and then there's the parent faculty lunch day. I don't expect anything. I just like baking and sharing and it's fun.

My ate (big sister in Tagalog) is having her baby shower so I'm making the "give-aways" for that. Bath fizzies and maybe some solid bubble bath bars. I kind of love the bubble bath bars more but I have to get more sodium lauryl sulfoacetate that helps make the bubbles. I have some great oils from Bramble Berry that I will use. I have to make 50! Whoo-hooo!

Thoughts on "The Wave" by Susan Casey (Audiobook)

2010-12-06T09:17:00.001-08:00

Audiobook: The Wave by Susan Casey. Read by Kirsten Potter.

I really wanted to enjoy this audiobook. I heard an interview with Susan Casey on NPR and thought it sounded interesting. Big waves, wave science, amazing surfers - are all topics I love reading about. I finished the audiobook because the subject is fascinating but it was a slog. I couldn't get past how Kirsten Potter narrated. I guess, I thought she would get read it with out any "acting" but she read more like it was a fiction novel. She would put on accents and change her tone when representing the men and women that Casey talked too. Also, it was more about how much Casey loves Laird Hamilton then about the waves and the science of the waves. Even the summary on the back plays up the science of rogue and giant waves but there really wasn't that much. The summary talk about the scientists but most of the tracks focused on Hamilton and his contemporaries. I think Laird Hamilton is incredible but this book shouldn't be titled "The Wave," it was more along the lines of swooning about Hamilton.

Overall, I was pretty disappointed.

Reverb 10 #5 : Letting Go

2010-12-05T07:57:00.000-08:00

"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."
- Alexander Graham Bell

Reflecting on what I have let go of this year, I am remembering that the whole process of letting go and slow and steady. I like to believe that once I do the rituals, say the tossing and deleting of old photographs or burning old letters, that I have some how purged myself of all those emotions and the hurt, but you know, that's not true at all. Those things are still there and sometimes they come creeping back up at the most inopportune moments. I have to remember that "letting go" doesn't happen in one moment, it happens in many moments and sometimes over many years, and that is ok.

In my career, I have learned that I have to let go of this "image" that I think an educator should be. I can be myself. This year, I have been so much more comfortable in my own skin. I know, my classes are kind of a jumble of energy but for the most part, my kids are great and participate, learn and have fun. I think, I sort of had this idea that a teacher/educator had to be strict, serious, and almost scary, like in the book Miss Nelson is Missing! by Harry Allard. But I'm not like that at all. I share. I laugh. I joke. I'm probably too nice. But that's my personality and it's ok. I can be this way. There is room for it and it makes my class fun for me and my students.

Reverb 10 #4 - Cultivating Wonder

2010-12-04T08:39:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Tiffany and Jason to reflect on the past year and think about the new year, I joined #reverb10. We are always talking about how our students lack the time to reflect on all the lessons they are learning. And I have realized that I do not have time to reflect either. So, I will make an effort this month to reflect daily on what has happened in my day.

December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)

I looked at the different definitions of "wonder" - surprise, doubtful speculation, curiousity - and I definitely fall in the category of curiousity: a state at which you want to learn more about something (http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=wonder). This year, I made a real effort to learn something new every month. I started taking classes at Home Ec Shop (now closed) with Jenny Ryan. She is a wonderful teacher and enthusiastic about anyone interested in learning practically any kind of craft you can think of.

I learned how to needlefelt and with that I taught myself how to wetfelt. Next year, I will try to make those placemats that my friend, Max, asked me to make. I am starting a notebook filled with images of items that inspire me to work on this craft. My dream is to have an alpaca. I wonder, if I can sponsor an alpaca....

I took a sewing class there as well and with that I destroyed my sewing machine. I still need to invest in a new one. I have a few patterns from Colette Patterns. I really want to make my own clothes and also to make shirts for my guy friends. I don't know, something about a really tailored mens shirt is just so neat and elegant. My coworker showed me a newsletter from the tailor her husband uses and having a fitted ensemble is just incredible to look at. I feel, I was much more into being creative about my wardrobe and I really return to that awareness. I'm not going to be a fashionista by any means but I should just make a bit more of an effort. (Also, it might be this crazy long hair I have now....)

