Random Acts of Information

Last Ever Random Act

2011-12-28T09:22:00.002-06:00

Today's is the last Random Acts of Information post, as tomorrow the author embarks on the journey known as retirement. What words of wisdom will I take from the vast resources the library has made available to me over the years?

How To Nap:
1. The best time to nap is between 1 and 2:30 PM. 2. The optimal sleep time is 20-30 minutes. 3. Napping is an art that must be learned. Practice with meditation tapes. 4. If you are feeling loggy upon awakening, brush your teeth. It's refreshing.
Thank you for taking time to read Random Acts of Information these past few years. It has been fun!
Margaret Jane Scott, future member of the Olympic Napping Team.

Source: How to Nap Real Simple, Dec2005/Jan2006, p215-221

1980's - Did We Just Imagine It?

2011-12-27T09:30:00.002-06:00

We have a terrific set of books from your friends at Sears. Take Fashionable clothing from the Sears catalogs : early 1980s. Yes, the 1980's require more than one volume of coverage. I'm surprised you had to ask. So I was browsing this beauty for clothes that would look seriously out of place today. Prairie style - nope, too ordinary. Shiny jewel-toned dresses with abstract patterns - maybe. Then I hit the Sportswear section - jackpot! Sweatbands with updos, check. Legwarmers in 3 different colors with horizontal stripes! What appears to be a one-piece swimming suit with a belt and for bonus points - the belt matches the periwinkle tights that are part of this ensemble. Does it still take that much work to dress for exercise? I have to ask because I don't. Exercise that is. For an authentic glimpse into daywear from the decades this series can't be beat! Nosiree bob!

Fashionable Clothing from the Sears Catalogs

Still Closed plus New Toys

2011-12-26T09:30:00.001-06:00

All six locations of the Des Moines Public Library are closed today and will open regular hours tomorrow, Tuesday, December 27. Do you know anyone who has a new e-reader of some flavor or other? There are some I have never heard tell of in all my born days. For example, a Kobo. Kobo's web site assures us they are 5 million strong. Guess whose web site has instructions for downloading our ebooks to a Kobo? That's right, we are up to date. Know it. Visit our fabulous page for WILBOR eBooks and click on your reader of choice. Our web genius even added pictures of readers. I like pictures. They're easy to read. You are so going to miss the sophisticated humor of this blog. Har!

Closed Today plus 'My School's Older Than Yours'

2011-12-23T09:30:00.001-06:00

There are some mighty old high schools in our United States. Or 'secondary schools' as some call them. Here are the 5 Oldest Secondary Schools in the USA and the years in which they were founded:

1. Boston Latin School, MA 1635;

2. Hartford Public High School, CT 1638;

3. Roxbury Latin School, MA 1645;

4. Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, MA 1648;

5. Hopkins School New Haven, CT 1660.

I checked on the suspicious word 'Rindge'. Is it some kind of esoteric language related to Latin? Turns out it's a town, so Cambridge Rindge is just like Newell Fonda. Only waaaay older.

Source: Top Ten of Everything 2011

All six locations of the Des Moines Public Library are closed December 23 through December 26.

Upcoming Holiday Closings Plus Hideous Clothing

2011-12-22T09:25:00.006-06:00

All six locations of the Des Moines Public Library will be closed Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, December 23-26. I remember ... one year for the holidays my sister and I - we were just one year apart - received the following: polyester pantsuits. Or maybe pant sets, since there was no jacket. The top was a tunic. Color scheme was navy and gray, houndstooth except for the collars. Of course there were collars. These were a solid navy color, and I believe they laced up. I'm not talking nice polyester here, this was the slippery stuff. Speaking of stuff, we thought we were the hot kind in our new duds. No awkward phase for us! Envious much?

Happy Holidays!
Fashionable clothing from the Sears catalogs : early 1970s / Desire Smith.

Scary. Just a Little.

2011-12-21T09:25:00.001-06:00

Have you been watching American Horror Story? Not me, man. I couldn't get through the first episode and I like horror. Wouldst care to try really old horror movies? They are almost genteel. Take Curse of the Demon. Scared yet? No? How about Night of the DemonBOO! Admit it, now you're scared. To keep the adrenaline going check out our COTD-NOTD double feature DVD. That's right; they are both on the same disc. Of course they're the same movie, so 2 discs: totally not necessary. "What the heck are you talking about", I hear you ask. (There's a reason my ears are so big. Elf blood.) Night of the Demon is the original British version. Curse of the Demon cut 13 minutes out so we Americans wouldn't get bored. Whatever. Either version is genuinely spoooooky.

Night of the Demon/Curse of the Demon

Fresh!

2011-12-20T09:44:00.001-06:00

I am the lucky recipient of several bouquets of lovely fresh flowers. Something to do with the fact I'm retiring? (Did I mention I'm retiring? whoohoo.) How do I keep these delightful arrangements alive? A-live! Hahahaha... ooops. Ms. Frankenstein kind of slipped out there. Anyway, Consumer Reports Magazine has the following tips: use preservatives, either commercial preparations or homemade - such as "1 teaspoon of bleach and 1 tablespoon of sugar stirred into 1 gallon of water". Huh. I'd probably stick with store-bought. Get rid of greenery (not stems) below the water line. Keep the vase out of direct sunlight and heat. Plus other stuff too complicated to relate here. For more details:

Consumer Reports Magazine February 1, 2005
access online through EBSCOHost, DMPL library card and PIN required

500 What?

2011-12-19T09:20:00.001-06:00

500 is a card game and my family is mad for it. Mad, I tell you! Is it popular outside my immediate DNA group? Well, I guess so, since it's the national card game of Australia! There are 4 players, two teams. Go around and everyone bids - 5 clubs for example. Based on the bid your partner has to somehow divine what cards you have. If the winning bidder hates his/her hand, they get to pick up a set of cards dealt to a nonexistent player. This is called 'the blind' by my family. It is also called the missy, the kitty, the widow. Apparently the game is quite addictive. How else to explain Australia?

How to Play Card Games as Taught in Books

Leftover Gift Wrap

2011-12-16T09:25:00.001-06:00

I finally ran across an idea for leftover gift wrap that's actually useful. Make envelopes out of it! Won't they be gorgeous? You'll probably have to add a white label to write the address on, but it's worth it. You say you don't write letters on paper and mail them? Now, my friend, is the time to start. If you want to thrill someone, getting a letter in the mail is infinitely more exciting than receiving a text. And you will want to write so you can use the fabulous receptacles. Want a template? Just unfold an envelope you like and use that for your design. Oh, man! You could LINE your envelope with a sheet of different paper! Your next rainy-day (snow day?) project is all ready to go. You're welcome!

Russell Hoban's Gone

2011-12-15T09:20:00.001-06:00

I recently finished Blood Red Road (fabulous!) and was telling a friend how reviews of the book mention that the novel can be a bit of a challenge to read due to the use of dialect. Hah! I said. Try reading Riddley Walker! And she tells me the author, Russell Hoban, just died. I am very sad. Riddley Walker is a masterpiece. The English is so extensively altered you are completely immersed in the world. It's not that the words are so different -myt for might, woal for whole - it's that most of the book is written that way, not just a few words or phrases. Bonus - the plot and characters are compelling! Not just a masterpiece, it is an experience.

Countdown: 5...4...3...2...Nap!

2011-12-14T09:45:00.001-06:00

Two weeks from today will be my last day ever as a Librarian with the Des Moines Public Library. I'm retiring! And shy! Ah, the old jokes are the best. After 30 years in the field I am ready to hang up ... my glasses? No, gotta have those. Sensible shoes? Are you kidding me? I know, I'll hang up my name tag! It would just poke me while I'm sleeping anyway. I will continue the blog until fully retired, but if you're a mathlete you know that last post will be showing up December 28th. Then Random Acts of Information will be no more. It has been great fun to write and I have delighted in your comments. Delighted, I tell you! This is so much fun I may write more posts about retiring. But only for a couple weeks.

Librarian Margaret Jane Scott

Crash Test

2011-12-14T09:21:00.001-06:00

John Stapp was an Air Force Colonel. In the mid-1950's he talked automakers into using his airplane safety dummies to test cars. The term 'dummies' is used loosely here, since these consisted of sand-filled bags. Just bags, no shape. Now that they're shaped like us, auto makers can get all kinds of info by crashing a car full of dummies into a wall. How hard somebody's head will hit the dashboard, how many ribs you'll probably break, you know, fun stuff. We are ever so grateful that the sand-filled bags stepped up. Thank you, Colonel Stapp. Any chance that was pronounced Stop!?

Des Moines Register 12/113/1992 p. 2H

Supery-Duper Element

2011-12-13T09:25:00.001-06:00

Krypton is a noble gas. Why are we not surprised? The planet Krypton is good, kryptonite is bad. Which came first, Action Comics #1 or the element? Earthly krypton was discovered in 1898 by Sir William Ramsay and Morris Williams Travers. The word krypton comes from the Greek kryptos meaning 'hidden' due to the fact it was really, really hard to discover. You'll never guess why this gas is called 'noble'. Because krypton's too hoity-toity to react with other elements! But maybe it's non-reactive because it's inert. Not unlike Keanu Reeves. I know! What did Keanu Reeves ever do to me? To make up for that crack, here's a link to a list of his DVDs: Keanu Rules!

