Trivia of the Week...

This week’s question is where do you find the most important ruby deposits?

Events for the Week of August 30…

Events going on at the library during the week include…

• STAR Reader on Tuesday (9/1) at 5:30
• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (9/2) sessions at 10:30 & 11:30
• STAR Reader also on Wednesday at 3:00
• STAR Reader on Thursday (9/3) at 3:00
• Fun with Tablets on Thursday at 4:00
• MediCal/CalFresh Information Table on Friday (9/4) from 1:30-5:30
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday at 3:30
• STAR Reader on Saturday (9/5) 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.

TWO (& Answer)...

The week’s question was who was the first president to die in office?  The first president to die in office was William Henry Harrison who also has the distinction of being the president who served the shortest term.  He was president for just one month.

The question (& answer) were taken from p. 205 of The Presidency A to Z.  The book was edited by Michael Nelson and published by the Congressional Quarterly in 1992.

Library Events in September…

(Mark your calendars accordingly)

The library has a number of interesting events planned in September.  I thought I’d take a minute and give you a run down so you can plan ahead.  Let’s start with the non-repeating events:

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9/4 from 1:30-5:30
Sign up for MediCal and CalFresh
Eligibility specialists from the LA County Department of Public Social Services will be on hand to help you and your family sign up for Medi-Cal, Covered California, CalFresh, and other government assistance programs.

9/8 @ 12:00
Drop in Computer Lab
Bring your questions about computers, tablets, eReaders, or other electronic devices.  We will do our best to help you figure out answers. 

9/10 @ 5:00
Navigating Health Coverage
Are you getting the full benefits of your health insurance?  Come to this seminar and learn how to navigate your plan, choose a primary care doctor, schedule visits, and pay for services.  Bring your questions.

9/13 from 1:00-5:00
Sign up for MediCal and CalFresh
Eligibility specialists from the LA County Department of Public Social Services will be on hand to help you and your family sign up for Medi-Cal, Covered California, CalFresh, and other government assistance programs.

9/14 @ 4:00
Make It Monday!
Join us for a building block challenge.

9/15 @ 4:00
Teen Program
Loteria for prizes today. 

9/16 @ 6:00
Drop in Computer Lab
Bring your questions about computers, tablets, eReaders, or other electronic devices.  We will do our best to help you figure out answers. 

9/19 @ 3:00
Film Showing
Join us for a screening of the movie made from this month’s book club book.

9/24 @ 6:00
Managed Care Seminar
Be in charge of your health --- learn how managed care works.  Join us for a workshop that will cover the different types of health insurance.  Bring your questions.

9/26 @ 1:00
Drop in Computer Lab
Bring your questions about computers, tablets, eReaders, or other electronic devices.  We will do our best to help you figure out answers. 

9/26 @ 5:00
Arroyo Book Club
Join us for a lively discussion of the book Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya.

9/28 @ 4:00
Make it Monday!
Join us for rainbow scratch art.


- - - - - - - - - -

Each month the library also has a number of ongoing classes & events.  They are:

Little Ones’ Storytime - - - Wednesdays at 10:30 & 11:30
Little Ones’ 3 and under & their grownups are invited to join us for stories, music, & games.  We offer two sessions, pick the one that is convenient for you.

STAR Volunteer Readers - - - Available on Tuesdays at 5:30, on Wednesdays at 3:00, on Thursdays at 3:00 & on Saturdays at 2:00
STAR readers present the fun of storytelling and reading to children one-on-one or in small groups. Kids earn a free book to keep after 3 visits.

Fun with Tablets - - - 1st & 3rd Thursdays at 4:00
Join us for a tablet based activity.  Your suggestions for future projects welcome.

Drop in Computer Lab - - - Fridays at 3:30
Bring your questions about computers, tablets, eReaders, or other electronic devices.  We will do our best to help you figure out answers. 

- - - - - - - - - -

Please do not hesitate to call the library at 323-255-0537 if you have any questions or would like more information.  Remember that 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.

