Sticky Songs Jr.

I'm betting at least one of these will wind up living between your ears today.

Theme from Gilligan's Island:   Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip...

Hokey Pokey:   You put your right foot in and you shake it all about. You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about. Hey! (I added the Hey! Didn't seem right without it.)

Otis Redding:   (Sitting On) The Dock Of The Bay. Sittin' in the morning sun, I'll be sittin' when the evening comes. Watching the ships roll in, then I watch them roll away again, yeah...  (I don't know how he sang the italics.)

Cab Calloway:   Minnie the Moocher.  Surprise!  I didn't think of this as being sticky at all until I was reminded of:  Hidey Hidey Hidey Hi, Hodey Hodey Ho, Heedey Heedey Heedey Hee... 

Harry Belafonte:   Banana Boat Song - or as we like to call it - Day-O. Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana, daylight come and me wan' go home.  It's six foot, seven foot, eight foot BUNCH!  Daylight come and me wan' go home...

Go home with one of these.

Sticky Songs

They won't leave you alone, will they?  Those songs in your head that get stuck on 'Repeat'.  I had a surprise the other day when this beauty popped up:  Robin William's version of Bruce Springsteen's song 'Fire', as sung by Elmer Fudd: "I'm widing in you caw; you tuwn on the waaaadio".   Oh my.  So I asked some library staff what songs get affixed in their craniums.  For three days I'll share these with you and we'll see what sticks!   We'd love to hear what's playing on your inner radio.

Sticky Songs at the Library:
Beach Boys,  Kokomo. "Aruba, Jamaica ooo I wanna take you Bermuda, Bahama come on pretty mama..."

Gap Band, You Dropped a Bomb on Me. "You turned me out, you turned me on, you dropped a bomb on me".  Plus the bonus 'I -  II - III'.  Pronounced 'eye'.

Jackson Browne, Boulevard. "Nobody rides for free, nobody nobody, Nobody gets it like they want it to be, nobody nobody..."  The extra 'nobody's' are essential.

Here's a song you don't hear every day. One staff member is plagued by the following:
Boom Boom Ain't it Great to Be Crazy? 
Yeah, it's a children's song.  Raise your hand if you've heard it. 
Share your 'ear worms'.  Are they more obscure than the 'Be Crazy' song? A challenge!

Sale Sale Sale at South Side Library!

The South Side Library, at 1111 Porter, is having a Blowout Book Sale through June 30!  Buy a quilted wall hanging, perfect for a child's room or classroom, originally $69 now going for $15!!  Donated videos and books-on-tape for one dollar!!!   Paperback books one dollar!!!!  You cannot afford not to go!  The South Side Library plans to purchase more shelving and updated equipment in the Teen Area.  You get amazing deals and the library buys swell stuff.  What's not to love?  The sale will be held in the library lobby during open hours:
Monday-Thursday: 10 AM - 8 PM
Friday: 1 PM - 6 PM
Saturday: 10 AM - 5 PM
Come shop!

The Domino Men One of the Best Books I Read in 2009

Why is it my favorite books are so hard to describe?  Oh right.  I like convoluted plots and outrageous ideas.  Here goes:

Domino Men by Jonathan Barnes

A Review

We're in modern England but a few things are different.  Why, you ask?  Because Queen Victoria made a deal with something Unspeakable!  In a quite civilized manner, of course.  So there's a secret organization trying to stave off the pro quo of her quid (quid - former British monetary unit - Ha!). The grandson of one of these agents has been prepared, unbeknownst to him, to sing the classic "How do you solve a problem like the Unspeakable?".  Add in two schoolboy-clad, men-like creatures that speak like Tweedles Dee and Dum but are bad bad bad bad bad.  And you will not believe what the Unspeakable actually wants. If you read it before breakfast prepare to believe more than six impossible things.  And like it! Highly recommended for those who enjoy having their minds blown, man.

You might also like The Somnabulist in which the Tweedles make their first appearance.

Recumbent in a good way - in honor of Bike to Work Week

Recumbent bikes!   Also called 'lawn chairs' 'easy chairs' or sometimes just 'bents'.  Pretty undignified names - until you get a look at those babies.  They're not the prettiest bikes at the ball.  On the other hand they are comfy and the pedaler can really put her back into it. So much so that the bikes have been banned from racing.  They're outlaws!  Since 1934!  And now you can get  a 21-speed model.  That would blow them away in France.  A friend of mine loves her 'bent'.  (That one must be the cool nickname.) She says it's easier on the knees and hers has a shock absorber.  Hey!  I found yet another name for them: 'recliner bikes'.  Looks like you're in kind of a reclining position, but I do not see any cushions.  I'll wait for the model that does.

Lean back and enjoy! Comfortable bicycling by Kalmer, Doug; Countryside & Small Stock Journal 09-01-2009
Recliner Bicycles by Tolme, Paul; Newsweek International 11-05-2007
Graphic
All accessed through eLibrary

Looking and Finding

Like maps? Really big maps? Perhaps bound together in the convenient format of a book? You, dear readers, are looking for an atlas. Ok, maybe you knew that, but did you know we have an atlas with maps of historic railroad lines? Did you? All right then. The Des Moines Public Library stocks all kinds of atlases and we've got them in all our locations. Sometimes you can't check the atlas out. Some are so gigantic they might not fit through the door anyway. But perfect for a lazy afternoon when you just want to sit in the library and find out where stuff was in the Middle Ages. If you don't get lost on the way to the library - for lack of a map! - a world of colorful exploration awaits you. Come see! Comme sa! Couldn't resist. Not even sorry.

Some Atlases
Graphic source:  Library of Congress

It was Mount Saint Helens

Thirty years ago today the United States experienced the largest volcano eruption ever recorded in the contiguous states. Approximately 65 people were killed. Following a 5.1 magnitude quake inside Mount Saint Helens, first came the landslide. The spot in which the landslide took place had been bulging before it broke off. You do not want your volcano to bulge. Then came the eruption. Turns out when lava mixes with snow and ice what you have is a lahar, which is reminiscent of wet cement. Don't let that comparatively benign description fool you though, the stuff was plenty hot. The lahars vaporized huge amounts of groundwater and when that steam blew, craters as large as 400 meters (1,300 feet) were blasted out. Nasty. The whole thing lasted about 9 hours. Here it is thirty years later and only a smattering of plants and animals have returned. So, not a garden spot but at least the lupines are back! And who doesn't like lupines.

Source:  A Fresh Look at Mount St. Helens. By Perkins, Sid. Science News, 4/24/2010
As accessed through Ebscohost

Face It!

Have you noticed that the Des Moines Public Library has a Facebook page linked from our home page?  Not just any Facebook, it's all about the DMPL!  We are so modern.  Wouldn't you like to be our friend?  We're nice.  And we stuff our Facebook page with all kinds of handy-dandy information.  You get updates on programs and all our blogs post to Facebook as well as in the original blogger page.  It's almost an aggregator. I'm so proud that not only do I know that word, I know what it means! Mostly. I'm almost modern.
Take a look at our Facebook Page.

Shaun Tan - Children's Book Week Star

Guess what!  It's Children's Book Week! If you haven't seen Shaun Tan's books, oh my goodness.  They are just exquisite. The stories are sophisticated and emotionally complex.  The Arrival follows a new immigrant's frightening first steps in his new country.  The Lost Thing is utterly charming while being completely inert. So there's humor too, folks!  But not in The Rabbits which was actually written by John Marsden and illustrated by Tan. That one's kind of devastating.  Am I selling these?  If not, try Tan anyway.  Your eyeballs will thank you. 

Shaun Tan Books