Source: Gale Virtual Reference Library, Chemical Elements, 2010

Reading - It's Complicated

2011-12-12T09:20:00.001-06:00

Lately I've been reading amazing books that are very hard to describe. I have a Library Thing account to help me keep track of what I've read, because even though the books are memorable I read alot and get them mixed up. My goal is to put in tags specific enough that when I see them I think, oh yeah, that book. It ain't easy.

The Tiger's Wife: Balkans, Young Women Doctors, Deaf-Mute Battered Woman Loves Tiger, Undying Man, Magic Realism.
The Gone-Away World: Weapon Eats World, Changes, Livable Zone, Adult Imaginary Friend, Gorgeous Language, SF.
Embassytown: Host Aliens, Two Voices, Cloned Ambassador, Alien Addiction, Humans as Language, SF.
Hey, I highly recommend these three novels! Just don't ask me what they're about.

Chapeaux Spéciaux

2011-12-09T09:35:00.001-06:00

I love little kids' hats these days. My favorites are the ones that look like baby animal heads. When I was a little girl - wait! don't run! it's interesting, really! I had a hat with a face on the back. Like you'd see me from behind and there would be my face. If my face looked like the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. But the best part was the long blond braids! Since I was A. brunette and B. not allowed to have long hair, I loved that hat. Oh, I forgot the second best part! It wasn't a hand-me-down! I was the 4th of 7 girls and for me to get something so special that had never graced another sibling's bean, well. Chauds creusent! That's French for 'hot diggity'.

Resources for those who'd like to Make Children's Hats

Weta Minute!

2011-12-08T09:28:00.001-06:00

I'm a big fan of the Lord of the Rings movies and I've been fascinated by the special effects. These effects were concocted by New Zealand's own Weta Workshop. I had some vague idea that the company was named for a bug, but I Had No Idea. The weta looks like a fat praying mantis and is as big as a puppy. Seriously, they could have used this thing to film Attack of the New Zealand Bug Monster and just skipped the special effects. The weta is humongous because it lives on an island with no natural predators. So we don't have to worry about being overrun. Yay! By the way the orange thing in the picture is a carrot. Not a baby-sized one either.

Source: Scholastic News May/Jun2008, Special section p3

Pearl Harbor 70th Anniversary

2011-12-07T09:25:00.001-06:00

There were eight battleships attacked at Pearl Harbor.

USS Arizona, sunk, total loss.

USS Oklahoma, capsized, total loss.

USS West Virginia, later raised, repaired and rejoined fleet July 1944.

USS California, sunk, later raised, repaired and rejoined fleet May 1944.

USS Nevada, heavily damaged, grounded, repaired and rejoined fleet December 1942.

USS Pennsylvania, was in drydock - slightly damaged, repaired and rejoined fleet August 1942.

USS Maryland, damaged, repaired and rejoined fleet February 1942.

USS Tennessee, damaged repaired and rejoined fleet March 1942.

Source: Pearl Harbor.org

Books about Pearl Harbor

Holiday 'Baking'

2011-12-06T09:20:00.001-06:00

I don't do much cooking for the holidays, but I do like to make sweets. Imagine that! Today we are going to learn about ... sigh. I really don't have a good name for these things. They have a little bit of paraffin in the coating so my family calls them 'wax balls'. Doesn't that sound yummy? Yet they are the most-requested treat! They are chockfull of goodness - crunchy peanut butter, coconut, butter, chopped dates, powdered sugar - all mixed up, rolled into balls and covered in melted chocolate chips. With a tiny amount of paraffin in the chocolate to help keep that chocolate from melting. OK, they're still a little melty. Possible name: Chewy Chocolate-covered Peanut Butter Drops. Which does not convey the deliciousness. Any suggestions?

Cookbooks for Chocolate Treats

The Novelty of It

2011-12-05T09:20:00.001-06:00

I'm a Lonely Little Petunia in an Onion Patch. No, I am not kidding. As a child that was one of my favorite songs. We loved the novelty songs back in the day. Oooh! Oooh! The Hut-Sut Song! Hut Sut Rawlson on the rillerah and a brawla brawla sooit. We thought it had something to do with feeding birds (ball of suet) but really, did we care? The subtitle is "A Swedish Serenade". Not the way we sang it - loud! Now name the song with this refrain: "boop boop dittem dattem whatem Chu! If you guessed "Three Little Fishes", correct. If you know the subtitle - "Itty Bitty Poo"! You. Are. The. Coolest. If you know why the 'Chu' is capitalized, would you drop me a comment?

For more silly singing check out The Novelty Songbook.

Help with Holiday Stress

2011-12-02T09:09:00.001-06:00

So far you've survived Black Friday and... Nothing else? Too much stuff to do to contemplate without hurting the synapses? Here's help: Simplify your Christmas :100 ways to reduce the stress and recapture the joy of the holidays / Elaine St. James. The proposals within would work for any large gathering that involves lots of food, family, presents, and high expectations! Make this the year to shock people. Don't bake the fancy cookies that take 2 days of preparation. Don't try to make the house look like a palace. The Queen's not coming. Don't try to have a perfect holiday. Make a mistake right off the bat, and get it out of the way! My philosophy is, if it's important to 'someone', then 'someone' can do the work. Not really, I cave like everybody else. But I'm not baking as much this year. Baby steps.
You might also like:
Unplug the Christmas machine : how to have the Christmas you've always wanted

Simple steps for every holiday

Put Up With It

2011-12-01T09:25:00.001-06:00

Have you done all your 'putting up'? Canning? Preserving? Some folks still do this, and I salute you. You folks. My grandmother made what she called stewed tomatoes and as far as I was concerned it was liquid gold. I haven't heard much about home gardens this year - were the crops bumpering? Surely if you planted zucchini you have too much. Isn't that the nature of the beast? We have many fine books on how to save the fruits and vegetables of your labor. If we're too late for this year, well, it will all happen again next fall.

All About Canning and Preserving

My First Mistake - Grammar

2011-11-30T09:20:00.001-06:00

My first mistake was opening up the grammar book. Now I know how bad I am. Here are the differences between using parentheses, commas and dashes to isolate words in a sentence.

You use parentheses to relay information but tone it down. It's the grammatical equivalent of mumbling. I won the (35th place) ribbon for my turnip pie recipe!

The comma is neutral. You don't care one way or another what the reader thinks. I was dancing, in my purple pumps, to the polka stylings of Jimmy Sturr.

And the dash is your attempt to make words stand up and yell Read Me! That brown dog - you know the one - jumped over a fox again.
Isn't this fun? Learning is hilarious. Check out:
Painless grammar / Rebecca Elliott

Toothbrush Re-Purposing

2011-11-29T09:20:00.001-06:00

Ah, The Old Farmer's Almanac. You can always count on it to scare you right out of your socks. Has your toothbrush lost its minty-freshness? Use it to clean between the teeth of your chainsaw. Hang an empty hornet's nest in your house to bring good luck. To keep venomous critters out of your room leave Solomon's seal around the floor. Don't give your new neighbors a knife when they move in, or they will be your foes. These last three are superstitions, and yet they give me the heebie-jeebies. It's tough being timorous.

The Old farmer's Almanac

Sharp as a Dorothy Parker Poem

2011-11-28T09:20:00.001-06:00

Sharpening!
"Honing a Skew Blade with a Veritas Jig" Where to begin? Such a delicious string of words, ending with two you would ordinarily never think of pairing. I would tell you what it all means except that I don't understand the explanation. "Side rabbet planes" are alluded to. Grit stones and vices are thrown in, I know those words but how does it all fit?! Aaaah! Fortunately I don't have to sharpen anything. And if you do, we have many fine books on the subject.

Dorothy Parker Sharp: The last 4 lines of 'Epitaph for a Darling Lady'
Leave for her a red young rose,

Go your way, and save your pity;

She is happy, for she knows

That her dust is very pretty.

Source: The poetry and short stories of Dorothy Parker

Tool Sharpening Source: Taunton's complete illustrated guide to sharpening
And Other Sharpening Books

Closed Today, Open Tomorrow

2011-11-25T09:15:00.001-06:00

All six locations of the Des Moines Public Library are closed today. Normal library hours will resume tomorrow, Saturday November 26.

The movie Black Friday appears on the DVD The Bela Lugosi Collection. In it, Boris Karloff transplants part of a gangster's brain into that of Professor Kingsley, Karloff's dying friend. Does the gangster brain assert itself? More importantly, does it know where the stolen money is? Three guesses, and the first two don't count.

Closed Today for Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T09:20:00.001-06:00

All six locations of the Des Moines Public Library are closed today in observance of Thanksgiving.

A turkey joke:

Question: Why do turkeys go 'gobble, gobble, gobble'?

Answer: Bad table manners.

Eat nicely and enjoy, gentlepeople.