Women After All

Melvin Konner makes the case for a brand of sex superiority in Women After All.   This quite interesting book looks at the rise of sex in life as a whole before he narrows the focus first to mammals, then to our near relatives, and finally to ourselves across the types of societies we’ve lived in since our appearance on this planet.  He argues that the recent historical phenomena of male tilted social construction of sex is a recent aberration compared to our deep past & balance is in the process of being restored as we move into the future.  The book was quite fascinating as well as being easy for a non-scientist to read.  I would recommend it to anyone though a person clinging to a belief in male superiority will not find anything in it that would support that belief.  

Arroyo Book Club September Pick….

To celebrate Latino Heritage Month the Arroyo Book Club will be reading Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya as our September book.  The book is described:

Antonio Marez is six years old when Ultima comes to stay with his family in New Mexico. She is a curandera, one who cures with herbs and magic. Under her wise wing, Tony will probe the family ties that bind and rend him, and he will discover himself in the magical secrets of the pagan past-a mythic legacy as palpable as the Catholicism of Latin America. And at each life turn there is Ultima, who delivered Tony into the world...and will nurture the birth of his soul.

The story is set in New Mexico in the 1940’s and looks to be an interesting read.  Stop by the library to pick up a copy of the book.

A movie, directed by Carl Franklin was (fairly) recently made and we are planning to show it as well.

• Join us for the movie screening on Saturday, September 19 at 3:00.
• Join us for the book & movie discussion on Saturday, September 26 at 3:00

Events for the Week of August 23…

Events going on at the library during the week include…

• Game Day on Sunday (8/23) at 2:00
• STAR Reader on Tuesday (8/25) at 5:30
• Drop in Computer Lab also on Tuesday at 6:00
• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (8/26) sessions at 10:30 & 11:30
• STAR Reader also on Wednesday at 3:00
• STAR Reader on Thursday (8/27) at 3:00
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (8/28) at 3:30
• STAR Reader on Saturday (8/29) 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’s question is who was the first president to die in office?

Ham

Ham by Sam Harris is a collection of essays and stories about his life.  I didn’t finish it.  

He had one piece that discussed the many pets he had had in the course of his life and what their fates were which really hung me up.  When you baldly & unapologetically admit to mistreatment of animals you kind of lose me.  My take on it is once you get a pet you’re responsible for it.  If circumstances dictate that you can’t keep it any more you MUST find it an adequate and safe new home… it’s your responsibility.  I can’t forgive someone thinking that just taking a dog and abandoning it in the woods not once but twice (the first time the dog found her way home) is okay.  So after that I couldn’t really continue.  

What I read before I quit was interesting but I’m afraid I couldn’t recommend the book.  Maybe someone who doesn’t find the animal incident as shocking as I did would enjoy it all the way through. 

TOW (& Answer)...

The question was what was Mozart’s first opera?  It was Mitridate, Re di Ponto (Mithridates, King of Pontus).  This opera was considered a success running some 6 hours at its premiere (more normally running 3 hours and 40 minutes).  Mozart was only 14 when he composed this earning condemnation from some because of his youth.  It was popular with audiences however running for some 22 performances.

The question (& answer) were found on p. 495 of The New Kobbe’s Opera Book edited by the Earl of Harewood and Antony Peattie.  This edition was published in 1997 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

The Almost Nearly Perfect People

Michael Booth gives us a tour of the Scandinavian countries in his book The Almost Nearly Perfect People.  The book is a combination tour guide, information primer, and wry outside observations.  The various Scandinavian countries generally score at or near the top of any survey about quality of life and Booth is determined to find out if it’s really so great to live there and if possible why.  He takes each country one by one and examines it, speaking with various experts, and focusing on areas of each country that aren’t so great.  Although that description sounds a bit dire the actual book is light hearted, vaguely humorous, and interesting to read.  So I would recommend it.  I picked it up myself, because someone else’s review compared it to Bill Bryson (a favorite writer of mine) and while I wouldn’t make the same comparison I would give it to anyone who likes to read travel experience books or who wants to learn about a part of the world they probably know nothing about.

