History of Highland Park…

This article (http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/11/520746.pdf) from an unknown periodical speaks of a ship that was christened in honor of Charles Lummis.  The article then goes on to provide a brief thumbnail bio of Lummis and information about his house.  A lovely sketch of his house is included.  Take a look.

Trivia of the Week....

This week’s question: Is it a crime or a misdemeanor to take more than 25 copies of a free newspaper?

Tender at the Bone

If you’re a fan of narrative with food as its focus they you will enjoy the writing of Ruth Reichl.  In Tender at the Bone she gives us memoir of her life and the food (& people) that shaped her character growing up.  Reichl has a lightly humorous way of writing that keeps you engaged.  This book has the bonus of included recipes.  Recommended for lovers of food and people who like to read about other’s life experiences. 

TOW (& Answer)...

This week’s question was who flew the first solo east-west crossing of the Atlantic?  Captain Jim Mollinson of the UK flew from Dublin to New Brunswick, Canada on 8/18/1932.  He was flying a de Havilland DH80A.

The question (& answer) were taken from p. 161 of Guinness World Records 2014. 

Events for the Week of February 24…

Things going on at the library during the week include:

• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (2/26) at 10:30
• STAR Reader also on Wednesday at 3:00
• Covered California Information Table sets up on Wednesday at 4:30
• Fun w/ Tablets program on Thursday (2/27) at 4:00
• BIRTHDAY PARTY! Also on Thursday. Starts at 6:00 (this blog entry for details)
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (2/28) at 3:30
• ACA Enrollment Assistance is available on Saturday (3/1) from 10:00-2:00

You can always check the Branch Page (http://www.lapl.org/branches/arroyo-seco) on the LAPL website for upcoming events or check out the Master Calendar (http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/calendar) where you can search for something specific across multiple branches.

City of Dark Magic

Magnus Flyte writes an interesting story in Cityof Dark Magic.  The book takes Sarah Weston from her graduate studies in music to Prague where she spends a summer setting up a Beethoven centric display for a new museum but also gets entangled in a mysterious series of events that include time travel (in some sense), missing antiquities, alchemists and their machinations, and even a quasi-immortal dwarf.  The book was interesting enough to finish but was not terribly compelling.  I would recommend it to people with a taste for the fantastic. 

Celebrating an Anniversary…

The Arroyo Seco Library reaches a milestone this week.  Thursday, February 27, 2014 will mark our 100^th year at 6145 N. Figueroa Street.  We will be celebrating the occasion with an event that will begin at 6:00.  Over the course of the evening we will:

• Listen to a short presentation on area history brought to us by the Highland Park Heritage Trust
• Share our memories at our open microphone…. & of course listen to the memories of others
• Socialize with our community
• Enjoy some cake (no birthday is complete without cake)

Everyone is welcome to join us.  Spread the word.

Websites I like….

Looking for a map? Old or new, specialized or general?  Look no further then the Library of Congress’ Map Collection (http://www.loc.gov/maps/collections/).  Use searching tools (or just browse) to the map you want.  Look at it online or download it in a variety of formats and sizes.  A perfect place for the cartophile.

Day One

Day One by Nate Kenyon tells the story of John Hawke, a hacker/journalist.  Hawke is in New York City working on an interview with a reclusive tech genius (is there any other kind in suspense type novels?) when things start to malfunction.  Soon anything with a network connection is misbehaving in ways that have fatal consequences and John and a band of refugees are fleeing through the city, trying to escape harm & hoping to figure out what is going on.  I can’t say much more plot wise without spoiling things so I’ll leave it there.

The book was interesting and I found it compelling enough to finish.  I kept stumbling over how stupidly John (who is described as very, very smart) behaved.  He would miss very obvious clues.  The author should, perhaps, have worked a bit on plot staging so he wouldn’t be forced to make his main character come across as mentally challenged.  Still I would recommend this to people who like a good “end of the world” tale.

Trivia of the Week...

