Trivia of the Month (Answer)...

This month’s question asked what is the national anthem of the Dominican Republic?  The Dominican Republic’s national anthem is Quisqueyanos valientes, alcemos.  The words were written by Emilio Prud’homme with music by José Reyés.

The question (and answer) were found on p. 58 of National Anthems from Around the World.  The book was published by the Hal Leonard Corporation in 1996.

Events for the Week of June 30….

First sign up for summer reading (if you haven't already). You can sign yourself up with a visit to www.lapl.org/summer or swing by the library and have us do it for you. 

Second, remember that the library will be closed this week on the 4th in celebration of Independence Day.

Finally, check out the events going on at the library this week and join us:

Monday – 7/1
Grupo de apoyo para la familia at 10:00
Coretta Scott King Book Awards Storytime at 4:00 (by the way that’s mini-movie)

Tuesday – 7/2
Baby Storytime at 10:30
LAPD Read Along at 3:00
Círculo de Lectores at 6:00

Wednesday – 7/3
Toddler Storytime at 10:30
STAR Reader at 3:00

Friday – 7/5
Drop in Computer Lab at 3:30

Saturday – 7/6
Tai Chi at 10:00
Paper Bead Making 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

Summer Reading Challenge 2019 – Jazz & Classical Guitar

Craving some mid-summer music?  Enjoy a concert of solo jazz and classical guitar with works from the Baroque era to the present day. Nick Mizock will include music from the American songbook as well as works by Albeniz, Mozart, Sagreras, and more. The performance will be on 7/13 at 3:00.

Library Events in July…

(Mark your calendars accordingly)

The Summer Reading Challenge is in full swing! Are you and and your family signed up?  It’s not too late.  Sign up, if you haven’t already, then join us for any (or all) of the great programming that are going on throughout the month.   Let’s take a look at some of the things on schedule:

- - - - - - - - - -
7/1 @ 4:00
Special Storytime
Join us for the Coretta Scott King Book Awards storytime.

7/2 @ 6:00
Círculo de Lectores
Hay café, pastel casero, ye conversación amena sobre el libro que estamos leyendo

7/6 @ 10:00
Tai Chi
Increase your balance and flexibility and decrease your stress. Join us for an hour of tai chi.

7/6 @ 3:00
Paper Bead Making
Learn how to make a variety of beads using recycled paper. Fun for all.

7/8 from 2:30 - 4:30
LA DOT Tap Information Table
Questions about LA metro systems? Just want to refill your TAP card? Stop by.

7/8 @ 4:00
DIY Musical Instruments
Come have some musical fun.

7/11 @ 4:00
Teen Program
Join us for exciting teen fun.

7/13 @ 10:00
Tai Chi
Increase your balance and flexibility and decrease your stress. Join us for an hour of tai chi.

7/13 @ 1:00
Solo Classical and Jazz Guitar Concert
Join us for an afternoon of music with Nick Mizock.

7/15 @ 4:00
Moon Landing Anniversary Celebration
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing.

7/16 @ 6:00
Círculo de Lectores
Hay café, pastel casero, ye conversación amena sobre el libro que estamos leyendo

7/20 @ 10:00
Tai Chi
Increase your balance and flexibility and decrease your stress. Join us for an hour of tai chi.

7/20 @ 3:00
Straw Rockets
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing with a bit of science-y competition.

7/22 @ 4:00
Create your own Puppet
Fun with puppets today.

7/25 @ 4:00
Steel Drum Workshop
Teens join us for some percussive fun.

7/27 @ 10:00
Tai Chi
Increase your balance and flexibility and decrease your stress. Join us for an hour of tai chi.

7/27 @ 3:00
Arroyo Book Club
Join us for a discussion of Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson.

7/29 @ 4:00
Author Visit
Meet book illustrator Rilla Alexander.

- - - - - - - - - -

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

Grupo de apoyo para la familia - - - Mondays at 10:00

Baby Storytime - - - Tuesdays at 10:30
Stories, songs, and rhymes await babies up to 18 months. (No program on 7/30)

Toddler Storytime - - - Wednesdays at 10:30
Little Ones’ 3 and under & their grownups are invited to join us for stories, music, & games.

LAPD Read Along - - - Tuesdays at 3:00
Officers from the LAPD read favorite stories with kids.

STAR Volunteer Readers - - - Wednesdays at 3:00 and Thursdays at 3:00.
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.

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.

Arroyo Book Club’s July Pick….

