My Honey Forever

Why forever?  Because honey does not spoil.  You can buy it the latest Wii, Ipad, a shopping spree at the mall, doesn't matter.  Honey will take it all in stride and remain its sweet-natured self.  Are you ready for this?  They found honey in King Tut's tomb and it hadn't spoiled.  Crystallized maybe, but still edible.  Wonder who tasted it?  That lucky duck got a helping of the antioxidants which are prevalent in honey, especially the darker varieties.  Plus honey may decrease blood lipids!  It encourages the good bacteria in the digestive system!  King Tut!  Yeah, I knew I was losing you with the health stuff.  Tut!

Oklahoma Today; Nov/Dec2007, Vol. 57 Issue 6, p152-152,
Environmental Nutrition; Apr2005, Vol. 28 Issue 4, p8-8
as accessed through EBSCOhost

We are back with a Generator

All six locations of the Des Moines Public Library are open their usual hours today.  Plus I found a new sign generator!  If a tree holds a sign in the woods does anyone read it?   Think of the possibilities!  You could put 2 trees side by side - Duck Season!  Wabbit Season! 

Save a Tree Sign Generator

Closed Today for Inservice

We will open again tomorrow Tuesday October 12, our usual hours.  I was amazed to learn that there is a city in Georgia named Columbus!  Not only that, it's one of the Top 100 Places to Live in 2010.  Just like Des Moines!  Columbus Georgia boasts the headquarters of two companies you've heard of, one ad nauseum.  Carmike Cinemas and AFLAC.  Guess which one is ubiquitous?
RelocateAmerica's Top 100 Places to Live in 2010

Closed Monday October 11th

All six locations of the Des Moines Public Library will be closed Monday October 11 for a staff in-service day.  Plus it's Columbus Day. The Post Office and banks in general will also be closed.
By federal law Columbus Day is celebrated on the second Monday in October.  President Franklin Roosevelt declared Columbus Day a holiday in 1937.  But it was first celebrated in New York City in 1792. 
Source:  InfoPlease Almanac

Knit? Why Knot? Haha!

It's going to get cold soon.  Very cold and for a long time. You know what you need? Scarves!  And lots of them!  It's time you learned how to make your own.  Pick out happy colors, weight, style, length.  Imagine wrapping up in a soft warm homemade scarf. Sigh. They also make lovely gifts!  When you get really proficient you can crank those babies out and have a year's worth of gifts made in no time.  I don't knit or crochet, but I'm sure you'll be a whiz!  Because you have hand-eye coordination!  Did I mention the holidays are on their way?  Plus scarves are oh-so au courant.  Have I talked you into it yet?  I'm getting close to talking me into it. Read some Scarf Books.

There Once was a Girl Named Kate Shelley

And an amazing heroic girl she was. Near Boone, Iowa Kate risked life and limb to save the lives of a trainful of travelers. So incredible was she that one Eugene J. Hall was moved to write a poem about her.  Here are a few of the more colorful lines:

She was only eighteen, but a woman in size,

With a figure as graceful and lithe as a doe,

With peach-blossom cheeks, and with violet eyes,

And teeth and complexion like new-fallen snow; (Obviously her photos do not do her justice.)

The scream of a whistle; the rush of a train!  

A rumble! a roar! shrieks of human affright! This is the second use of the word 'shrieks' in the poem.)

She reaches the river--the water below
Whirls and seethes through the timbers.
She shudders again;"The bridge!
To Moingona, God help me to go!"

This (and much much more) appears in the book Poems Teachers Ask For which is available in its entirety online from the folks at Project Gutenberg.  The romantic nature of the poem threw me off but I have nothing but respect for Kate Shelley herself.  She's like Iowa's Amazon.  Only with more clothes.
Kate Shelley and the midnight express, a biography written for children.

Groovy Man

Vinyl records are groovy.  And 'cool' and 'sweet' and 'awesome' in my opinion.  But the groovy part is fact!  If you've seen really old record albums you might've noticed how thick the rings are.  The 'microgroove' was developed  in 1948 and its further refinement led to the shiny smooth vinyl we know and cherish today.  As of 1976, here's how many grooves they were sandwiching in:

Average: 250 grooves to the inch

7" record - 1,750 grooves

12" record - 3,000 grooves

After all this grooving don't you just feel like pulling out the old hip huggers, beads and... Oh. Right.  You can get all that at Penney's. Again.  I heard vinyl's making a comeback too. Wonder how many grooves there are now?

Source:  From tin foil to stereo : evolution of the phonograph

Newfangled

Kids these days.  What with their texting and their Twittering and running their lives through their phones.  Why, back in the day people got excited when they no longer had to go through a switchboard operator to be connected to the party with whom they wished to speak.  Speak, as in saying things out loud.  At approximately 2:30 A. M. on Sunday July 28, 1929, the telephones of all but 12,000 Des Moines Residents were switched to 'dial tone' service.  The 12,000 residents of "the old Drake area, or new fifth and seventh area"  were slated to receive their dial tones in 5 to 7 years. The project lasted one and one half years and cost $4,000,000. The telephone company at the time was Northwestern Bell.  A dial tone.  That was a thrill ride.

Des Moines Public Library Fun Facts

Source: Des Moines Tribune, 7/27/1929, p.1, p.2

My Hero!

What would your name be if you were a superhero?  There's a generator for that.  All the names are male but let's face it so are most B-Movie heroes.  Male, that is.  My name doesn't sound very action-packed:  Brewster Corbett.  How could they tell I'm a librarian?  Here are a few people I subjected to this process:

A.  Male Librarian:  Blake Chesthair

B.  One of My Sisters:  Sebastian Petitjean  (Okay, maybe it's my family not my profession.)

C.  Non-Librarian Library Employee:  Captain Fisthammer!  That one had to have an exclamation point!

D.  Retired Male Librarian:  Perry Bravethunder

E.  Vegetarian  Librarian:  Derak Beefgnaw

F.  Female School Librarian:  Bradley Vanderhuge

Of course they could tell I'm a librarian!  Everyone I know is a librarian!    Fortunately, terrific people work in libraries.

Now go get your very own name. Cape not included. Or batteries.

B-Movie Hero Name Generator

You can also gorge yourself on Superhero comic books, strips, etc.!