Trilogy of...Scary Stuff!

My new reliable horror author is Alexandra Sokoloff. Her stuff is a bit old- fashioned, which is refreshing. Sokoloff is fond of college students who get in waaay over their heads. Some don't get to keep them!  Ha!  Ooooh, dabbling in ESP and Ouija Boards and all sorts of The Haunting of Hill House creepies.  The novel that isn't a Shirley Jackson homage involves college students drawn into a cult by a charismatic, if cowardly, guy. The third book revolves around a sick child....and a bad hospital!! Ahhh!  Bad hospitals are full of sick people who aren't strong enough to help themselves, and other people won't believe them about crazy goings-on because the patients are in a hospital and may be imagining things! Man, just the thought of a bad hospital leaves me twitchy. Here are the three titles:
The harrowing
The price
The unseen

Crossword Puzzle Word of the Day

Part of the fun of working crosswords is that you figure out some of the words they use regularly, ones containing an unusual string of letters.   I mentioned Yma Sumac in a previous post - those crossword puzzle writers loooove her first name.  Comic Emo Philips' first name is another fave. You have to memorize these because they don't exactly crop up in casual conversation. (Yma Sumac.  Emo Philips.)  There are a few words that I know they're gonna use and for the life of me I can never remember them. Aglet is one.  Guess what that means.  Ennnh!  Whatever you guessed wasn't right because it is actually the cover on the tip of your shoelace.  Not the tip of the shoelace itself, but the little plastic bit that goes over the end.  Yet another word for something that really doesn't seem to need its very own name.  Here's a good one:  a person who works crossword puzzles is called a cruciverbalist.  When 'crossword puzzle fan' just won't do.

Crossword Puzzle Books
*Meriam Webster Online 

Trick or Treat for other Kids

Trick or Treat for UNICEF!  2010 is the 60th anniversary of this program, can you believe it?  Back in 1950 one Mary Emma Allison witnessed a UNICEF parade with costumed children and a banner proclaiming that one penny would buy 20 glasses of milk.  The costumes brought to mind Halloween when kids went door-to-door getting handouts anyway.  Mary Emma thought the little ones should carry small milk cartons for the contributions. Penny = milk.   She collected the cartons from school, washed them up and attached an orange band.  Repurposing, we like to call it.  And a lot of work.  Now they use nifty orange boxes and UNICEF has been receiving $4 million annually.   We'll see what happens in the future because they're introducing an iPhone app for donations.  Will the kids be going door to door with their phones?  Long live the little orange boxes!  People can donate all year on their phones.  Yay!

Source:  Morning Edition (NPR); 10/25/2010 as accessed through EbscoHost Student

Scaaaaaary Jokes

What do you call a skeleton cow with a guitar?  A moosician!  See what I did there?  The original joke didn't have 'skeleton' in it and had nothing to do with Halloween.  Add skeleton, spider, ghost, zombie, mummy, black cat - any of these words and voila!  You have a seasonal funny.  Just like in the old sci-fi TV shows in which they didn't change the names of stuff, just put the word 'space' in front.  "Johnny, be sure to use you space toothbrush before you get into your space jammies."  Oh! Speaking of ghosts, what do you call a ghost with a guitar?  A boooosician.  I just made that up!  Can you tell?  Why did the mummy cross the road twice?  It was a double crosser!   What do you call a zombie with a banana in each ear?  Nothing, it can't hear you!  So if you need fresh yuks for Beggars' Night, get a joke book and change the names. The books are under the subject heading Wit and Humor, Juvenile.   Kind of appropriate, isn't it?

Wit and Humor, Juvenile

Halloween Words of Wacky

You know why 'jokes' is there.  And caramel apples, scarecrows, etc.  But why "Princess Mask", you ask?  They were  full-face 3-dimensional masks with rosy pink cheeks, blonde hair and blue eyes.  Guess who never got to wear one for Halloween.  The poor little brown-eyed brown-haired girl with the really thick glasses. I didn't care if I could see (in the dark, running down the side streets). I just wanted a princess mask.   One the one hand, disappointed. On the other hand, still alive.  Here's a book we could have used way back when:

Illegally easy Halloween costumes for kids : 100 costumes with simple patterns, no-sew shortcuts, last-minute solutions, treat bags & accessories
Graphic source:  Wordle

Geese V

Not the TV show. (Is that still on?) Although I think Alien Geese could be fun.  Their weapons would sound like quack-ack-ack-ack.  Back to our story!  It's the time of year when you see the geese flying overhead in the calm twilight and they just make me happy.  I do wonder why they fly in a V formation, aside from the fact that it looks snazzy.  Firstly it's easier on the flock in this formation as the geese in front do the heavy lifting and the others can glide a little with the wind resistance reduced. They take turns in the lead, there's no ubergoose. No one wants an ubergoose. It's also easier for them to see each other in a V rather than in a straight line or a cloud.  Because each goose flies a little above the one in front of it.  Trust me, it all makes sense.  To a goose.

This book looks amazing if you're into the whole bird movement:
The atlas of bird migration : tracing the great journeys of the world's birds
Graphic and Information Source:  Library of Congress

Yes, We Have NO Bedbugs, We Have NO Bedbugs Today! Or Ever!

Why would we even mention this, you ask?  Apparently there is concern out there in the metro that perhaps one of the libraries has been invaded.  Would you like a little reassurance about the six locations of the Des Moines Public Library?  We are clean as a whistle and fresh as a daisy.  Thank goodness as they completely freak me out.  In July the insects were found in the Armory Building (not City Hall) but that problem has been rectified.  As in the bedbugs are dead. You can visit your local library safe in the knowledge that, well, we have no bedbugs.

The Truth About Holds

 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 do I reserve a title...

OLD CD's

Not CD's with music.  How old can they be?  Mid-1980's?  No, we're talking about old Des Moines City Directories.  Then as now they were published by R. L. Polk and are stuffed with fun info.  In the 1911 edition occupations were listed alongside one's name, including occupations you don't see much anymore.  By browsing alone I found four people, including Ora B. Kinsell, who were wrappers at Younker Bros Inc.  They must have employed an army of them.  What on earth were they wrapping?  Margaret A. Corcoran's listing identifies her as a 'Corsetiere'.  At The Corset Shop, of course.  Then there's Chester L.Tish, Puncher at D M Bridge & Iron Wks. Clinton Taylor held the position of baggage man with the C R I & P Ry (Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Railway)  Mrs. Emily Fike was an Osteopath!  Can't have been too many females in that profession in 1911.  It's all in the old City Directories, people.  Available at the Central Library, 1000 Grand Avenue.
Des Moines City Directories