Closed Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving. Plus Turkey Notes

2011-11-23T09:23:00.002-06:00

Only in Davenport. Just as Des Moines has the fine tradition of demanding that Trick or Treaters produce jokes before they get a treat, Davenport has Turkey Notes. No treat involved but the activity is unique to Davenport. Essentially Turkey Notes are short poems one shares with a friend, not unlike a handwritten valentine. And, as with valentines, appearance counts. The traditional turkney note is rolled up and the edges are snipped so as to form a frill. Like the paper frills placed on turkey legs at a fancy dinner. So clever! Here is a sample:

Turkey brown
Turkey done
Turkey time
To have some fun!

Oooww! That's so lame it actually hurts. Enjoy your holiday!

Fascinating with a High Ick Factor

2011-11-22T09:15:00.002-06:00

Zombie Insects!
There is a virus that attacks gypsy moth caterpillars and forces them to behave in a self-destructive manner. A healthy moth moseys out onto the leaves to munch during the night and wanders back into the main area of the tree during the day so as not to get eaten. Once the virus gets its claws into the critters they not only stay on the leaves during the day, they climb as high on the tree as they can get. How does this fulfill the virus' nefarious plan? By the time the caterpillar manages to get pretty high it's just a virus with legs. Then the legs go, the 'pillar disintegrates and the virus makes its way down the tree to land upon a plethora of potential hosts. Yikes. On the other hand, gypsy moths are seriously destructive when it comes to Americas hardwood trees. I don't know wish the virus on other animals so I'm not saying it's karma, but ...

Source: Zombie Insects, by Kuehment, Anna

Scientific American, Nov2011, Vol. 305 Issue 5, p22-22
as accessed through EBSCOhost. DMPL card and PIN required for access.

Keep Your House Clean and Your Cat Healthy

2011-11-21T09:18:00.002-06:00

Did you think about this before you got a cat? If you mop your floor with a cleanser that is not good to eat, it could poison your cat! Not that your cat would lick the floor (although who knows?). But your cat will walk across the floor and pick up the cleanser on its paws. Your cat will most certainly lick its paws. So after you clean your floor, don't let the cat in until all the cleanser residue has been wiped off. I used the phrase 'your cat' four times in the space of 6 sentences, not counting this one. It's hard to think of a snappier way to say it. 'Thine feline'? The cleanser info is a tip from:

Your new cat : an expert answers your every question by Kim Campbell Thornton.

G. K. Chesterton and Turkeys

2011-11-18T09:18:00.001-06:00

What did turkeys ever do to G. K. Chesterton? Must have been intense, because this is what he had to say about them:

“A turkey is more occult and awful than all the angels and archangels. In so far as God has partly revealed to us an angelic world, he has partly told us what an angel means. But God has never told us what a turkey means. And if you go and stare at a live turkey for an hour or two, you will find by the end of it that the enigma has rather increased than diminished."
Dude. It's a bird. An ugly one, but still.

All Things Considered by G. K. Chesterton.

Iowa Trolls

2011-11-17T09:19:00.001-06:00

No, really. There is a Troll Cave in Twin Springs Park, Winneshiek County. George Knudson, a professor at Luther College in Decorah, was all about the trolls. According to him the cave is only 14 inches high and the bold duo who crawled in reported that the cave reeked of trolls. Oh, and the spelunkers heard strange noises which they interpreted to mean that the trolls were really mad and about to release a mess of water to flood out the intruders. Mr. Knudson may be writing with tongue-in-cheek, but he talks about trolls in the same tone he uses to describe the geology of Decorah. If geology isn't fact-based, what is?

Decorah trails and trolls : a guide to 2000 acres of adventure in and around Decorah, Iowa

Such a Deal We Have For You

2011-11-16T09:20:00.001-06:00

Free Internet Access! All six locations of the Des Moines Public Library offer 1 hour per day of absolutely free internet access. You just need you DMPL library card. Central and Franklin libraries are able to offer more than one hour. And you know what? You can make print-outs for $.10! That's right, only 10 cents per page to print from our computers. You know what else? At North Side, Forest, Franklin and Central locations you can print in color for 10 cents per page! I miss the cent key on the keyboard. We also offer wireless internet at all 6 locations.

Here are two services we don't offer, just so you know. Notarizing and proctoring are not available. But if you call us at 283-4152 and press 3 we can help you find those services elsewhere. Call us about other stuff too. We are information detectors, bold and astute! But nice. Your mother would like us.

Moustache Awesome-ness

2011-11-15T09:20:00.002-06:00

A friend suggested that in honor of Movember we steer you toward DVD's featuring men with Awesome Moustaches!

Smokey and the bandit Burt (The 'Stache) Reynolds

Tombstone Val Kilmer. He's your huckleberry. But everybody's got one!

Magnum P. I. Tom (Whiskers) Selleck
The Untouchables Sean Connery. They pull a goatee he pulls a moustache.
Princess Bride Cary Elwes may not have a big moustache, but he really works it.
Gone with the Wind Ditto Clarke Gable
We'd love to hear about your favorite moustache movies!

Gnomes, Sweet Gnomes

2011-11-14T09:15:00.001-06:00

In The Fox and the Lion Aesop informs us that “Familiarity breeds contempt”. Also Aesop, from Hercules and the Wagoner: “The gods help them that help themselves”. To whatever is in the wagon? Aristophanes instructs, “You cannot teach a Crab to walk straight”. So don’t even try. Stop it. We call these maxims, proverbs, sayings. They are also referred to as ‘gnomes'. Because they’re short? Nope. This meaning of gnome derives from the Greek ‘gignōskein’: to know. Aha! Totally makes sense. And the little guys? From the Greek 'genomos', meaning earth-dweller. What were the chances that 'gnome' would have two such different meanings? Teensy. But now we know. To quote Livy, “Better late than never”.

Source: Encyclopedia of Ancient Literature.as accessed through Gale Virtual Reference Library.
DMPL card number and PIN required for access

Veterans Day

2011-11-11T09:11:00.001-06:00

All six locations of the Des MoinesPublic Library are closed today in observation of Veterans Day.

Two newer books about Iowa veterans:

We salute you : World War II veterans from central Iowa share their experiences / Edward C. Kramer.

The passing of the prairie by a fossil : biographical sketches of central Iowa pioneers and Civil War veterans

Muppet Guests

2011-11-10T09:14:00.001-06:00

Here at the Des Moines Public Library we have DVD's of the first 3 seasons of the Muppet Show. I don't think of it as a Really Old Show. After all, we did have a color TV in our house. Then I browsed through the guests and here are people who were famous at the time:

Zero Mostel
Paul Williams
Avery Schreiber
James Coco
And the ne plus ultra of TV guests, Jaye P. Morgan. By the time she hit the Muppet Show Ms. Morgan was famous primarily as a panelist on game shows. I have got to watch that episode. No, really. Take me back to a time with pre-Kardashian, Hilton, reality-show celebrities. I can ask myself the eternal question, was it really better then?

The Muppet Show

Please, Could We Have Some More?

2011-11-09T09:16:00.001-06:00

We are dependent on donations for certain items, most notably local high school yearbooks. And people love to come in and look through them, they're very popular. Really! So if you have yearbooks from any Des Moines high schools kicking around please consider giving them to the Des Moines Public Library. You can drop them off at any of our 6 locations. By the way, alumni of East High School have been especially generous with donations of their yearbooks. We appreciate it very much. Any and all donations happily accepted! Hey, this way you don't have to store them and if you want to rifle through one you know where to find it.

Thank you ever so much!

SWOT It!

2011-11-08T09:22:00.001-06:00

In browsing through our online resource, Encyclopedia of Management, I came across the intriguing acronym SWOT. Law enforcers with battering rams immediately came to mind. Here's what SWOT stands for in the business world.

S = Strengths!

W = you guessed it - Weaknesses!

O = Opportunities!

T = Threats!!! Katie bar the door!

This organizational strategy is from the early 1970's and continues to be used today. Even though you don't hear much about it. Then again I don't hear much about Zero-based Budgeting, Management by Objectives or Quality Circles. I was in a few quality circles. Drums would have added some much-needed zazz to those babies.

Source: Encyclopedia of Management as accessed through Gale Virtual Reference Library
A Des Moines Public Library card and PIN is required for access.

A Case of Tomatoes

2011-11-07T09:19:00.002-06:00

You thought the tomato was a fruit. So did I! All those years of being corrected and I finally got it. So did this just change recently? Not exactly. Try over 100 years ago.

U.S. Supreme Court
Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893)

It was all about the money, honey. The Port of New York required duties be paid on imported vegetables. The plaintiff had paid but argued that they should not have had to because tomatoes were fruit, and fruit was free, free, duty-free! So if the Supreme Court officially classified tomatoes as fruit, plaintiff gets money back. Ha! Fooled them. The Supreme Court said, "Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, .... But in the common language of the people, ... (tomatoes are) usually served at dinner in, with, or after the soup, fish, or meats which constitute the principal part of the repast, and not, like fruits generally, as dessert". (Think this is hard to read? Should have seen it before I shortened it.)
Tomatoes aren't served as dessert. The people of America treat them like veggies, veggies they be. But remember, it's only for the purposes of commerce, not science. Since I'm not selling tomatoes guess I'll call 'em like I see 'em.

