The 4th Moby Dick Event…

Mark your calendars and plan to head down to the library next Wednesday (9/18) from 6:00-7:45 for the fourth of our Moby Dick events.  We will be enjoying a classic telescope night with the Sidewalk Astronomers.  Join us for a look through the telescope at the moon and whatever other objects of astronomical interest can be found.  We will experiment with a homemade quadrant as well and learn how sailors determined latitude at sea.  Everyone is welcome.

For details about Moby Dick events city wide be sure to check out the Library Foundation of Los Angeles’ website (www.whateverhappenedtomobydick.org).  Look at my earlier blog entry (http://arroyoseco5.blogspot.com/2013/08/whatever-happened-to-moby-dick-or-la.html) for specifics about programming at the Arroyo Seco Branch.

"What Ever Happened to Moby Dick?" programming is made possible through the generous support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the WHH Foundation, and the Library Foundation of Los Angeles.

Events for the Week of September 16…

We’ve got a busy week this week.  Things going on at the library include:

• Moby Dick movie screening on Monday (9/16) at 5:30
• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (9/18) at 10:30
• STAR Reader on Wednesday at 3:30
• Telescope Night (celebrating celestial navigation & Moby Dick) also on Wednesday starting at 6:00
• STAR Reader on Thursday (9/19) at 3:00
• Moby Dick & Talk Like a Pirate Day Stories and Crafts also on Thursday at 5:30
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (9/20) at 3:30
• The Physical & Meta-Physical in Moby Dick a chat by Occidental Professor Daniel Fineman on Saturday (9/21) 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.

The 3rd Moby Dick Event…

Mark your calendars and plan to head down to the library next Monday (9/16) at 5:30 for the third of our Moby Dick events.  We will enjoy a movie.  While I’m prohibited by our movie licensing agreement from advertising the title it is the obvious movie for Moby Dick.  Everyone is welcome.

For details about Moby Dick events city wide be sure to check out the Library Foundation of Los Angeles’ website (www.whateverhappenedtomobydick.org).  Look at my earlier blog entry (http://arroyoseco5.blogspot.com/2013/08/whatever-happened-to-moby-dick-or-la.html) for specifics about programming at the Arroyo Seco Branch.

"What Ever Happened to Moby Dick?" programming is made possible through the generous support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the WHH Foundation, and the Library Foundation of Los Angeles.

TOW (& Answer)...

This week’s question was when did Moby Dick begin to gain a reputation as a masterpiece?  To quote from our reference source:

Moby Dick had some initial critical appreciation, particularly in Britain, but only since the 1920s has it been recognized as a masterpiece, an epic tragedy of tremendous dramatic power and narrative drive.

 The article had a number of other interesting points to make, including:

Both Ahab and Ishmael seek knowledge, but while Ishmael learns love and humanity ”monomaniacal Ahab” pursues a demonic God behind the “hooded phantom” or “unreasoning mask” of the symbolic whale.

The question (& answer) were taken from pgs 667-668 of The Oxford Companion to English Literature edited by Margaret Drabble.  The book was published by the Oxford University Press in 1995.

The 2nd Moby Dick Event…

Head on down to the library this Saturday (9/14) at 3:00 for the second of our Moby Dick events.  Arts & Crafts is the theme and Scrimshaw is the focus.  Scrimshaw is a type of ivory carving that was popular among whalers as well as other groups (hence the Moby Dick connection).  Join us as we practice scrimshaw using Ivory soap instead of, well, ivory.  Everyone is welcome.

For details about Moby Dick events city wide be sure to check out the Library Foundation of Los Angeles’ website (www.whateverhappenedtomobydick.org).  Look at my earlier blog entry (http://arroyoseco5.blogspot.com/2013/08/whatever-happened-to-moby-dick-or-la.html) for specifics about programming at the Arroyo Seco Branch.

"What Ever Happened to Moby Dick?" programming is made possible through the generous support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the WHH Foundation, and the Library Foundation of Los Angeles.

The Story of Spanish

Well my look at the history of language continues with The Story of Spanish by Jean-Benoit Nadeau & Julie Barlow.  This book tells the story of Spanish from a historical & sociological viewpoint.  Basically we follow the course of the Spanish language over time as it began in the “land of the rabbits” and was changed by the people & places it found itself.  This is not a book that explores grammar or vocabulary at all & is in fact more history oriented then most books of its type that I have read. 

It is however interesting & I would recommend it to those interested in the language or the associated cultures.  

Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue

Every now and then I like to look at books that look at the history of language from one standpoint or another.  In Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue John McWhorter takes a look at the “untold history of English”.  He explores the origins of the language and how circumstances changed it to what we know today.

I found the book interesting & accessible.  He makes a strong case for his argument, one that would take someone more expert then me to find the flaws.  I would recommend it to anyone interested in the topic. 

Trivia of the Week...

Well now that it's September (aka Moby Dick Month) well clearly the trivia needs to come from that book.  So this week's question is:

When did Moby Dick gain a reputation as a masterpiece?

Websites of Interest (musing on Moby Dick division) w/ Added Program…

Well we have a scrimshaw based arts and crafts day coming up on 9/14 at 3:00 so I thought I ought to make sure everyone is up on what scrimshaw actually is...

• Start with the basics by taking a quick peak at this wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrimshaw).  
• Then swing through a Google Image search on scrimshaw for a lot of gorgeous examples of it.  
• Finally, check out this artist’s website (http://www.gustavus.com/heidi/scrim.html) for a brief description of the art form from the perspective of a practitioner.

Now that you know a bit about scrimshaw, join us to make your own (ivory soap though… not the real ivory).

Events for the Week of September 9…

Things going on at the library during the week include:

• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (9/11) at 10:30
• STAR Reader on Wednesday at 3:30
• STAR Reader on Thursday (9/12) at 3:00
• Desktop Publishing Basics also on Thursday at 6:30
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (9/13) at 3:30
• Scrimshaw Art & Craft Program (Part of our Moby Dick Series!) on Saturday (9/14) 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)...

This week’s question was the somewhat awkwardly worded how long did the longest surviving artificial heart transplant patient survive for?  The answer is 7 years 5 months and 5 days.  The patient was Peter Houghton of the UK and the transplant surgery took place in 2000.

The question (& answer) were taken from p. 303 of The Guinness Book of World Records 2013, published by Bantam Books.  

Websites of Interest (Musings on Moby Dick division)…

I found this website browsing around the Library Foundation of Los Angeles’ Moby Dick webpage (http://lfla.org/mobydick/).  It is a web entry discussing a book by Matt Kish called Moby Dick in Pictures: One Drawing for Every Page.  The neat thing about it is it displays a number of the indicated pictures; enough of them to make you want to get the book for yourself.  Take a look and see.

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/10/11/matt-kish-moby-dick-illustrated/

Down These Strange Streets

If you’re looking for an anthology of stories that mix urban fantasy (of the magic & witches kind) with hard core noir detective work then Down These Strange Streets is the anthology for you.  The anthology, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, features stories from Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Diana Gabaldon, and Simon R. Green among others.  I always like a good anthology because even if you don’t like one of the stories odds are good you’ll like another so you can count on getting something out of the book.

This book is recommended for anyone who likes a good detective story and doesn’t mind if it mixes in the odd zombie or vampire. 

Trivia of the Week...

This week’s question is: How long did the longest surviving artificial heart transplant patient survive for?