Russell Hoban's Gone

I recently finished Blood Red Road (fabulous!) and was telling a friend how  reviews of the book mention that the novel can be a bit of a challenge to read due to the use of dialect.  Hah! I said.  Try reading Riddley Walker!  And she tells me the author, Russell Hoban, just died.  I am very sad.   Riddley Walker is a masterpiece.  The English is so extensively altered you are completely immersed in the world. It's not that the words are so different -myt for might, woal for whole - it's that most of the book is written that way, not just a few words or phrases. Bonus - the plot and characters are compelling!  Not just a masterpiece, it is an experience.

Countdown: 5...4...3...2...Nap!

Two weeks from today will be my last day ever as a Librarian with the Des Moines Public Library.  I'm retiring!  And shy! Ah, the old jokes are the best.  After 30 years in the field I am ready to hang up ... my glasses? No, gotta have those.  Sensible shoes?  Are you kidding me? I know, I'll hang up my name tag!  It would just poke me while I'm sleeping anyway.  I will continue the blog until fully retired, but if you're a mathlete you know that last post will be showing up December 28th. Then Random Acts of Information will be no more.  It has been great fun to write and I have delighted in your comments.  Delighted, I tell you!  This is so much fun I may write more posts about retiring.  But only for a couple weeks.

Librarian Margaret Jane Scott

Crash Test

John Stapp was an Air Force Colonel.  In the mid-1950's he talked automakers into using his airplane safety dummies to test cars.  The term 'dummies' is used loosely here, since these consisted of sand-filled bags.  Just bags, no shape.   Now that they're shaped like us, auto makers can get all kinds of info by crashing a car full of dummies into a wall.  How hard somebody's head will hit the dashboard, how many ribs you'll probably break, you know, fun stuff.  We are ever so grateful that the sand-filled bags stepped up. Thank you, Colonel Stapp.  Any chance that was pronounced Stop!?

Des Moines Register 12/113/1992 p. 2H

Supery-Duper Element

Krypton is a noble gas.  Why are we not surprised?  The planet Krypton is good, kryptonite is bad.  Which came first, Action Comics #1 or the element?  Earthly krypton was discovered in 1898 by Sir William Ramsay and Morris Williams Travers. The word krypton comes from the Greek kryptos meaning 'hidden' due to the fact it was really, really hard to discover.  You'll never guess why this gas is called 'noble'.  Because krypton's too hoity-toity to react with other elements!  But maybe it's non-reactive because it's inert.  Not unlike Keanu Reeves. I know!  What did Keanu Reeves ever do to me?  To make up for that crack, here's a link to a list of his DVDs:   Keanu Rules!

Source:  Gale Virtual Reference Library, Chemical Elements, 2010

Reading - It's Complicated

Lately I've been reading amazing books that are very hard to describe.  I have a Library Thing account to help me keep track of what I've read, because even though the books are memorable I read alot and get them mixed up.  My goal is to put in tags specific enough that when I see them I think, oh yeah, that book.  It ain't easy. 

The Tiger's Wife:  Balkans, Young Women Doctors, Deaf-Mute Battered Woman Loves Tiger, Undying Man, Magic Realism.
The Gone-Away World:  Weapon Eats World, Changes, Livable Zone, Adult Imaginary Friend, Gorgeous Language, SF. 
Embassytown:  Host Aliens, Two Voices, Cloned Ambassador, Alien Addiction, Humans as Language, SF.
Hey, I highly recommend these three novels!  Just don't ask me what they're about.

Chapeaux Spéciaux

I love little kids' hats these days.  My favorites are the ones that look like baby animal heads. When I was a little girl - wait!  don't run! it's interesting, really! I had a hat with a face on the back.  Like you'd see me from behind and there would be my face.  If my face looked like the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz.  But the best part was the long blond braids!  Since I was A. brunette and B. not allowed to have long hair, I loved that hat.  Oh, I forgot the second best part!  It wasn't a hand-me-down!  I was the 4th of 7 girls and for me to get something so special that had never graced another sibling's bean, well.  Chauds creusent!  That's French for 'hot diggity'.

Resources for those who'd like to Make Children's Hats

Weta Minute!

I'm a big fan of the Lord of the Rings movies and I've been fascinated by the special effects.  These effects were concocted by New Zealand's own Weta Workshop. I had some vague idea that the company was named for a bug, but I Had No Idea.  The weta looks like a fat praying mantis and is as big as a puppy.  Seriously, they could have used this thing to film Attack of the New Zealand Bug Monster and just skipped the special effects.  The weta is humongous because it lives on an island with no natural predators. So we don't have to worry about being overrun. Yay!  By the way the orange thing in the picture is a carrot.  Not a baby-sized one either.

Source: Scholastic News May/Jun2008, Special section p3

Pearl Harbor 70th Anniversary

There were eight battleships attacked at Pearl Harbor.

USS Arizona, sunk, total loss.

USS Oklahoma, capsized, total loss.

USS West Virginia,  later raised, repaired and rejoined fleet July 1944.

USS California, sunk, later raised, repaired and rejoined fleet May 1944.

USS Nevada, heavily damaged, grounded, repaired and rejoined fleet December 1942.

USS Pennsylvania, was in drydock - slightly damaged, repaired and rejoined fleet August 1942.

USS Maryland, damaged, repaired and rejoined fleet February 1942.

USS Tennessee, damaged repaired and rejoined fleet March 1942.

Source:  Pearl Harbor.org

Books about Pearl Harbor

Holiday 'Baking'

I don't do much cooking for the holidays, but I do like to make sweets.  Imagine that!  Today we are going to learn about ... sigh.  I really don't have a good name for these things.  They have a little bit of paraffin in the coating so my family calls them 'wax balls'.  Doesn't that sound yummy?  Yet they are the most-requested treat!  They are chockfull of goodness - crunchy peanut butter, coconut, butter, chopped dates, powdered sugar - all mixed up, rolled into balls and covered in melted chocolate chips.  With a tiny amount of paraffin in the chocolate to help keep that chocolate from melting.  OK, they're still a little melty.  Possible name: Chewy Chocolate-covered Peanut Butter Drops.  Which does not convey the deliciousness.  Any suggestions?

Cookbooks for Chocolate Treats