Real Unreal Creatures

There are questions you field as a librarian that seem to have an obvious answer. Such as (real question) do you have a book with photographs of unicorns? The obvious answer being no. Then some entrepreneur comes along, glues a plastic horn to the forehead of a lovely white horse and takes misty photos of said horse gamboling about in the green. What to do, what to do. Fortunately the dragon question is easier to answer. No. But we do have several nonfiction books about dragons if you are interested in the legends. The books might even have pictures. But not photos. I don't think gluing wings on a lizard will do the trick.

By the way, the unicorn book was Unicorns I Have Known by Robert Vavra. Out of print, we don't own it. Back to the obvious answer.

Books About Dragons

Graphic source Dover Publications

Goodbye FF and MJ

Michael Jackson and Farah, both dying June 25 2009. We were prepared for Farah, but Michael was a shock. I remember seeing him on television as a kid singing I Want You Back and dancing dancing in his fringed vest. I watched the Motown Special and got chills - you could tell the audience did too. The news items have noted the twin rise of Michael and MTV, but I haven't seen any mention of the fact that Michael helped break the color barrier on that channel. Before Billie Jean you rarely saw non-white artists' videos. But I guess they couldn't ignore him. He was hard to ignore.

Biographies of Michael Jackson

Graphic Source: eLibrary

Source: Jet; 10/9/2006, Vol. 110 Issue 14, p16-54 per EbscoHost

Look Out!

Ever wanted to make your own warning labels? I have, for ages and ages. Now we have a generator for you folks who just want to make sure everyone is safe. You know all kinds of people are running around with no idea of the dangers that surround them. Splinters, for example. I had one in my left pinkie for who knows how long, not a clue as to how it got there. If only I'd been warned.

Warning Label Generator

Hello, Frank Lloyd Wright

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright will be the topic of speaker Myron A. Marty June 27th at the Central Library. In addition to showier pieces like Falling Water, Wright designed several buildings in Iowa. (Ever see Iowa comedy group Duck's Breath Theater? They did a lovely Falling Water impersonation.) Mason City is the proud home to several of Wright' s designs. Here's one listed in the Mason City Globe Gazette:
Stockman House, 1908, is the only middle class Frank Lloyd Wright house of his Prairie School design in the United States open to the public. Features include Arts and Crafts furnishings and Wright replicas of the period.

So Saturday you can take a break from being outdoors at the Arts Fest and stop in to hear Myron A. Marty at 2:30. It'll be nice and cool. And interesting!
Frank Lloyd Wright Books

Stockman House is open for tours 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday through Labor Day. Then 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday Labor Day through Oct. 31

Red Pandas

Red Pandas at the zoo. I don't think I've ever seen one, so let's all go! I have trouble reconciling the name and the fact that they look nothing like Giant Pandas. But they're kind of related. Remember Kingdom Phylum Genus? Then here's a treat for you -

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Procyonidae
Genus: Ailurus
Species: Fulgens

Encyclopedia of Animals; 2006, p1, per EbscoHost

For more information, just search red pandas in EbscoHost. Be sure to check the 'Full Text' box so you can read the entire article. Or check out the Blank Park Zoo web site.

Summer Movies

I myself have seen several summer blockbusters and I'm convinced you are dying to know what I think. Because there are just not enough unqualified movie reviewers publishing on the web.

Wolverine: Not as fun as I'd hoped. Managed to make Wolverine dull. But Sabretooth and the card guy were pretty lively.

Star Trek: loved it. I was a little surprised by the desert gorge in Iowa, but details, details. Great cast, and it captures the feel of the original show.

Land of the Lost: so bad we didn't see a movie the following weekend. We were that traumatized.

Angels and Demons: interesting puzzle, beautiful places, and man I would love to get into the Vatican Library! Check out the book cover - it has that text that reads the same upside-down.

Night at the Museum: fun overall. Amy Adams bears no resemblance to Amelia Earhart, but her rat-tat-tat delivery was delightful. Someone get this woman a '30's screwball comedy.

Up: Hi-larious! Didn't even bother to see it in 3-D because that might have distracted me from the fun. And pretty poignant for a movie about a man, a house, and a mess of balloons.

If none of these appeal, check out the HUGE selection of DVDs in the Des Moines Public Library system. Fifty cents for a Children's DVD, one thin dollar for all others, and you get to keep them a whole week. Click to go directly to a DVD/Video search.

Dog Mixers

I've have finally noticed the random-dog-combination trend. And when I say trend, I mean a ubiquitous occurrence. As a species dogs have enormous variations - for a mammal anyway. There are simply HUGE dogs and then there are those called 'teacup' for a reason. How on earth does it all work? One of my sisters has a Bichon Frise/Yorkie mix, another a Bichon Frise/Welsh Terrier mix. Those breeds are fairly similar in size, so it's not too freaky. But neither of them have poodle mixes which, according to Newsweek, set the whole thing off. An early combination was between labradors and poodles. Then there are all these other poodle mixes: schnoodle, cockapoo, yorkiepoo, bichonpoo, shih tzu-poo, and even peekapoo. Overly-sentimental pet owners now have an excuse to call their dogs something that ends in poo. (One could argue that is the definition of a dog anyway. Ha!) And why do we want to get poodle DNA in an otherwise perfectly good dog breed? Apparently poodles don't shed. Aha! My sister had labs that shed like they had Jack Bauer's 24 hours to replace their entire coat or terrible consequences would befall the ENTIRE WORLD. Sweet dogs though. Hope the doodling doesn't cancel out any good stuff.

Read More:
Source: Newsweek; 7/8/2002, Vol. 140 Issue 2, p10, 1/3p, 1 color
Source: Brandweek; 2/27/2006, Vol. 47 Issue 9, p25-25, 3/4p

Father's Day is Coming June 21

And maybe your Dad would like some tools. Or whatever this stuff is. This year's recommended gifts all appear to be electronic in nature: Kindles, Wiis, digital cameras. Probably not what Sonora Smart Dodd had in mind when the first Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane, Washington, in 1910. Even when Lyndon Johnson proclaimed it a national holiday in 1966 there wasn't that much in the way of electronics for Dad. Maybe a radio with a wire that goes to your ear so you can listen to the ballgame broadcast while you're in the stands watching it. Kinda like an iPod with earbuds. Once again ladies and gentlemen we have come full circle. Don't forget the calipers.

Graphic Source: Dover

Resources:THE BEST GIFTS FOR YOUR DAD. Author: Sonnenfeld, Barry
Esquire; Jun2009, Vol. 151 Issue 6, p26-26, 1p as found in EbscoHost

Last Day Before Franklin Starts Move to Merle Hay

Dateline Des Moines, Iowa. Thursday June 18. Tomorrow will be the LAST DAY the Franklin Avenue branch of the Des Moines Public Library will be open UNTIL July 6th. On July 6th Franklin will open in the temporary location at Merle Hay Mall, near Target. The library will operate out of the mall for 18 months to 2 years. Actually, that should be really cool. Then the renovated Library at 5000 Franklin will be even cooler. Remember, you can still check out and return stuff at any of our 5 other buildings using the card you got at Franklin! It's good all over town! In the last few years all the buildings have been remodeled so this would be a great time to look them over and see what other parts of town have to offer. June 19th last day in the un-renovated building. July 6th first day at Merle Hay. It's not such a long time really. We'll all be OK.