This week’s question is who flew the first solo east-west crossing of the Atlantic?

Events for the Week of February 24…

Things going on at the library during the week include:

• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (2/26) at 10:30
• STAR Reader also on Wednesday at 3:00
• Covered California Information Table sets up on Wednesday at 4:30
• Fun w/ Tablets program on Thursday (2/27) at 4:00
• BIRTHDAY PARTY! Also on Thursday. Starts at 6:00
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (2/28) at 3:30
• ACA Enrollment Assistance is available on Saturday (3/1) from 10:00-2:00

You can always check the Branch Page (http://www.lapl.org/branches/arroyo-seco) on the LAPL website for upcoming events or check out the Master Calendar (http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/calendar) where you can search for something specific across multiple branches.

Events for the Week of February 17…

Please remember that the library will be closed for Presidents’ Day on Monday the 17^th.  Things going on at the library during the remainder of the week include:

• Animal Life Then & Now (a presentation from the Audubon Society) on Tuesday (2/18) at 3:00
• How to Do Historical Research Workshop also on Tuesday at 6:00
• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (2/19) at 10:30
• STAR Reader also on Wednesday at 3:00
• Covered California Information Table sets up on Wednesday at 4:30
• Fun w/ Tablets program on Thursday (2/20) at 4:00
• Introduction to Word Processing Class also on Thursday at 6:30
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (2/21) at 3:30
• ACA Enrollment Assistance is available on Saturday (2/22) from 10:00-2:00
• Library Olympics program for kids also on Saturday at 11:00
• Arroyo Book Club meets on Saturday at 3:00

You can always check the Branch Page (http://www.lapl.org/branches/arroyo-seco) on the LAPL website for upcoming events or check out the Master Calendar (http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/calendar) where you can search for something specific across multiple branches.

TOW (& Answer)...

The week’s question was: what hand yields the greatest number of points when you are playing Cribbage?  The answer is a hand consisting of four 5’s with the starter card being a Jack.  This particular hand would give you 29 points in total.

The question (& answer) were taken from p. 224 of Scarne’s Encyclopedia of Games by Scarne.  The book was published by Harper and Row in 1973.

The Story of the Human Body

Daniel E. Lieberman gives us The Story of theHuman Body.  The book does exactly what it’s title says it does and provides us with a interesting look at how evolution has shaped the human body and how many of today’s conditions & diseases result from a mismatch between our evolved bodies and our modern environments.  I found it to be a fascinating read.  It is written in a very accessible manner.  I would recommend it to anyone interested in health, evolution, biology, or just plain filled with curiosity.  

History of Highland Park…

Check out this special edition of the Pasadena Courier (http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/11/520696.pdf).  Published in July of 1966 it is dedicated exclusively to the history of Highland Park.  In it you will find plenty of photographs as well as rather verbose description of the area’s origins and development over the period between 1887 and 1966.  Take a look at it.

Charming

Charming by Elliott James Tells the story of John Charming a man descended from “a long line of dragon slayers, witch finders, and killers.”  John’s family were part of a group dedicated to keeping the non-human in check but then John’s curse made him into one of the hunted and he was expelled.  In this book we see him join forces with some new allies to take down a hive of vampires. 

This is an action packed adventure novel that is as charming as its title.  If you have the stomach for fantasy slayer books this will be worth your time. 

ReferenceUSA

The February e-Resource of the month is ReferenceUSA.    The ReferenceUSA database provides information about businesses & consumers.  You can use it for any number of things including  “research executives and companies, find new business opportunities, find news articles, conduct job searches, research papers, locate addresses and phone numbers, conduct market research, and job help resources.”  This flyer (http://www.lapl.org/sites/default/files/articles-and-information/pdfs/14-02flyer.pdf) provides more information.  Check it out.

Find the ReferenceUSA database on the library’s website in its Research & Homework section under the r’s (http://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/research-and-homework#R).  You will need your library card to access the data from a non-LAPL computer.