I've taking all of Richenda Brim's book binding class. She's the woman behind Clementine Press. She's a print artist and librarian/conservationist. Talk about being a wonderful example of what we can become and do with our MLIS/MIS/MLS degrees. We can do anything and continue to foster our other interests and share them if we so choose. She offers classes so if you are an artist or are curious as book binding, definitely, learn from Richenda. She's a great teacher.

Also, I've had a lot of fun baking all sorts of things. This year, I even tried my hand at making pot pies. I love a good pot pie. I made pecan snowball/Russian teacake cookies and those were amazing. There are a lot of wonderful bakers out there and I am always inspired by what they share (i.e. The Food Librarian, smitten kitchen, Joy the Baker, and all of my family and friends who are always sharing recipes and food with me online and offline).

I also am finishing my 1st year of hula. 2 dances and 2 more to learn. It is important to be a student. My mom still takes classes. Of course, she's at the age where they pay her to learn things but she always tries new things. This year, she's been taking a baking class and even made an Eiffel Tower cake for my ate's birthday! She's going to make a crib cake for her baby shower also. See, it runs in the family. My sister is the same way.

You really need to foster that sense of curiousity and it doesn't have to be taking a class, it could be exploring a city, taking a walk, getting out and singing karaoke, just look around and if you wonder how it's made, works, etc..go out and teach your self. Anything is possible and just try to let things like fear or money or doubt stop you. Trust me, I know the money issue...that just means it will take a little longer than some people but if you really want it, just do it.

As Jason would say "Don't Just Say It, Do It."

Beautiful aquarium

2010-11-30T12:28:00.000-08:00

the world's largest aquarium // ATL.GA from stillmotion on Vimeo.

Paper.li - your personalized twitter newspaper

2010-11-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

My friends have been posting their paper.li content so I thought I would give it a try. I am actually enjoying using Paper.li as a way to make my twitter stream a bit more manageable. Also, people have asked me about what a read and who I follow online and this is a great way to share that information. I have set it up so it's only a weekly update. If you have a paper.li you want to share please post a comment.

It's actually does give an picture about some of the things that I am in to. I might have to test this for my personal stream.

You might want to check it out too.

Lynne D Johnson - WomeninTech Daily http://paper.li/lynneluvah/womenintech

New Apps I'm Into

2010-11-21T16:21:00.000-08:00

I thought I should post some of the things I'm playing around with (or should I say "exploring" so I sound more professional?).

So, I used to use "all consuming" but I just closed that account. I wonder if all my reviews will disappear now? I didn't think of that...

I'm now trying out GetGlue . I like that all my "entertainment" is in one place. Similar to All Consuming but I like "collecting" stickers. I'm a sucker for those virtual pins, stickers, etc.

I used to use Foursquare but their lack of privacy settings at the time freaked me out so I dumped them. I'm now trying Gowalla.

I am currently reading "From Fear to Facebook" by Matt Levinson. Check out his page. And read his book.

For my YA reading: Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Comics: The Marvelous Land of Oz adapted by Eric Shanower

Still obsessed with Flickr. Getting more into Facebook though I fight that, it's just that "everybody" is on it and that's the only way I can contact them.

If you want to share what new things you've discovered too please leave a comment.

Churros recipes are easy to make and go beyond dessert - Midland-Odessa food | Examiner.com

2010-10-31T15:29:00.000-07:00

Churros recipes are easy to make and go beyond dessert - Midland-Odessa food Examiner.com

I really want to make some churros...

Graphic Novel Friday: Bayou Vol. 1 by Jeremy Love

2010-10-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

It's Graphic Novel Fridays!!