The Arroyo Book Club will be reading Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson for their July meeting.  This slim novel follows two young girls as they grow to adulthood.  Our catalog provides the following description for the book:

Housekeeping is the story of Ruth and her younger sister, Lucille, who grow up haphazardly, first under the care of their competent grandmother, then of two comically bumbling great-aunts, and finally of Sylvie, the eccentric and remote sister of their dead mother. Ruth and Lucille's struggle toward adulthood beautifully illuminates the price of loss and survival, and the dangerous and deep undertow of transience.

The NEA provides the following overview of the book:

Even avid readers will be hard pressed to find another novel quite like Marilynne Robinson's luminous Housekeeping. Set in the remote, imaginary town of Fingerbone, Idaho, it presents the precarious and eccentric lives of three generations of Foster family women. Housekeeping chronicles the deaths, abandonments, and insecurities that beset the Fosters so vividly that it is often heartbreaking, but the novel also radiates a mysterious joy and tender humor commensurate with Ruth's childlike capacity for the sheer wonder of being alive.

Intrigued?  Stop by the library for a copy of the book and join us on July 27 at 3:00 for discussion.

Events for the Week of June 23….

First sign up for summer reading (if you haven't already). You can sign yourself up with a visit to www.lapl.org/summer or swing by the library and have us do it for you. 

Then check out the events going on at the library this week and join us:

Monday – 6/24
Grupo de apoyo para la familia at 10:00
Make a thaumatrope with us at 4:00 (by the way that’s mini-movie)

Tuesday – 6/25
Baby Storytime at 10:30
LAPD Read Along at 3:00

Wednesday – 6/26
Toddler Storytime at 10:30
STAR Reader at 3:00

Thursday – 6/27
STAR Reader at 3:00
Candy Sushi for Teens at 4:00

Friday – 6/28
Drop in Computer Lab at 3:30

Saturday – 6/29
Tai Chi at 10:00

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

Summer Reading Challenge 2019 – Crafting

Join us for a relaxing Saturday afternoon of crafting on 7/6 at 3:00.  We will be making paper beads.  Learn how and then experiment with a variety of papers.  Perhaps you’ll make enough to craft your own customized bracelet or… choker or… very long necklace…

History of Highland Park…

Check out this letter to the editor (http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/11/520701.pdf) about the need to collect the funds necessary to purchase the land where this library would eventually be built.  The letter was written in 1912.  I, for one, am glad they succeeded.

Events for the Week of June 16….

First sign up for summer reading (if you haven't already). You can sign yourself up with a visit to www.lapl.org/summer or swing by the library and have us do it for you. 

Then check out the events going on at the library this week and join us:

Monday – 6/17
Grupo de apoyo para la familia at 10:00
Dog Man Party at 4:00

Tuesday – 6/18
Baby Storytime at 10:30
LAPD Read Along at 3:00
Círculo de Lectores at 6:00

Wednesday – 6/19
Toddler Storytime at 10:30
STAR Reader at 3:00

Thursday – 6/20
STAR Reader at 3:00
LED Flower Making for Teens at 4:00

Friday – 6/21
Drop in Computer Lab at 3:30

Saturday – 6/22
Tai Chi at 10:00
Arroyo Book Club meets 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

Trivia of the Month...

This month’s question asks what is the national anthem of the Dominican Republic?

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer

Fredrik Backman brings us a very short, very moving portrait of Alzheimer’s in And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer.  Backman’s books always seem to feature characters that are very young and very old and either way are deliciously eccentric.  His latest, just a bit more than 75 pages, tells the tale of Grandpa and Noah.  Grandpa is suffering from what I suspect is Alzheimer’s and the book lyrically unfolds a gradual diminishment of his map of the world as he and Noah interact.  My explanation really doesn’t do what the author accomplished justice so pick it up and see for yourself.  Highly recommended.

Events for the Week of June 9….

The Summer Reading Challenge begins this week. Make sure you (and everyone you know) signs up. Visit www.lapl.org/summer or swing by the library to get signed up.

 Events going on at the library during the week include: 

Sunday – 6/9 
360 Photography Workshop (session 1) at 2:00

Monday – 6/10
Grupo de apoyo para la familia at 10:00
LA DOT Tap Information Table from 2:30-4:30
Reptile Family Program at 4:00

Tuesday – 6/11
LAPD Read Along at 3:00
Teen Summer Reading Kick-Off at 4:00

Wednesday – 6/12
Toddler Storytime at 10:30
STAR Reader at 3:00
360 Photography Workshop (session 2) at 6:00

Thursday – 6/13
STAR Reader at 3:00

Friday – 6/14
Drop in Computer Lab at 3:30

Saturday – 6/15
Tai Chi at 10:00
360 Photography Workshop (session 2) at 1:00
Making Kombucha Workshop 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

June’s eResource of the Month

Are you seeking up to date health information? Do you want to understand more thoroughly a diagnosis your doctor gave you? Do you want to know how to keep you and your family healthy?  Turn to the Health and Wellness Resource Center, June’s eResource of the Month.