Events for the Week of February 10…

A busy week this week.  Things going on at the library during the week include:

• Teen Picture Frame Craft Program on Tuesday (2/11) at 4:00
• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (2/12) at 10:30
• Spreadsheet Class also on Wednesday at 12:00
• STAR Reader on Wednesday at 3:00
• Covered California Information Table sets up on Wednesday at 4:30
• Telescope Night begins on Wednesday at 6:00 (weather permitting)
• Fun w/ Tablets program on Thursday (2/13) at 4:00
• Love Your Library Valentine Day Craft for Kids also on Thursday at 4:00
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (2/14) at 3:30
• ACA Enrollment Assistance is available on Saturday (2/15) from 10:00-2:00
• USC Gluck AeroCorda music group performance on Sunday (2/16) at 2:30.

You can always check the Branch Page (http://www.lapl.org/branches/arroyo-seco) on the LAPL website for upcoming events or check out the Master Calendar (http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/calendar) where you can search for something specific across multiple branches.

Trivia of the Week....

This week’s question asks what hand yields the greatest number of points when you are playing Cribbage?

TOW (& Answer)...

The bogarodicza (to answer this week’s question) is one of the earliest European folk songs.  It is a war song of Poland found in a manuscript dating from the 13^th century.

The question (& answer) were taken from p. 153 of volume 1 of Funk & Wagnall’s Standard Dictionary of Folklore Mythology and Legend edited by Leach and published in 1949.

History of Highland Park…

This (http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/11/520683.pdf) is a “48 page Pictorial and Feature Review…. Of the Women’s Organizations of the Communities of Northeast Los Angeles, what their activities mean to the social and cultural structure of Our Communities; with the spotlight on those women leaders who have contributed to the development of our special way of life.”  It was published on November 8, 1964 by Northeast Newspapers.  A fascinating look at a very different time (at least for women).

Midnight Blue-Light Special

Midnight Blue-Light Special is book 2 in Seanan McGuire’s InCryptid series.  In this book we meet the same cast of characters as we saw in Discount Armageddon.  Here Verity and her allies fight to prevent the Covenant from staging a purge of the cryptids of New York City.  The book maintains the exciting adventure established by its predecessor.  Recommended for those who liked the first & lovers of light-hearted fantasy adventure.

Arroyo Book Club pick for February….

The February Arroyo Book Club book is Land of Smoke and Mirrors by Vincent Brook.  This book takes a look a the cultural history of Los Angeles.  The book is divided into sections… Part 1 looks at the city’s early history using the 1884 novel Ramona as a focusing device.  Part 2 deals with Hollywood.   Part 3 considers LA in the noir media of the 40’s & 50’s.  Part 4 takes a look at multi-cultural LA.   I only have a limited number of copies of the book so hurry to the library to get yours.

We picked the book because it was about Los Angeles & we wanted to focus on the region as part of the library’s 100^th year celebration.  Check out this earlier blog entry (http://www.arroyoseco5.blogspot.com/2014/01/february-27-2014-all-month-long.html) for details about other things going on during the month of February and plan to join us. 

Events for the Week of February 3…

Things going on at the library during the week include:

• Film Shot in Highland Park on Tuesday (2/4) at 6:00
• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (2/5) at 10:30
• STAR Reader on Wednesday at 3:00
• Cupcake decorating program for Teens at 3:30
• Covered California Information Table sets up on Wednesday at 4:30
• Fun w/ Tablets program on Thursday (2/6) at 4:00
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (2/7) at 3:30
• ACA Enrollment Assistance is available on Saturday (2/8) from 10:00-2:00
• Highland Park Life (100 years ago) on Sunday (2/9) at 2:00.

You can always check the Branch Page (http://www.lapl.org/branches/arroyo-seco) on the LAPL website for upcoming events or check out the Master Calendar (http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/calendar) where you can search for something specific across multiple branches.

Trivia of the Week...

This week we ask what is the bogarodicza?