But before I write about Jeremy Love's Bayou Vol. 1, I have to write about my day. Today is Spirit Day at the middle school. A time where we dress up in our school colors, have crazy hair and celebrate our school. This morning, I forgot to wake up. I think, I thought it was Saturday. I was lying in bed, dreaming and then I heard a knock on my door. Tall Guy got out of his car and walked up to my apartment and had to knock. I scrambled to find my glasses and then looked at the clock. It was flashing 6:40am. He picks me up at 6:30am. I threw on some clothes and washed my face and raced out the door. We still made it to campus in time!!! But I ended up having to buy a school hoodie for the occassion. So, now, I'm kind of out of it. This always happens when I wake up late. I end up having a weird kind of day - this time, it's being super tired and having vertigo hit me throughout the day...so now back to our regularly scheduled program!!!

What Did I Read: Jeremy Love. Bayou Vol. 1 Zuda Comics

Why Did I Pick It Up: I was going through Previews Oct 2010 and saw that Volume 2 is coming out soon. The cover was so beautiful that I had to check the website to see what it was about. I read part of Volume 1 online and honestly, it is one of the most beautifully covered and drawn comics I've ever read. I also found the story engaging. It was both realistic and fantastic. It is about about a girl coming of age as a slave in the South who must free her father and save a girl who betrayed her. She seems to be able to flit from one world, "the real world" to another, that is filled with monsters and all kind of creatures. It was a really wonderful story and I cannot wait for Volume 2 to come out.

Who Would I Recommend This To: I think a lot of people would enjoy this story.

Hurray for another Rick Riordan Adventure!!!

2010-10-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

This is the 3rd time I'm writing this post. You figure I would give up but I wanted to write it.

What Did I Read: Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero, Book 1 of the Heroes of Olympians.

Why Did I Pick This Up: RICK RIORDAN! I loved the Percy Jackson series and I was really excited to know that we would be returning to Camp Half Blood for this new series. Also, t he kids are super excited about this book. One student and I already have a favorite character - Leo Valdez!!! Go Leo! Go Hephaestus!!!

Why I Finished It: I couldn't put it down. I had to, of course, because I do need sleep but wow! what a fun exciting read. I loved the diversity of the characters, Piper is Native American and Leo is Latino. This gave Riordan the opportunity to mention myths from other cultures that are similar to the Greek and Roman mythologies that he is introducing to kids. I think, in a way, this might catch a kid's attention and spark their curiosity to learn more. It is funny, exciting, suspenseful and full of action and of course, we are introduced to a host of new gods, monsters and heroes. More evil, more good.

Who Would I Recommend This To: The growing Camp Half Blood campers and anyone who loves mythology or fantasy. Anyone who loves a good adventure and hero quest story.

Go Coach Hedge!!!!

Nonfiction Monday: NatGeo : Rare by Joel Sartore

2010-10-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

I am going to try to get back to my blogging ways so here is the return of Nonfiction Monday.

What Did I Pick Up: National Geographic Rare: Portraits of America's Endangered Species by Joel Sartore. It is definitely worth checking out his website. He's included some images that are not in the book.

What Caught My Eye: It's a pretty striking cover. Black background with a wolf that looks like it's cowering from someone or something. Plus, I wanted to see some of America's endangered species since I think I have only heard about 3 or 4.

Why I Didn't Put It Down: The images are really amazing and beautiful. Also, the chapters are labeled by how many of each animal or plant exists since last count. It really does make the book even more powerful when you know that only 1,000 of a certain organism is believed to be in existence. Also there is a chapter that is simple a "?". No one know if it is extinct already or if there are any in the wild at all. It made me sad reading it but there is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel with the animals that are slowing rising in numbers in the wild.

Who Would I Recommend This To: Any animal lover and photo enthusiast. It really is a beautiful and sad book that reminds us that we are not the only creatures on this planet and that we have to take care of everyone - plants, animals, each other.

An Amazing Retreat Week 2010

2010-10-14T19:58:00.001-07:00

IMG_9768
Originally uploaded by Miss Martini (AnnaLynn M.)

Today, we got back from our annual retreat week. This year, I headed out to Joshua Tree National Park with a small group of kids to learn about the desert, go scrambling up rocks, try some rock climbing and backpack out with kids who either haven't gone backpacking or just really enjoy that experience.