Friday Generator Fun

2011-11-04T09:22:00.001-05:00

You know what's more permanent than masking tape? Almost everything! Amaze your friends by typing in your own amusing phrase and slapping the resulting graphic on top of, well, anything!

Masking Tape Note Generator

Movember

2011-11-03T09:08:00.001-05:00

I had never ever heard of this delightful distaff companion to "Bras for the Cause". Movember! Mo is for moustache. In November men are encouraged to raise awareness of and funds for prostate cancer research by growing moustaches. Hey! Isn't the word for hair atop the lip of a human spelled 'mustache'? So why isn't it Muvember? Turns out moustache is a perfectly acceptable spelling. OK. How does growing a moustache translate into money, you ask? Sponsorship! I would totally pay to have some of my friends grow a walrus or handlebar. Movember efforts raise money for organizations like the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG, The Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Information about Prostate Cancer, found in Books.

And Now for Movies I Like

2011-11-02T09:15:00.001-05:00

Here are more cinematic offerings that don't immediately come to mind when you think, 'What do I want to watch tonight?" You just might want to watch these. I did!

"The Game", starring Michael Douglas. Oooh, so twisty-turny. And maybe Michael Douglas is not in control of the situation. Even though, yet again, he plays a powerful man. Hah!

"The Quiet American". You will believe a man can...act! Specifically Brendan Fraser. He's terrific as the titular American, as is Michael Caine (the man doesn't stop!) portraying a seen-it-all journalist in a drama set in Vietnam in 1952.

"Murphy's Romance". I like to watch this when I'm sick. It's very comforting. James Garner romances Sally Field who is starting a new life with her young son in a very small Arizon town. Nothing terrible happens.

You've Seen the Best ...

2011-11-01T09:20:00.002-05:00

Now see the Pretty Darn Good. "365 Four-Star Videos you (Probably) Haven't Seen" provides movie-viewing suggestions for those times when you just can't find anything in the DVD stacks.

A. The original "Andromeda Strain". The movie may be old, but the tension builds like a 10-year-old with a new set of Legos.

B. "The Snake Pit". No, really! It's classy! Olivia de Haviland, for Pete's sake. Get your mind out of the Russ Meyer gutter.

C. "A Face in the Crowd". Andy Griffith is cunning and mean! He breaks Patricia Neal's heart, not such an easy thing to do.

D. "The Man Who Would be King". Two great accents that sound great together! Sean Connery and Michael Caine act up in a movie that gets really weird at the end.

Two Months in One!

2011-10-31T09:21:00.001-05:00

Not only is October National Sarcasm Month, it is also National Popcorn Month. The best month ever! Iowa's own Schaller is the Popcorn Capital of the World, home to Jolly Time. We Americans eat about 52 quarts of popped popcorn per year. I am more than holding up my end on this, so somebody out there is seriously slacking. Sarcasm! OK, this to me is sarcasm: someone hands you a ratty-chewed up book and you say, "Oh, thank you. I've always wanted a book that looks truly used to add to my collection of pristine first-editions". It's saying something that sounds nice but is not meant to be. "Spock, if only I had that green blood of yours these pesky emotions like love and happiness wouldn't be such a bother." McCoy didn't say that, but it totally sounds like him. Last day to eat popcorn and say the opposite of what you mean. October, you are just too short.

The Truth About Holds

2011-10-28T12:37:00.000-05:00

Using your awesome computer skills, you have put a reserve on "I kissed a zombie, and I liked it", which is currently available at the South Side Library. You jump on your scooter, speed to South Side, check the holds shelf and ...what? Your book is not waiting for you! What is up with that? Here's how our hold process works: "we retrieve materials from our shelves at least twice per day and we deliver items among branches, but there may be a delay in getting your hold on the shelf waiting for you. Please wait until you have been notified the item is available. If you need something more immediately, please call (515) 283.4152, extension 3 and speak with one of our librarians about expedited service." So if you don't need it right this second, go ahead and reserve your heart's desire online. But if 'right this second' is your time frame, give us a call!

How to place a reserve.

Symphonia

2011-10-27T09:15:00.001-05:00

Symphonia? When I was a sprout and barely knew what a symphony was, the word symphonia puzzled me. It sounded like a musical piece played by children using only triangles, tambourines and bells. According to The New American Dictionary of Music, a symphonia is indeed a symphony. But it’s also “any of various medieval instruments, incl. the hurdy-gurdy.” Jackpot! Who doesn’t love a hurdy-gurdy, as immortalized by Donovan in the immortal tune Hurdy Gurdy Man"? Did Donovan mean the hurdy-gurdy that looks like a lute or the crank model played on the streets? Didn't know there were two kinds did you? Music is even more exciting than you ever imagined.

Donovan CD: Troubadour : the definitive collection 1964-1976

Stonehenge Unhinged

2011-10-26T09:15:00.001-05:00

Stonehenge is awesome. I got to see it once, but you couldn't touch the stones anymore due to vandalism. Stupidhead vandals. I could not imagine how they got the lintel stones on top of the uprights. Along comes Buildings that Changed the World! (The exclamation point is mine, but you can see how the title demands it.) So anyway, this book depicts a theory as to how "our neolithic ancestors" accomplished the feat. With a lever and plenty of manpower. They wedged the lintel stone up and built a scaffolding/stage, under the lintel. Then the 'neoliths' did it all over again, eventually building many layers of scaffolding/stages until the lintel was high enough to maneuver it on top of the standing stones. Et voila! Those neoliths were so clever.

Stonehenge Books

Occasionally Poems

2011-10-25T09:15:00.001-05:00

Bartlett's Poems for Occasions. Bartlett is not kidding. Here are some of the occasions covered: "Youth and its Pleasures"; "Disappointment"; "The Perspectives of Midlife"; "The Fate of Nations and Empires"; and my personal favorite: "The Unknown and the Unknowable". Enjoy a sample from this delightful category. Ahem.

A man said to the universe

A man said to the universe:

"Sir, I exist!"

"However," replied the universe,

"The fact has not created in me

"A sense of obligation."

STEPHEN CRANE

Well ain't that a kick in the head. On the other hand, you know where to find poems for occasions that had never even occurred to you! Whee!

Source: Bartlett's Poems for Occasions

Ice Molecule

2011-10-24T09:15:00.000-05:00

This is a pictorial rendering of an ice molecule. Know it, love it. Soon it will come and get us. What's up when water turns to ice? The hydrogen forms bonds that push the other molecules away. So hydrogen is like the most popular kid at school. The kid develops attachments to the chosen ones but doesn't care to be around other groups. Back to the science. With space in between the shoved-apart molecules, ice becomes lighter than water. That's why the top of the lake freezes over. And it's all that stands between you and the fish.

Source: World Book Encyclopedia
Graphic source: Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia of Science

Why Ostriches?

2011-10-21T09:21:00.001-05:00

Ostriches are funny. Har! I'm just certain you would like to brighten someone's day with a lovely sentiment accompanied by a photo of the big birds being extra ostrich-y. You've seen my modest attempt at matching a caption to the photo, now you try!

Ostrich Sign

PAR-TY! (Got that house cleaned yet?)

2011-10-20T09:30:00.001-05:00

Sure you do, what with all the tips from yesterday! We've got party planning publications to get you started on your next step as you stumble toward the holiday season. First of all, if your guests will be eating standing up or balancing plates on their laps whilst perched on a chair, think Finger Foods. We barely have enough hands to hold our drinks and stuff our faces, much less handle utensils. Bonus: no utensils to wash! You can have a party with healthy food! A party with cheap food! (I love cheap food!) A party with easy, stress-free food, otherwise known as the only kind I would attempt to throw! Someday I'd like to throw (toss? hurl? fling?) a Halloween party. Not this year though. Two weeks is not enough time to work myself up into a satisfactory tizzy.

Party Planning Books (Including partying in your garden. At night.)
The everything cocktail parties and drinks book : the ultimate guide to creating colorful concoctions, fabulous finger foods

Clean It Up

2011-10-19T09:30:00.001-05:00

Some of us weren't born with the knowledge of effective cleaning techniques. Some of us take the 'grab the washcloth and swipe it quick' approach which I am guessing is not optimal. As with almost all contemporary problems, there's a book for this. Let's see what the entertainingly-titled Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean has to offer. Ooh, this one's new: to get food odors out of plastic containers, fill them with warm water and a little dry mustard. Hey, that explains why I'm not a great housekeeper - I'm all out of dry mustard! To get rust off a knife you can stick the knife in an onion for about an hour. Then just try to use that knife to cut a piece of cake. Did you think of that before you stuck it in an onion? Yeah. We don't have kids, but I live in the house so it's nice to know that a steel-wool pad filled with dry soap will take crayon marks off the wallpaper. What? I'm creative. And I have crayons.

House Cleaning Books (you won't believe how many!)

Bats!

2011-10-18T09:33:00.000-05:00

In honor of Halloween, allow me to present facts about bats from the Smithsonian Institute:

1. There are 900 species of bats. OK, how hard can it be to be a bat? You fly, eat and sleep hanging upside down. Apparently 900 different ways.