Events for the Week of August 16…

Events going on at the library during the week include…

• MediCal/CalFresh Information Table on Sunday (8/16) from 1:00-5:00
• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (8/19) sessions at 10:30 & 11:30
• STAR Reader also on Wednesday at 3:00
• STAR Reader on Thursday (8/20) at 3:00
• Fun with Tablets also on Thursday at 4:00
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (8/21) at 3:30
• STAR Reader on Saturday (8/22) at 2:00
• Drop in Computer Lab also on Saturday at 2:00
• 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.

History of Highland Park…

Here (http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/10/520342.pdf) we have a 1975 reprint of a 1935 article that discusses the first Yule Parade in Highland Park.  A notable detail mentions the planned decoration of a 25 foot Christmas tree to be set in the “island” at York and Figueroa.  Take a look for yourself.

Trivia of the Week...

This week’s question comes from the world of Opera… what was Mozart’s first opera?  

Phantom Angel

With Phantom Angel David Handler gives us another* engaging mystery although he (spoiler here) yet again kills a character unexpectedly…. The private detective agency in question is a little hard on their clients/people they interact with on their investigations.  In this book Benji is hired by a Broadway producer to track down a vanished angel (backer of a musical) via his also missing girlfriend.  Benji finds her, of course, but that is not really what this book is about and soon there are dead people, mob business, and scams afoot.  

Once again a book I would recommend. 

*Find a write up of Handler's first book from this series here: http://www.arroyoseco5.blogspot.com/2015/07/runaway-man.html. 

TOW (& Answer)...

This week’s question was what is Lascaux known for?  Lascaux is known for its cave paintings.  The cave houses one of the biggest collections of Paleolithic figures including 600 painted animals and abstract signs and almost 1500 engravings.

The question (& answer) were taken from p. 176 of The Illustrated  World Encyclopedia of Archaeology published by Lorenz Books in 2007. 

Events for the Week of August 9…

Events going on at the library during the week include…

• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (8/12) sessions at 10:30 & 11:30

• STAR Reader also on Wednesday at 3:00

• STAR Reader on Thursday (8/13) at 3:00

• Drop in Computer Lab on Thursday at 6:00

• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (8/14) at 3:30

• STAR Reader on Saturday (8/15) 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.

At the Edge of Uncertainty

In the fascinating At the Edge of Uncertainty Michael Brooks explores 11 discoveries that have surprised scientists.  Each chapter takes a different such discovery, explains it, and provides history and context so the non-scientist can get a glimpse of what is going on.  The discoveries in question include things like epigenetics, possibility of chimeras, hypercomputing, and the nature of time --- to name but four.

All in all it is an engaging, accessible to the non-scientist read that I would highly recommend.

August’s eResource of the Month….

The eResource of the month for the month of August is Oxford Reference Online.  Oxford Reference provides access to more than 200 reference titles from Oxford University Press.  They tend to be dictionary-like resources on a specific subject like Shakespeare, plastic surgery, politics, Buddhism, etc.  You will also find some English & bilingual dictionaries and books on quotations in this collection.

You can access Oxford Reference from any computer though you will need to have your library card handy if you are not on a library computer.  Go to the library’s webpage for Research & Homework and scroll down to the O’s to find access to the resource (http://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/research-and-homework#O).

Once logged in you can do a global search across all their titles or browse by subject.  Search result screens provide you with options for refining your search.  Go explore it.

Websites I Like…

Looking for the legal code of a particular city in California?  The Institute of Governmental Studies at Berkeley maintains a large depository collection of local ordinance codes and charters issued by California cities and counties.  Handy if you can’t get your hands on the print copy (often terribly difficult).  Find it here: https://igs.berkeley.edu/library/california-local-government-documents/codes-and-charters. 

Events for the Week of August 2…

Events going on at the library during the week include…

• Game Day on Sunday (8/2) at 2:00
• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (8/5) sessions at 10:30 & 11:30
• STAR Reader also on Wednesday at 3:00
• STAR Reader on Thursday (8/6) at 3:00
• Fun with Tablets program on Thursday at 4:00
• MediCal/CalFresh table on Friday (8/7) from 1:30-5:30
• Drop in Computer Lab also on Friday at 3:30
• STAR Reader on Saturday (8/8) at 2:00
• Song-a-Day for a Month --- The Concert also on Saturday 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.