October - National Roller Skating Month

Ah, roller skating. Couldn't work the key, and I have no sense of balance. Looked like fun though. According to the book Patents : ingenious inventions : how they work and how they came to be, the whole point of the side-by-side wheels was to allow the skater to turn by applying more pressure to one side of the skate. This was seen as a huge improvement over the earlier in-line(!) skates that required the skater to pick up their feet more often and turn in small increments. Since I was unable to go more than a few feet before crashing while on roller skates, I had no idea you could do this. Once again, ingenuity wasted on me.
Take a look at the book when you get a chance, great information and fun design - the cover of the book is swathed in bubble wrap. So you have something soft to land on when you fall off your skates.

October - Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Not a celebration, but a time to pay attention to the issue of domestic violence in the U.S.
The Iowa Department of Justice Attorney General's Office Crime Victim Assistance Division 2007, provides some grim statistics:
180 Iowans have been killed in Domestic Abuse murders since 1995
22,317 Victims of domestic abuse were served in Iowa in FY 2007

Access to assistance may be the key for many who need to break away
from violent situations. Here are some sources:
Iowa Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-942-0333
Books on Domestic Violence
Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Children & Families of Iowa Programs

October Celebrations Week - Teeth

October is National Dental Hygiene Month! Whoohoo! Do you suppose this might have something to do with a night of unbridled free candy distribution and the massive accumulation of said sweets? Then the eatin'? Maybe. Not surprisingly, most of our books on tooth care are written for children, under the assumption that adults know enough to brush, floss, repeat. Endlessly. But here's one for all ages: Dental first aid for families.

OK, not a cheerful thought, but if it's the middle of the night and you know you'll have to spend approximately 3 months in the emergency room before they can get to you, I can see how this might be a handy little item. Check it out, make note of the important parts, and be secure in the knowledge that you can refrain from freaking out the next time you lose a cap. Unlike me.

New Horror books

Nowadays there are more vampire books than you can shake a stake at. But recently I've read a few that are remarkable. First, Fledging by Octavia Butler. Butler built a new vampire society set in our very real world, with a mysterious young woman protagonist. The ending is a set up for a sequel, but sadly Butler died soon after this book was published. The other novels also star a young woman, a teen raised with no idea as to who or what she is. The fresh view of complex vampire life and customs presented is engrossing. Society of S by Susan Hubbard, followed by The Year of Disappearances. Books to relish. Read slowly.

Pre-Emptive Information: Boo!

Every year we get asked when Beggar's Night/Trick or Treating will be in the metro area. Thanks to the Des Moines Register we can get you this information before you even know you need it!

Beggar's Night is set for Thursday October 30, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at all these communities:

Adel, Ankeny, Altoona, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Des Moines, Indianola, Johnston, Mitchellville, Norwalk, Perry, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Runnells, Urbandale, Waukee, West Des Moines and Windsor Heights.

Plus the bonus mall events: Merle Hay, 6-7:30 p.m.; Southridge, 6-8 p.m.; Update on Valley West, trick-or treat will be 6-8 there.
Stop me if you've heard this one... How do witches keep their hair styled when they're flying?With scare spray! Should have stopped me.
Source: Des Moines Register online 10/07/08

One of my favorite October Books

Something Wicked This Way Comes. Even the title gives the chills. Who knows, I may have to read Macbeth someday. But give me Ray Bradbury for the true flavor of an autumn night in the Midwest, especially as seen through the eyes of children. Compared to today's gooey horror novels the scares may be tame, but they mean something, real emotions are at work here. Best scary carnival story ever. If you want to just bathe yourself in October before the Thanksgiving/Winter Holidays onslaught begins, sit down with this one on some dark and windy night. Nothing like a little window rattling to go with a juicy book that captures the mystique of October.

Something wicked this way comes

Terrible Non-Theme Songs from TV

We all get songs stuck in our heads. Ever get really awful ones from TV shows? I don't mean the theme songs, that's a given. Occasionally television programs have horrible original tunes imbedded in the show. Oh, Serena, Samantha's cousin on Bewitched. Maybe this will jog your memory: Elizabeth Montgomery in a black wig, talking 'hip'. Cringeworthy, right? Not as bad as the song: If'n, if'n, if'n, if'n if'n you wanna feel my embrace, don't cha ever wash your face, if'n you wanna make me weak and weepy, you gotta look wild and weird and creepy, if''n, if'n, if'n, if'n if'n! Yikes. On the Jetsons, Eep op ork A-aa apparently meant 'I love you'. H.R. Pufnstuff''s Witchiepoo sang the informational ditty Oranges poranges! Who said! There ain't no rhymes for oranges. Can you tell I watched waaay too much TV as a child? I guess the fact that I remember this stuff is my punishment.

Bewitched. The complete first season
Jetsons: the complete first season
4 of Sid & Marty's favorites from H.R. Pufnstuf

In-Service October 13

All six buildings of the Des Moines Public are closed today, Monday October 13th, for a staff in-service day. We promise to learn a lot. See you tomorrow!

Sheer Poe-etry: Edgar Allan Poe - Live! October 14

Tuesday, October 14. The Central Library at 6:30 PM. Man, this is going to be good.
Duffy Hudson will present In the Shadow of the Raven, a one-man play about the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe. He dresses the part, he looks the part, he acts the part! Hear from the man who is credited with inventing the mystery genre. And look how popular those turned out to be. Bet he never in his wildest dreams - and you know they had to be wild - did he imagine Stephanie Plum.
You get dramatic interpretations of some of Poe's most famous works: Annabel Lee, The Raven, and The Tell-Tale Heart. Spooooooky. A separate program for teens begins at 3:30.

Poe, Poe and more Poe