2. Bats are the only mammal that can actually fly. Flying squirrels can only glide. Sorry, Rocket J.

3. Young bats sometimes fall from the roosting area. Ow.
4. Bats give birth while hanging head down. So the female has to defy gravity along with all the other discomforts of having a baby bat. When the babies grow up do they ever call? No. She's only their mother.

More bat facts from the Encyclopedia Smithsonian

So Sumi !

2011-10-17T09:13:00.003-05:00

Sumi-e, that is. This style of Japanese ink painting dates back to 1400-ish. Backgrounds are soft, even fuzzy because so much water is added to the ink and/or paper. They meant to do that. A 'dripping technique' may be employed, in which ink is allowed to flop off the tip of the brush on purpose! Doesn't sound too impressive, does it? Until you see some inky shadows defined with sharper strokes that transform into pine trees in the mist. Gorgeous. It's a very flowy style, well-suited to those like me who can't draw. A few blobs, curves and stalks, Boom! Bob's your uncle, or in this case, iris. That said I must admit I have not tried this style since college in 19mumblemumblemumble. Maybe I'll start with abstracts.

Two books on sumi-e

Food or Fabric?

2011-10-14T09:17:00.001-05:00

Chitterling: "Ruff or frill having compact wrinkled folds resembling crinkled crepe paper; especially frill down front of bodice". They have got to be making this up, right? I mean, ruff and frill are perfectly good words for this kind of thing. Oh! Webster's has a more descriptive definition: "The frill to the breast of a shirt, which when ironed out resembled the small entrails." Right. Because that's what you want the front of your shirt to resemble. I have enough trouble spilling all over myself, don't hand me a shirt that looks like the food has been pre-applied. Interestingly enough, if you want the food-esque meaning you have to use chitterlings, plural. Now you get to the meat of the matter. (Can you stand the hilarity?) Chitterlings: "The smaller intestines of swine, etc., fried for food." I have yet to see a picture of chitterlings that put me in mind of frilly clothing. So much to learn, I have.

Source: The fashion dictionary; fabric, sewing, and apparel as expressed in the language of fashion.

Our Own Little Fashion Week

2011-10-13T09:14:00.001-05:00

For Fashion Words, that is! Today's word is: flange. In my innocence I have been erroneously referring to those extension-thingies on the backs of cars as 'flanges'. Turns out they are spoilers. Anyway, isn't 'flange' a great word? In the fashion world it can be applied to a collar, if the collar is 'spread out like a rim', or to the heel of a shoe if the heel flares out at the bottom. Are we sensing a pattern? Prepare for a 'spoiler'! A flange shoulder has a pleat that extends out over the top of the sleeve. Didn't see that one coming! It's all so exciting! What word will tomorrow bring? I know, flange will be hard to top. But I'll try.

Source: The fashion dictionary; fabric, sewing, and apparel as expressed in the language of fashion

Make It All from Polymer Clay

2011-10-12T09:49:00.000-05:00

Jewelry! Coasters! Dolls! Rocket Ships! Fuzzy Slippers! Guess which ones I lied about? You could make, like, tiny rocket ships and fuzzy slipper charms, so maybe I wasn't lying at all. Did you think of that? No. Polymer clay is the modern crafter's wonder stuff. Ahem. "Polymer clay is made of tiny particles of polyvinyl chloride suspended in a plasticizer, which keeps it pliable until heated, when the particles fuse into a hardened, durable plastic." OK then. FIMO, one of the best-known brands, takes its name from the daughter of the inventor. Sophie Rehbinder-Kruse worked with her father Kaethe's clay, using it in mosaics, miniatures and other creations. The original moniker was FIMOIK, a combination of Sophie's nickname (Fifi), modeling clay and mosaic. No explanation as to how a German girl got a French nickname. Some questions just can't be answered.

Polymer Clay Craft Books
Source: Polymer Clay A Modern Medium Comes of Age.

Ornament, 2011, Vol.

as accessed through EBSCOhost. DMPL card and PIN required for access.

34 Issue 4, p38-45,

Ice Fishing

2011-10-11T09:11:00.001-05:00

Ice fishing! I thought you got ice from the freezer. Ha! Comedy. Someday it will get really cold and the lakes and rivers will freeze over and the wooly mammoths will return from the north and take all the fish. Wait a minute! Mammoths don't eat fish! More for you. Apparently you need a 'flasher' in today's ice-fishing milieu, which on the face of it seems farcical. Then I discover that this flasher is a sonar-utilizing device. It can tell you where the fish is, if it likes your lure, whether or not it has father issues... Cheating or gadget-enhanced fun? Who am I to judge?

Ice fishing : the ultimate guide

We Are Closed Today, but they're happy in Canada

2011-10-10T09:13:00.001-05:00

All six locations of the Des Moines Public Library are CLOSED on Monday, October 10 for a Staff Inservice Day. On the other hand, today is Thanksgiving in Canada. So if you lived in Quebec you'd be sitting around a table eating Pissaladieres, tarts stuffed with onions, olives and anchovies. Pay attention to your food when eating because you do not want these to sneak up on you. Gougeres, home-made cheese puffs. Yum. Eat them while they're still warm. Roasted Cauliflower Soup, not sure you'd like this? The presence of lots of garlic and heavy cream might change your mind. They're French, they're Canadian, and just like us they enjoy a big heavy meal on Thanksgiving. Good thing our Thanksgiving is coming up soon. It will keep me from obsessing over the Gougeres.

Simple French recipes for the home cook
French food at home
Around my French table : more than 300 recipes from my home to yours

Licensed to Daydream?

2011-10-07T09:17:00.002-05:00

Scientists say daydreaming is good for your brain. See, I haven't bee wasting time. I've been activating two vital brainage networks. One aims the brain work toward goals, the other is more personal but can be goal-related because it's in charge of picturing yourself in the future, which is Very Important. According to an article in Discover magazine "The French mathematician Henri Poincaré once wrote about how he struggled for two weeks with a difficult mathematical proof. He set it aside to take a bus to a geology conference, and the moment he stepped on the bus, the solution came to him. It is possible that mind wandering led him to the solution." (Italics mine. I've always wanted to say that!) Your brain does even better if you are so far gone that you are unaware of your surroundings! Don't try this in the car, kids. Because we are also more prone to make mistakes while in this state. We're looking for the Aha!, not the Oops!.

Source: The Brain. Author: Zimmer, Carl; Discover; Jul/Aug2009, Vol. 30 Issue 7

It's a Crime!

2011-10-06T09:16:00.001-05:00

We have more true crime books than you can shake a shovel at. Do you know how many titles we have written by Ann Rule, the queen of the genre? Well? Do you? Two dozen at least. So you can pretty much wallow in Ann Rule should you so desire. We have true crime books by many other authors as well! Diane Fanning is off to a good start with four titles. Now there is a book about the crime that Iowa write Susan Glaspell made famous. Midnight assassin : a murder in America's heartland / Patricia L. Bryan & Thomas Wolf, is all about the axe murder of Indianola farmer John Hossack. If you're interested in more of an encyclopedic approach, you have: The most notorious crimes in American history, and the granddaddy of them all, Bloodletters and badmen by Jay Robert Nash.

Other possibilities: books in St. Martin's True Crime Library

But What Else Can I Do With That?

2011-10-05T09:12:00.001-05:00

We have a nifty new book entitled Real simple : 869 new uses for old things. It's fun to browse! You can look up any Old Thing. An odd use for dryer sheets: if you have baked-on crud in your pan slap on the old dryer sheet, soak overnight and wipe out! Another: if you have crud on the surface of your iron you can iron a dryer sheet on a low setting and remove said crud. It's the crud-master! Did you forget to clean out that vase once you removed the old flowers and icky water? I know I did! Antacid tablet to the rescuuueww- pour water in that vase, drop in the tablet then swirl it around after a few minutes and rinse. Dental floss - pull it tight and push it through to cut cheesecake or soft cheese. For all those times when you have cheesecake and floss but no knife. What will they think of next? Do I shudder? Maybe.

You Too Can Know Jack

2011-10-04T09:13:00.001-05:00

Have you met Jack Vance? As far as I'm concerned, Science Fiction writer Jack Vance has more imagination in his pinkie than most writers do anywhere in their whole entire body. Ear lobes, love handles, second-to-biggest-toe, you name it. Not there. Imagination-free zones, they are. In the Blue World of vast oceans people live on floating 'islands' made of enormous rush mats and the only metal they have is copper they boil down from blood!!! Vance is funny too - Cudgel the Clever is not only anything but clever, he is an extremely unreliable narrator. Cudgel's not stupid, just deluding himself. Then there's the Dying Earth, one of SF's most original constructs. Set so far in the future that the sun is fading, these stories center on the return of magic and on cultures fleeing into decadence. Pick your Vance. Take a chance on Vance. Ask Vance to the dance. Well, now I'm just being silly.

Jack Vance books

Icky Science Experiment

2011-10-03T09:11:00.002-05:00

In my day if you needed a science experiment you grew a plant from a seed and drew a poster that charted the growth. The experiment (mwha ha ha) I share here is new to me and almost as cool as mixing up your own Blob. Make a paste out of cornstarch and vegetable oil then put some on a spoon and put the spoon next to a balloon that you have rubbed on your noodle until the balloon is nice and static-y. Start to pour the goop out of the spoon and it will reach for the balloon like a tongue! Super Revolting! The cornstarch mix gets thicker too. There must be some way to work this into a Haunted House.

