History of Highland Park….

Here (http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/10/520344.pdf) we have a 1/14/1976 article on Chuck Williams, the “horse king” of the Arroyo by Nelda Thompson.  Chuck Williams owned the Arroyo Stables for more than 50 years and this article details his life and experiences.  Pictures included.

The Invisible History of the Human Race

In The Invisible History of the Human Race Christine Kenneally explores things that can be passed down.  The book is an exploration of concepts related to genealogy both in the refined about me way and in the larger history of the whole human race way.  She starts the book by exploring what people think gets passed down, moves on to discuss the passing of ideas and culture down generations, and then branches into the biological side of things by discussing the passage of DNA between generations.  The book is interesting and aimed at the non-scientist (& non-geneticist).  While some of her conclusions did not convince me the background she provided was fascinating and her book did cause me to think.

All in all a book I would recommend to someone interested in biology, genealogy or non-fiction writing. 

Trivia of the Week...

This week’s question is what is the maieutic method?

TOW (& Answer)...

The week’s question was how do you calculate your destiny number?  A destiny number is something that arises out of a belief in numerology.  It is calculated from your date of birth.  Find it by adding up all the numbers in your birthdate until you reach any number between 1 and 9, or 11 or 22.  Example…. Say you were born on 5 October 1945.  Write down the date in numerical form --> 5+1+0+1+9+4+5 = 25.  25 is not between 1 and 9 or 11 or 22 so we recursively repeat the process.  2+5 = 7.  So the example’s destiny number is 7.

The question (& answer) were taken from p. 162 of Predicting Your Future by Jane Struthers.  The book was published by Collins & Brown in 1997.

Events for the Week of April 13…

Events going on at the library during the week include…

• Make It Monday: Something to do with Poetry on Monday (of course) at 4:00
• Teen Council Meeting on Tuesday (4/14) at 4:00
• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (4/15) --- sessions at 10:30 & 11:30
• STAR Reader on Wednesday at 3:00
• STAR Reader on Thursday (4/16) at 3:00
• Fun with Tablets program also on Thursday at 4:00
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (4/17) at 3:30
• Friends’ of the Library Used Book Sale on Saturday (4/18) from 9:30-2:00
• STAR Reader on Saturday at 2:00
• HTML Basics Class 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.

Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole

In Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole a neurologist (Allan H. Ropper) teams up with a writer (Brian David Burrell) to explain the “mystery and drama of brain disease.”  The book uses anecdotal encounters with patients to explore particular brain issues and explain how the process of diagnosis works.  The book is very readable for even the most medically illiterate and is quite fascinating in its look at that organ that makes us us.

Recommended for those who enjoy non-fiction and are interested in learning more about the brain and disease.

Stranger

Stranger by Rachel Manija Brown & Sherwood Smith is yet another dystopian YA novel but somehow this one managed to combine dystopia with a sense of optimism, people being people, and community in a way that was refreshing and helped make the book interesting.  The book is set in the future after what must have been a sun storm of some kind that destroyed electromagnetic things and did a number on DNA as well.  Because of this we have a variant on the civilization returned to barbary that is a fairly common trope but we also have people fighting plants and animals that have mutated as well as people dealing with their own mutations.  Into this setting we throw Ross, a prospector who is chased by a bounty hunter to the town of Las Anclas.  Here the story switches viewpoint among a number of characters as the town goes through a crisis with a neighboring war lord.  The viewpoint switching was interesting because you could see one character find trouble with another and then, when switched to that character, find that what was creating the friction was understandable from that second one’s point of view.

All in all an interesting book.  Definitely recommended for those who enjoy a good future set YA novel.

Websites I Like…

An interesting site to explore is the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp).  You can search by name, state, position, party, and year or term in Congress.  The result is a brief bio that focuses on their political life.  Look up your liked (or hated) politicians.  Find out who was representing you when you were born.

Trivia of the Week...

This week’s question is how do you calculate your destiny number?

Events for the Week of April 5…

Events going on at the library during the week include…

• Make It Monday: with a building block challenge on Monday (of course) at 4:00
• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (4/8) --- sessions at 10:30 & 11:30
• STAR Reader on Wednesday at 3:00
• Covered CA Information Table on Thursday (4/9) from 1:00-3:00
• STAR Reader also on Thursday at 3:00
• Fun with Tablets program on Thursday at 4:00
• Introduction to Spreadsheets class on Thursday at 6:00
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (4/10) at 3:30
• STAR Reader on Saturday (4/11) 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.

TOW (& Answer)...

The week’s question was what was Kush?  Kush was the Egyptian name for ancient Nubia, the site of an advanced, ancient black African civilization that rivaled ancient Egypt in wealth, power, and cultural development.

The question (and answer) were taken from p. 1109 of Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience edited by Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates Jr.  The book was published by Basic Civitas Books in 1999.

The Circus of the Damned

The Circus of the Damned by Cornelia Grey tells the tale of a magician (actual magic) who in the midst of fleeing for his life from a mob of angry fleeced citizens is picked up by a circus that save him in return for his presence for life and his soul on death (clearly the circus of the book’s title). Beggar’s can’t be choosers so Gilbert Blake takes the deal.  He then learns that the deal was real, meets his fellow performers, falls for the ringmaster (who is a man too by the way), and, with the circus, fights against a nobleman who is trying to use magic users to gain power of his own.

All in all an adventure filled story.  Recommended for those with a taste for the absurd.

April’s Electronic Resource of the Month….

If you’re interested in learning a new language or in brushing up your skills in a second language you already have then the Electronic Resource of the Month for April is just what you’ve been looking for.  The resource in question is Mango Languages.  Mango Languages provides over 60 online language learning courses and more than 15 English as a Second Language courses for your learning enjoyment.  As you begin using Mango Languages you’ll want to create a profile so that you can track your progress as you move through a course and pick up where you left off when you return to a course.  

Mango Languages is available on any computer (and many devices) though you will need your library card if you’re not on a library computer.  Access Mango Languages from the Library’s website (www.lapl.org) via the Research & Homework page (http://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/research-and-homework#M).     

Soulminder

I seem to be reading books that take medical looks at avoiding death lately.  The latest such tome is Soulminder by Timothy Zahn.  In this book Dr. Adrian Sommers is haunted by the accidental death of his young son & so begins a quest to find a way to prevent such accidental deaths.  He devises a machine that traps the “soul” upon death.  The body, absent its owner, can be repaired at the leisure of the doctors and the “soul” can be reintroduced, effectively thwarting death.  All this happens at the beginning.  The book then goes on to explore the consequences of new technology, intended and unintended, as we follow the growth of the soulminder technology and the use & misuse to which it is put.  This exploration is what makes this book interesting.

Recommended for those who like SF and those who enjoy a good exploration of morality in the face of new technology.