The Health and Wellness Resource Center offers access to full-text medical journals, magazines, reference works, multimedia, and more.  It provides information useful to people at all levels and that information is authoritative and covers the full range of health related issues, from current disease and disorder information to in-depth coverage of alternative medical practices.  An easy to use interface allows you to browse to what you are interested in or search for it directly.

Find the Health and Wellness Resource Center from the library’s Research & Homework page (https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/research-and-homework#H) in the H’s.  You can access it from any computer though you will need to have your library card number handy if you’re not on a library computer.

Check it out and get your health questions answered.

Summer Reading Challenge 2019 – Homemade Soda & Kombucha

Learn how to make and care for your own kombucha culture in this workshop taught by food preservationist Brie Wakeland, who will also share methods and recipes for various other natural drinks, such as root beer, shrubs, kefir, jun and more. Samples will be available for tasting.

All of this will happen on 6/15 at 3:00.

Summer Reading Challenge 2019 – Tai Chi

(for adults)

We are fortunate this summer that Wayne Qian who’s taught us Tai Chi for the past three summers will be doing so again.  He will teach us techniques to ease our tension and stress, and improve our balance and breathing.  Sessions are scheduled for Saturday Mornings at 10:00.  The first will be on 6/15 and the last on 8/10.  Please feel free to join us for any session.

The instructor provides us with some information about the characteristics of Tai chi quan…

• Slow and graceful movement which goes on and on.  It is “like the clouds scurrying across the sky and the water flowing down a river or stream.”  It does not stop until the whole exercise comes to a peaceful end.  Choppy movements are anathema to tai chi practitioners.
• Natural and unblocked flow of ch’i, meaning vital energy, in the whole body at all times.  To do that, the tai chi practitioner must focus their mind on their movement, trying in every way to keep themselves from being distracted by a medley of ideas.
• A perfect combination of action and quietness.  The body of the practitioner is moving all the time, but his mind is dominated by a peacefulness that comes only with a lot of exercise.  In appearance, he is sort of restless, at heart, he experiences a serenity which onlookers find difficult to comprehend.  Ultimately, he finds himself at one with the universe.

The instructor also provides eight basic rules to follow:

1. Keeping the upper part of the body straight.  One must not slant forward or backward.  This will ensure the flexibility of the waist, which is the axis of the human body, the starting point of almost every bodily movement.
2. Keeping one’s gravity low.  This might be difficult for first-time learners, but it is highly important because probably more than anything else it contributes to a good bodily balance.
3. When moving forward or backward, do not place one’s feet in the same line.  Only then can one be “as steady and firm as a mountain.” Placing both feet in the same line would most likely lead to the loss of balance.
4. Not moving a foot when the body’s weight is on it.  To move the right foot requires shifting the weight away from it to the left foot; to move the left foot requires shifting the weight away from it to the right.
5. Allowing the shoulders and elbows to hang down naturally.  The term “hand down naturally” means the total relaxation of the muscles in the neck and arms.  Raising the shoulders is a sin.  And even when the arms are moving, the elbows must not unfold like a bird’s wings.
6. Every movement must “round out” in the end, not in an angular fashion.  This applies especially to the movement of the hands.  Slow, continuous, and elegant, it has nothing to do with what is short, sudden and rough.  It is this feature that gives the practice of tai chi a look of elegance.
7. Matching one’s breathing with movement.  As one will find out, tai chi quan consists of open and closed movements.  “when open, breathe in; when closed, breathe out,” that is what one has to remember.  The effort to match breathing with movement will naturally slow down the movement.
8. Control deep breath by the diaphragm, allowing ch’i to go deep into the abdomen instead of the lungs.  While doing this occasionally is easy; it takes all the focused attention that one can give to do it continually.  However, the effort to do it will be amply rewarded.  This is also the secret of an opera singer’s powerful voice.

Events for the Week of June 2….

Events going on at the library during the week include:

Monday – 6/3
Grupo de apoyo para la familia at 10:00
Building Blocks Club at 4:00

Tuesday – 6/4
Baby Storytime at 10:30
LAPD Read Along at 3:00
STAR Reader at 3:30
Círculo de Lectores at 6:00

Wednesday – 6/5
STAR Reader at 3:00

Thursday – 6/6
STAR Reader at 3:00
All Ages Zine Workshop at 4:00

Friday – 6/8
Drop in Computer Lab at 3:30

Saturday – 6/9
360 Photography Workshop (session 1) 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