Source: Spectacular science : exciting experiments to try at home
The Blob

Why Would the Marines Want to Know?

2011-09-30T09:12:00.001-05:00

Here's something you don't hear anymore: "Tell it to the marines". You may not have heard of it at all unless you're a big Lon Chaney fan and love his 1926 starring vehicle .... Tell It to the Marines. The origin of this pithy phrase is found in the history of the British Royal Navy. In the 1600's marines weren't sailors, they were landlubbers stationed on ships. What did they know? Bupkiss. So the actual sailors could tell the marines anything and the poor guys would believe it. "Right, you shimmy on up the really tall pole there, that's where we keep the grog. Keep going! Almost there!" The phrase came to be used as a rejoinder to anyone who recounted a big fat bag of lies. Along the lines of, "No sir!".

Source: Endangered phrases : intriguing idioms dangerously close to extinction / Steven D. Price.

Brand Spanking New Poetry

2011-09-29T09:14:00.001-05:00

Remember poetry? Roses are red, quoth the raven, the woods are lovely dark and deep. That stuff you've heard since you were a kid. Did you know they're still out there writing poetry? And getting it published! And people read it! If you'd like to get your feet wet by reading a few poems by a few contemporary poets pick up Between water and song : new poets for the twenty-first century . Here's a sample:

"Hoodlum Birds" by Eugene Gloria.

The fearless blackbirds see me again

at the footpath beside the tall grasses

sprouting like unruly morning hair...

I like that, sounds just like a country road in Iowa. There may be blackbirds but not a rose or a raven in sight.

Don't Lose Your Marbles

2011-09-28T09:20:00.001-05:00

Because they might be worth dollars and dollars! Marbles are collectible you know. And oh my stars and garters, they are bea-u-tiful! Cool names for different kinds of marbles:

Onionskin - archaeologists found one in an Irish 'privy' from 1850. Do we really want to know that story?
Taws - a type of carpet bowl. A what? Carpet bowls are ceramic and big - as large as 3.5 inches in diameter. Guess what type of surface the game is played on.
Oxbloods - for their dark red color. Only mildly creepy.
Clambroths - you're kidding, right? Clambroths? Chicken broth not good enough? Clambroths have stripes of uniform thickness. They bear no resemblance to a clam or a broth.

Source: Collecting antique marbles : identification and price guide / Paul Baumann.
You might also like: Marble mania / edited by Stanley A. Block.

Not Papa, Dada

2011-09-27T12:24:00.000-05:00

You know the artistic movement Dadaism? Me neither and it's not for lack of trying. I've looked it up several times and the info just slides right out my ears. One more time! And ... well, no wonder. Turns out Dadaism was more of a cultural and political movement, not just an artistic style. The movement 'focused on decrying and satirizing the arrogant, commercial, military and political regimes relevant to World War I'. Dada artists include Man Ray! He's the guy who snapped a photograph of a woman's back and made it look like a cello. Marcel Duchamp! Totally heard of him. 'Readymades' were his forte. He took industrial objects and made alterations - some minor - and voila, Art. Remember the tower of vacuum cleaners (Jeff Koons "The New Shelton Wet/Dry Triple Decker) purchased by the Des Moines Art Center in the 1980's? I believe there was some controversy at the time over whether or not it was art. Sounds like Dada to me.

Art in America, Jun/Jul2006, Vol. 94 Issue 6, p142-207, 12p.
Three books about Dadaism

Ode from Billy Joel

2011-09-26T09:20:00.002-05:00

My friend sent me a list of songs written about famous people. Some I already knew ... or did I? Turns out Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" was composed in reference to Elle MacPherson, not Christie Brinkley. Oh yeah, well who was in the video? Take that, Elle! And two women had two different songs written about them. Pattie Boyd got "Something" while she was seeing George Harrison and "You Look Wonderful Tonight" from Eric Clapton when she dated him. Then there's Rosanna Arquette. She was with some guy from Toto and he wrote "Rosanna" about her. Was she satisfied with that? No. She had to go and inspire one of the loveliest songs ever written, "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel. I've enjoyed Rosanna Arquette in various movie and television productions. And I think she's a good actress. But who knew she was the most amazing woman that ever lived?

Music from: Billy Joel George Harrison Eric Clapton Toto Peter Gabriel

Baseball Pandemonium

2011-09-23T09:18:00.001-05:00

Ah, it was 103 years ago today. I remember it like it was yesterday because I don't follow baseball so it's all the same to me. The Chicago Cubs and the New York Giants! It's the decisive game for the pennant race and in the bottom of the ninth the score is 1-1! Giants are at bat with 2 men on! What happened!!!!!!! I hear you cry. The batter hit a runner in, scoring the win! Hurrrah! But wait, sayeth the Cubs. The guy on first base never went to second, he headed straight to the dugout! We never got a chance to tag him out! For one thing the crowd saw the runner in safe and Mr. First Base, hereinafter referred to as 'Merkle', head to the dugout. The fans stormed the field, blocking the second baseman from reaching Merkle. A few days later the game was declared a tie, a do-over was eventually played and the Cubs won 4-2. I don't know anything about baseball, but I do know the Cubs are not going to give up a possible win lightly.

Source: Chase's ... calendar of events.
Graphic source: COLLECTION: Baseball Cards from the Benjamin K. Edwards Collection Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Dues-y?

2011-09-22T09:12:00.001-05:00

It's a doozy! Meaning it's fantastic! Astounding! Sweet! (A nod to you under-40 types.) According to the book Duesenberg by Dennis Adler, the term 'doozy' is derived from the name of the Duesenberg automobile because that car was so darn amazing. If someone referenced the Duesenberg, you knew it was time to put on your party hat. Adler's book even says The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum has trademarked the slogan "It's a Duesey". Lest we forget. Local bonus: the car had its roots in Iowa where Fred D. built the first 'Duesenberg' - a gas powered motorcycle! Because he was obsessed with bicycle racing and the pace horses were too slow. Iowa is awesome.

More Duesenberg Books

Do You Walk it or Drink it?

2011-09-21T09:18:00.002-05:00

Hey, a new dog breed! Don't see them too often since I've always been fascinated by the unusual and fantastic breeds you only find at dog shows, which I love. I want the happy dogs to win. Anyhoo, meet the Basset Griffon Vendeen. Griffon means 'rough-coated'. Cool. At first I thought it might be that dog from the movie 'As Good As It Gets', but Verdell was tiny and a little weird-looking. Verdell was a Brussels Griffon. So no. Here's The Ultimate Dog Book's description of the new kid: "Basset Griffon Vendeen now comes in two sizes, the larger Grand, and the smaller Petit. Both are extremely energetic, sparkling and affectionate animals..." They now come in two sizes! They sparkle! Could be a dog or a carbonated beverage. So don't get confused when you go dog-shopping.

Books with overviews of lots of dog breeds.

Des Moines Streets Paved with ... What?

2011-09-20T09:12:00.001-05:00

Des Moines surfaced streets with cedar blocks from 1882 to 1891. I didn't think cedar was that tough. It's not even a hardwood, ranking only 900 on the world-famous Janka Hardness Scale which goes all the way up to 3680. (Brazilian Walnut, Ipe (?) and Lapacho, which appear to be the same tree, own the 3680 rating). I guess you didn't have to worry about moths eating up your street. Brick arived in 1889. Is there anything prettier than a brick street? Practical, no. Beautiful, yes. Then the modern era hit town. In 1901 asphalt was applied to 21st St., and concrete slathered on 19th in 1907. But I surely do wish I could have seen the cedar-paved streets. Wonder if they smelled good.

Source: Des Moines Register 5/12/1950

Surfacing in Des Moines

2011-09-19T09:09:00.001-05:00

Streets, roads, thoroughfares. You've got your concrete and your asphalt. Who could ask for anything more? Des Moines, apparently. First came the macadam, in 1882. What is macadam, you ask? While a delicious snack is brought to mind, Webster's defines macadam thusly: "macadamized roadway or pavement especially with a bituminous binder". Ooooooo, that's helpful. OK, macadamize means "to construct or finish (a road) by compacting into a solid mass a layer of small broken stone on a convex well-drained roadbed and using a binder (as cement or asphalt) for the mass". What happened to bituminous? So, to sum up: the first road surfacing in Des Moines consisted of mushed-up stones held together by something mysterious.
I couldn't stand it, I looked up bituminous! It means "impregnated with bitumen". Aaaaah!!! When will I learn to look up the simplest form of the word? When? Bitumen. Oh dear. The definition is a whole paragraph long. I think I'll stick to macadam. More surfaces tomorrow.

Source: Des Moines Register 5/12/1950

Festival! Festival!