There were 5 groups, 6 faculty member and a bunch of naturalists from Naturalists at Large. It was the same program as the last 2 times I've gone but I never get bored with it. I love being out in the desert and sleeping under the stars. It is also a great opportunity to get to know some of our students. From what I witnessed and experienced with them, we had a lot of fun. Our naturalist has a really great rapport with them and they also just had a lot of fun with each other. You never know how the group dynamic will turn out but this group, they really worked together and had a lot of laughs. A lot of the times, some kids will just say with their little clique of friends, even in a group of 10 but this time, they all just mixed really well together.

I have to say, it was one of the best trips I've ever had.

I even pushed my self. I was scrambling, spelunking and rock climbing right along with them. I even made it to the top of one of the rock climbing routes and I'm scared of heights!!!

Anyway, I have a couple of shirts I want to make to commemorate the moments - one being "screaming seagulls" and the other being "trail pizza". Great group of kids who were helpful, supportive and hilarious! I feel lucky to be their faculty chaperone.

Sunday Reading Wrap-Up

2010-10-10T14:06:00.000-07:00

Time is flying. I don't even remember the last time I posted about any of the books I've read so here is a little round up.

Audiobooks on my very short commute.

Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Played With Fire read by Simon Vance. I am really enjoying listening to Simon Vance narrating this story. He's an excellent reader. At one point, when Lisbeth Salander ends up at the farm house I was in so much suspense and nervous as to what was going to happen, I was visibly freaking out in my car. I can only image what people who were at stoplights watching me were thinking. So good!!!
Howard Zinn - A People's History of the United States - I just get so angry but you know, our country just repeats the same b.s. over and over again. Ok, I am really being incredible superficial and not explaining my self or the book but honestly, it just made pissed off at the government and also the people of this country. Worth listening to and/or reading. The first part is read by Matt Damon and then the 2nd half is Howard Zinn.
Currently listening to: Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. I had to take a break from nonfiction and also finish the trilogy. Today, my coworker decided it was out a great idea to talk to me while I was sitting in my car eating lunch and listening to it. UGH!
Next on the list : Daniel Okrent Last Call: The rise and fall of prohibition - I picked it up at the end of the year when I was shopping for the teacher/staff lending library. I think, I might have the same reaction that I had with Howard Zinn's. My friend was telling me that the parallels between what happened during that time is happening now. Great. I mean, I know, it's good that I'm angry but this cannot be good for my stress levels.

On the Nook:

I've been testing out the Nook for the library which I've decided is kind of pointless. I mean, it's not like I have another Nook to share books with. You need at least 4 to see if it would even matter which is a lot of money to spend to test something. I do like it better than the Kindle so far. I like the Lending option. I like that it's a format that isn't proprietary. And it seems to be thinking about libraries. But you know, after that ebook virtual conference a couple of weeks ago, we really do need someone who works and understands libraries to be building these tools for us.

Jonathan Franzen - Freedom - depressing but I thought it was a pretty amazing read. Don't sure if I can label him the Literary Genius of our time but I did enjoy it and didn't want to put it down.
John Valliant - The Tiger: a true story of vengeance and survival - You know, I have no concept of what a tiger's personality would be like but they are incredibly magnificent mysterious creatures. This book is certainly putting them in a new light as well as educating me about Russian and Chinese relations in regards to poaching and territories as well as Russian and indigenous . I am just about finished with it - 40 more pages.
Next Up: I think I'll order Nurture Shock by Po Bronson.

Print:

The Warriors by Erin Hunter. I don't know. I don't really understand why it's popular. I'm having trouble just getting into the story. And I read pretty much every thing.

Also, I'm trying some manga reads since there is a new club that I'm a sponsor of. I guess I should read Bleach or something...

RA Crossroads: John Vaillant's The Tiger

2010-10-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

RA Crossroads: John Vaillant's The Tiger

I am currently reading John Vaillant's "The Tiger" on a Nook. It's a really engaging story though there are parts of it that I'm sort of wondering, "what is the point of that line." So, when Library Journal's newsletter came in my email box and I saw RA Crossroads post, I thought I would share it.