2011-09-16T09:10:00.001-05:00

This weekend you can enjoy the 9th annual Iowa's Latino Heritage Festival! Whoohoo! It's back to the bridges - this year the celebration takes place on the Locust and Walnut bridges downtown. Hours are Saturday, 10am – 11pm and Sunday, 10am – 6pm. The delights include a Quinceanera Style Show. Fun! Who doesn't like admiring gorgeous dresses? And for food fans, like myself, there is the Elote Eating Contest. I had to look up 'elotes' and here is the definition I found: roasted corn on the cob to which you add butter, cheese, salt, lime juice and chili powder. I want one now. Mayo may be substituted for butter but I don't hear anyone complaining. Those are just two examples of the fun! Go, watch, eat, enjoy!

More information on the festival: Iowa's Latino Heritage Festival
Books of interest at the Des Moines Public Libraries:
Toward the preservation of a heritage : Latin American and Latino art in the midwestern United States
Quinceanera Books

Where do Corn Dogs Come From?

2011-09-15T10:05:00.000-05:00

An innocent enough question. Strangely enough, the answer is not Iowa! In the 1930's George and Vera Boyington produced a battered, fried hot dog at their stand in Rockaway Beach. The batter they used was really pancake batter, so experts are reluctant to call it a corn dog. This 'Pronto Pup' was tres popular and the Boyingtons even franchised it! As for actual corn-battered dogs, Carla nd Neil Fletcher served up 'Corny Dogs' at the Texas State Fair in 1942. Texas! I would venture to say that the Iowa State Fair is currently the fried-food-on-a-stick champion. Even if it's not strictly true, I'm venturing.

Source: Who put the devil in deviled eggs? : the fascinating stories behind America's favorite foods / Ann Treistman p. 41-42

Candy Nostalgia

2011-09-14T09:14:00.004-05:00

As if I didn't eat candy today. No, I'm not nostalgic for candy in general. The candy we loved as children! Some of it still sounds delicious, some just plain icky but they all have a special place in our hearts. And our arteries. Mmm, Kits Taffy and B B Bats. Best flavors: banana and chocolate but watch your fillings! Likewise with Slo Pokes, Black Cows and Lemonheads. But wait, there's more! Lik-M-Aid, you'd pour it on your palm and lap it up! Pixy Stix, it's Lik-M-Aid in a tube! Fruit Stripe Gum, Chiclets, Gold Mine Bubble Gum - the last 2 didn't keep their flavor long, but they were cool! Even wax bottles full of liquid have their fans. Hey, guess which candy I draw the line at? Exactly! I am so over licking my palm. If I had a dog, the job would still exist. But I'm not doing it. (Bonus! A young co-worker just gave me a package of Fruit Stripe! I am the luckiest blogger ever.)

Candy and me : a love story / Hilary Liftin.

Candyfreak : a journey through the chocolate underbelly of America / Steve Almond

One Last Summer Movie

2011-09-13T09:09:00.004-05:00

Dirty Dancing

It's still hard to believe Patrick Swayze is gone. He was something of a force of nature. And you know a movie has become firmly embedded in the shared consciousness when one can say something as non-specific as 'Nobody puts Baby in a corner', and you think of a young woman in a party dress, not a toddler in a timeout. Have some Dirty Dancing trivia, on me! OK, on the good folks at Dance Spirit magazine. But I found it.

Who is Baby, actually Frances, named after?
Frances Perkins, the first woman selected for the Cabinet Huh.

Where did Johnny learn to dance?

Arthur Murray School of Dance!!! Really.

What does Baby say when she first meets Johnny?

"I carried a watermelon." Really??

Dirty Dancing

The time of my life / by Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi

Source: Dance Spirit, Dec2006, Vol. 10 Issue 10, p26-26,

9/11/2001

2011-09-12T09:11:00.001-05:00

"I stopped taking pictures and started crying."

Michael Walters, a free-lance photo journalist in Manhattan.

9/11 photographic books

Grandson of Summer Movies

2011-09-09T09:15:00.001-05:00

Hayley Mills. That girl had summer living in her shining blonde hair. One of her lesser-known starring roles was in the turn-of-the-century confection 'Summer Magic'. Highlights include a spirited rendition of the song "The Pink of Perfection" and bonus Jimmy Mathers, Iowa-born brother to You-Know-Who. (Not Voldemort.)

Fond Memories From a Staffer: When Des Moines still had Drive-Ins, my younger brother and I went to the movies (in our pajamas) with our parents. Dad made kind of a “bed” in the backseat with a piece of plywood and a piece of foam with sheets and blankets on top of that. Mom made a brown grocery sack full of popcorn and we took a cooler of Kool-Aid. The kid’s movie was first - The Apple Dumpling Gang - and then we fell asleep while my parents watched the 2nd show.

Does this not sound wonderful and comfy?

In my home town if you had a coupon from the paper you could get into the special Wednesday Kid's Matinee for $.25. I got to see:

Jack the Giant Killer

Robinson Crusoe on Mars

First Men in the Moon

Best 25 cents I ever spent.

Thanks to all the staff who contributed their favorites!

Son of Summer Movies

2011-09-08T09:13:00.001-05:00

More favorites from the Des Moines Public Library staff:

Jaws. The shark scared the whillikins out of me. Thank goodness I live in Iowa! But repeat viewings are due to the vivid characters. I watch it every time I come across it, and hope I don't miss the scar-off.

Summer of ’42. Just drenched in summer, you can get a tan watching this thoughtful film. Enjoy a coming-of-age story with a little grace.

One Crazy Summer. This fun, goofy 1986 release, stars John Cusack and Demi Moore. Guess what? Demi plays a successful singer! Ah, the wonders of cinema.

Transformers. They're big, they fight and they're made out of cars.

The Fast and the Furious. Did I mention cars? These aren't from outer space but they go really really fast. There's no stopping this franchise or Transformers.

Looks like automoblies rule summer! Especially since the shark movies just aren't what they used to be.

Summer Movies II

2011-09-07T09:10:00.001-05:00

Oh, the summer movies are getting the love.

The First Ever Star Wars. The original Star Wars, we'd never seen anything like it. It was exciting, funny, even a little complex. Hello, culture quake!

Wet Hot American Summer - I finally saw this recently! If you like your comedy satirical and a shade of black, join the wacky folks at Camp Firewood.

Dazed and Confused. Depicts high school life in the 70's so realistically I nearly got unstuck in time when I watched it.
American Graffiti. The first time I realized it was possible for me to care about cars. I still want a T-bird with a porthole window.

Summer Not!

2011-09-06T09:05:00.003-05:00

Summer Movies! Some are ... not? Ha ha? Well I thought it was funny. I know the calendar says summer doesn't end until September 22 but Labor Day is over folks. We ought to move on, but let's not give up on summer movies! Here are some staff favorites:

Independence Day - seen in a theater that consisted of folding chairs and a screen on a stand.
Breakin' and Breakin'2 Electric Boogaloo. When only Hammer pants will do.
Shag. It's 1963; Phoebe Cates, Bridget Fonda and Iowa's own Annabeth Gish go in search of pre-wedding mayhem. Shag is a dance by the way.
Sandlot. Big Scary Dog but the kids triumph! Sandlot baseball kind of screams summer, doesn't it?
Grease. The movie may span a school year, but it starts out with Summer Nights.

More to come!

Happy Labor Day 2011!

2011-09-05T09:00:00.001-05:00

Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Which pretty much limits you to naps, movies and reading. Have fun! The dingus in the picture is some kind of wood splitting thingy. Aren't you glad you don't have to split wood? Although I do enjoy splitting the occasional hair. There it is, a touch of levity for the holiday! All six locations of the Des Moines Public Library will be open their regular hours tomorrow. Enjoy!

Labor Day Closings 2011

2011-09-02T09:14:00.001-05:00

All six locations of the Des Moines Public Library will be closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday September 3rd, 4th and 5th for the Labor Day holiday. According to the World Book Encyclopedia, Labor Day is also observed in Canada. Plus Europe celebrates on May 1 and in Australia they honor the Eight Hour Day. And here I thought it was just us.

Are You Sure?

2011-09-01T09:15:00.001-05:00

Do you lack realistic long-term goals? Are you impulsive? Prone to boredom? If so you too may be a psychopath! Whoohoo! According to Robert Hare, a psychologist who developed the Psychopath Test, those 3 qualities are shared by most psychopaths. There's a whole lot more but they're obviously negative and I knew I couldn't trick you into saying you have these qualities. No one wants to admit they live a parasitic lifestyle, have a grandiose sense of self-worth or are 'criminally versatile'. So how do they get the psychopaths to complete the test truthfully? Well, maybe they don't. I just finished The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson ("Best-Selling Author of The Men Who Stare at Goats!!!!!) and the book is way more entertaining than you would expect. Especially because Ronson is something of a psychological hypochondriac and continually checks himself to see if he's a psychopath. Or are we all? Dun dun dunnn.

The Psychopath Test
Psychopath Books by Robert Hare

Consider the Teapot

2011-08-31T09:17:00.001-05:00

At first tea was brewed in bowls! Gasp! But pots popped up in the Song Dynasty (AD 970-1279). Both tea and teapots wandered over to the West in the 1650s. In Britain in the 1740s, your blue and white teapots were all the rage. Teapots have been produced by classy companies such as Wedgewood and Spode! The proverbial ante was upped in the 1860's with animal-shaped pots made of majolica*. (What the heck is majolica? I can never remember. See below.) Some models were curvier than others, some plain some fancy. "But were they short and stout?" she fretted? One could describe as 'short and stout' the monumentally garish teapot-in-the-shape-of-a-house she gave to her sister in the 1980's. Whew.

Books on Teapot History
Source: A Spot of Tea. By: Timm, Maureen, Antiques & Collecting Magazine, Apr99
*Majolica: "earthenware covered with an opaque tin glaze and decorated on the glaze before firing;" Source: Merriam Webster Online

They Know Where They're Going

2011-08-30T09:16:00.001-05:00

I know the perception is that education in the U. S. is slipping, on the skids, declining. Apparently that is not true in every aspect. The average geography score for fourth-graders was higher in 2010 than in 1994 and 2001. Fourth-graders! Do not play Trivial Pursuit with these tiny people, they will wipe the floor - or should I say map? - with you.
Scores:

1994 206

2001 208

2010 213

Source: The Nation's Report Card

County Histories of Iowa

2011-08-29T09:09:00.002-05:00

We have county history books for most, if not all, of the counties in Iowa! Good golly! The histories live at the Central Library and don't leave the building but they do enjoy visitors. A few sample titles:

Biographical and Historical Record of Ringgold and Union Counties. Two for one! Actually this is fairly common. Greene/Carroll, Butler/Bremer, and Chickasaw/Howard are other double-county mashups. (Mashups! We're so hip!)

Then there is the History of Winneshiek county with biographical sketches of its eminent men. If you were not eminent, or male, I'm guessing the cookies were pretty tough.

Here's a doozy: Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Iowa, containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, together with portraits and biographies of all the governors of Iowa, and of the presidents of the United States. Henry County. Nothing if not inclusive.

Iowa County Histories and Other Interesting Books

Keyboards - Making It Better for You

2011-08-26T09:12:00.001-05:00

Wouldn't you just love a little extra oomph in your keyboard? Say you press a key and you get chocolate. A key for that, a key to beam me home at the end of the day, a key for money! Now that I think about it, keyboards are kind of pathetic. Use this generator to make your very own magic key: Custom Computer Keyboard

Calvin and Hobbes

2011-08-25T09:15:00.002-05:00

I miss 'em, I do. Aside from Stone Soup, Calvin and Hobbes was one of the few comic strips that showed librarians a little respect. When Calvin calls the library and, using a cheesy French accent, asks for a list of scatological terms the librarian hangs up. Calvin's take: "Those librarians are a sharp bunch". Calvin calls the library asking for books on why girls are so weird. When the librarian finds no information on the subject Calvin says he 'bets the library just doesn't want anyone to know'. Nuh-unh! We do want people to know! We'll do our darndest to find out! But what can we do if girls just aren't weird? At least we have more Calvin and Hobbes books than you can shake a stuffed tiger at.

Source: The Days are Just Packed

More Calvin and Hobbes Books

Sadder Than Melted Ice Cream

2011-08-24T09:15:00.001-05:00

Oh, the humiliation! Five years ago today Pluto was demoted. Yes, the planet (ha!) that reminded my generation of a friendly cartoon dog, the food stuff in the mnemonic 'My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas', the little guy who only just became a planet in 1930 ... what was I saying? Oh yeah. 424 picky astronomers attending the annual International Astronomical Union meeting in Prague voted to demote Pluto to a dwarf planet. Does that make it Dopey? At least it would keep it in the family.

Chase's Calendar of Events

American Industry! What Defines 'Food'?

2011-08-23T09:15:00.001-05:00

While conducting research by using this book you may run across the heading Food and Kindred Products. Plus its sub-heading 'Natural, Processed and Imitation Cheese'. Well that explains it - the whole 'cheese food' 'cheese product' mystery. They could be kindred products, not unlike food but not exactly food either! As for actual cheese it's been around since about 6000 B.C. Not just tasty, cheese held up well enough to be a popular take-along for travelers and armies. How well does cheese hold up today? Well let's find out. Kraft Foods Inc., the leading cheese producer in the United States, collected $6.8 billion of cheesy revenue in 2009. Not bad for a category that includes 'Kindred Products'.

Source: Encyclopedia of American Industries as accessed through Gale Virtual Reference Library DMPL card number and PIN required for access

Man, These Stripes are Hard to Get Off

2011-08-22T09:18:00.001-05:00

This is a picture of a Burchelli's Zebra, also known as the plains zebra. Or, as most of us know it, A Zebra. There's more than one kind of these stripy beasts! Who knew? Another one grammatically owned by a person is Grevy's Zebra. More stripes and they're thinner. The stripes that is. The animals themselves are bigger. Grevy's zebras weigh 990 pounds! Let's call it a ton and get out of their way. Then there's the mountain zebra with a tan muzzle and a dewlap. A dewlap. They've got little flaps on their necks, like a turkey's only way less gross. What the heck is that 'dewing' on a zebra? Ha! We try to leave you laughing, folks. Or groaning?

Source: Grzimek's animal life encyclopedia.
Photo Credit: Glenn Franco Simmons

Signpost Up Ahead - The State Fair Zone?

2011-08-19T09:08:00.002-05:00

More generator family fun! Kids having trouble finding the garbage they're supposed to take out? Car keys going missing? Laundry basket ignored? Make a reeeeaallly obvious sign and point everybody in the right direction. Don't make it a swivelly sign though. That's just asking for trouble.

Directional Street Sign Generator

Tipping the Scale

2011-08-18T09:18:00.001-05:00

When I was young and naive, a friend and I patronized the 'Guess Your Weight' guy at the State Fair. We were very pleased that we 'won' since the gentleman could not indeed guess our weight. It was years before I figured out that the dollar we paid for the 'guess' would have purchased 10 of the prizes we won. But what the heck, it was fun. Should you choose to play some of the carnival games at the fair, here's a tip:

"Milk-Can Toss: Never throw the ball directly at the center, as you would a basketball. Instead, aim for the edge of the closest lip and make sure to throw with a big arc."

That milk-can money adds up. The country's largest fair, (but not The Best State Fair in Our State) the State Fair of Texas, takes in about $4 million from these games. Yowsa.

Source: CARNIVAL KNOWLEDGE. Newsweek, 7/8/2002, Vol. 140 Issue 2, p57, 2p

As the Cow Flies

2011-08-17T09:16:00.002-05:00

Was the movie'Twister' one of Iowa's well-known disasters? It had Philip Seymour Hoffman, how cheesy could it be? You decide. I kind of liked it. On another note, Iowa has certainly seen its share of non-fictional disasters. Four notable railroad accidents:

1. August 29, 1877; Rock Island Lines passenger train wrecks in Des Moines killing 20.
2. March 21, 1910; Train derailment in Marshall County kills 55.
3. October 22, 1937; Near Mason City, a Renwick school bus collides with a Rock Island Lines train, killing 10.
4. September 28, 1944; Missouri Valley train wreck kills 9.

Was rail travel more dangerous than travel by plane? Maybe not, but the accidents were just as tragic.

Source: Des Moines Register 7/25/1989 p. 5A

USDA Nutrition Database

2011-08-16T09:22:00.002-05:00

Want to know how much water is in a bagel? What the lipid situation is? Does it have a lot of ash? I kid you not, ash. Then the USDA "National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference" is just the thing. It's easy to search, I just typed in 'bagel'. But I did get more hits with 'bagel' than I did with 'bagels'. Hmmm. The amount of info is staggering. I don't know what a kJ is other than some kind of energy measurement. But it's there when I need it. And of course it does not break out your brand name products, but you can choose the size of the food item which is handy. It even does lasagna, admittedly frozen. Even the USDA doesn't know what you put in your pasta dishes. Or do they?

USDA Nutrition Database When you want to know more than you want to know.

Racy Names

2011-08-15T09:12:00.001-05:00

Race Horses, that is! They have the best and oddest names. War Admiral, Seabiscuit, Man o' War - they sound more like ships than steeds. Then there's your Barbaro, your Dan Patch, your Funny Cide. Whimsical names! My favorites are the names that you'd never call your pet. The following are actual registered horse names, brought to by the Jockey Club Registry

A Girl On Each Arm

D C Midnight Tango

Dinner At Jackies

Halo's Big Racquet

Umbrella Bag Nite

Jesse's Gone West

Maggie's Revenge

Now I know you want to read Race Horse Biographies! To find more more more book lists from our Fabulous Readers Lists just click!

A Tip: How to Reach All of Us

2011-08-12T09:15:00.001-05:00

How easy is it to speak with a live person when calling the Des Moines Public Library? Glad you asked! 283-4152 is the general number for all 6 libraries. None of the branches have direct lines, all the calls start at the Central Library. The folks at the Central Library try to answer your question, but you'll always be transferred to the branch when necessary. Here's the tip part: When you dial 283-4152 you get a recording. Said recording provides you with several options. But if you need to speak to one of us humans, you don't have to listen to all that. As soon as the recording starts, press 3 and you'll be talking to an actual person. No lie. We look forward to hearing from you!