Thursday, July 30, 2009

Another Great Trivia Book


I unfortunately couldn't find the original 1994 edition cover for this entry, but I will tell you it contains all the classics; deer, cheese, baseball cards, fishing poles, duck decoy, pine bough, and beer.
I quizzed everyone I could find today at the Barrett Memorial Library, and most did pretty well on their Wisconsin trivia. Here's a special little quiz for you.
(1) Fonzie, Potsie, Ritchie, and Ralph were characters in what Milwaukee-based Tv comedy sereis that ran from 1974 to 1984?
(2) TSR, Inc. of Lake Geneva, founded in 1973, produces and markets what game?
(3) Who is the most famous person to graduate from UW-Superior?
Answers: (1) Happy Days (2) Dungeons and Dragons (3) Arnold Swarzenegger

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Let's Play


Since it's summer and the weather is great, I've been hitting the links like crazy. Golf to me is one fantastic way to spend an afternoon outdoors. I know what you're thinking, all I ever do is read, but on the contrary. I've been golfing since I was an early teen, but it wasn't until I got older and found I was missing something. My golfing career started out casually so I didn't get to learn the details of the rules. That is where this book really somes in handy for me.
Pop Quiz
It's a stroke play tournament and there's a wait on the first tee. A player in the next group to start passes time by shipping a couple of balls onto the tee. Is there a penalty? If so, what is it?
A ball lies just outside a bunker. A loose impediment in the bunker interferes with the player's stroke. Is this player entitled to remove the loose impediment?
A ball lies in the rough. The player removes a twig that lies about six inches behind the ball. The ball does not move. A few seconds later, as the player is selcting a club, a gust of wind causes the ball to move. Does the player incur a penalty?
It's a match. A's ball is near the hole, but he doesn't mark and lift it. His opponent B putts. B's ball strikes that of A, and into the hole goes A's ball. What's the ruling?
To find the answers, check it out at your local library.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

The Kitchen Linens Book



"We're shown how to apply a 1945 Butterick fabric transfer, and how to concoct Cousin Ann's crab pie. We're coached on how to glamorize breakfast, throw a tailgate, gather our friends for lunch, and entertain the extened family for Thanksgiving. We learn how to care for our linens; mix, match, and design with them; and, when necessary, reinvent them. In additon to showcasing her own vintage cloths and regaling us with personal commentary, Ellyanne shares the stories and cloth treasures she's gathered from friends and collectors around the country."

I know what you are thinking, I don't seem like the type to have such a penchant for antique linens, but indeed it is true. I love the colorful fabrics, and sundrenched hues in this book. Flip through it the next time you are in the Barrett Memorial Library.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Enormously Disturbing


This movie was so disturbing, in such a fantastic way.
King Corn is a feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast food nation. in King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the east coast, move to the heartland to learn where their food comes form. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified sees, nitrogen fertilizers, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America's most-productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow theri pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat - and how we farm.

This film will make you want to open your eyes to the food that we are eating.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

More Great Young Adult Books


I'm hooked and I can't wait until the next installment of "The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel".
The series is based on both history and fantasy. You will find it in the YA section. Yes, another YA fantasy that adults will also enjoy. Michael Scott weaves figures and history into a planned six-volume fantasy. Twins Sophie and Josh find themselves in London in the third book and their powers are growing. Their goal is to get to Stonehenge where a portal can take them back to San Francisco. But Dark Elders have other plans.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, their guardian Flamel's gifted wife Pernelle survives clouds of poinsous insects and attacks from the octopus-legged Old Man of the Sea to escape from Alcatraz Island. Master yarnspinner that he is, Scott expertly cranks up the suspense while keeping his now-large cast in quick motion. He also continues to blur the line between the two sides, injecting the notes of ambiguity that will leave readers wondering. Ending in a welter of revelations, reunions and unresolved plotlines, this page-turner promises plenty of action to come.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

True Mystery


I have always been fascinated with crop circles, everything about them really, who made them, why they are there, how are they so perfectly round. Lucky for me, I found this incredible book.
Now I was a fan of these crop circles, but I have never seen a crop snowflake. Have you ever seen a crop snake, or a crop triangle. Who would have thought that Aliens were such creative creatures. This is a book everyone should page through, absolutly stunning.
It is known that some fields have new crop art year after year. Polly Carson who has been accused of hiring 'forgers' to make designs in her crops year after year explains "We'd never be able to create anyting so perfectly beautiful!...There have been 'fakes' in their fields, Carson says, but 'They were very easy to tell from the other figures because of their shabby constuction."

Monday, July 13, 2009

The Truth About Diamonds



While scanning the shelves at the library a few days ago, I came across a familiar name, Nicole Richie. Now you might never have guessed it, but I am a huge "Simple Life" fan. I think it is one of the better reality shows to hit the airwaves, so think of my delite when I came across this book. I spent this last, rainy weekend engulfed in the drama that is this book.

The first time I stepped away from this book was at chapter 12, "The Mother of All Confrontations" and the book was finished before I put it down again.

The book, fiction with striking similarities to Richie's real life, is like reading an extended copy of any tabloid, light summer reading at it's best.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Please Mr. Jailor

Just when you thought we were running out of great material here at the libraray, we are rejunvenated by Inter-Library Loan.

This wonderful film, which I watched nearly a hundred times as a child, has recently come through the library again. This film has it all, car chaces, Rikki Lake, jailhouse dance sequences, tattoos, and of course Johnny Depp at his finest.

Cry-Baby is so full of excitement, I dont' want to ruin a thing. This is something you need to see for yourself, bound to be a family favorite.

Check it out today at Barrett Memorial Library.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Wholesome Family Adventure

Five kids. One Sea Lion.
The adventure of summer beckon to "The Stinkers", a group of mischievous misfits - so named by Mr. Brinway, the weary headmaster of the Summer Program at upscale Dartmoor Academy.
During a humdrum field trip to the Springcille aquarium, The Stinkers get the bright idea to kidnap Slappy the Sea Lion and return him to his ocean home. Unfortunately, there's another sea lion-napper on the premises, and he has other plans for Slappy's future...in a Bulgarian circus!
The Stinkers manage to get Slappy back to Dartmoor, only long enough for him to wreck havoc on Parent's Dayand get the Stinkers expelled...leaving the poor sea lion in the hands of the evil animal broker! The Stinkers will have to pull out all the stops to save Slappy from circus life and redeem themselves in the eyes of
Mr. Brinway!
Family film at it's finest.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

The Jewish American Princess Handbook

If this picture was bigger you would see all of these things on the cover.


"Oy Vey, Now it's our turn"

The first complete guide to this Meonite mystique. The Clothes, the Sotres and the Social Life.

"We're Not Spoiled, Just Selective."

This title includes essays on"

Cultivating Carats

Plastic Surgery Do's and Don'ts

The Care and Feeding of Fur

The Forbidden Fruits: Interfaith Dating

Jewish Mothers: How Much Guilt is Really Enough?

From Hair to Eternity, the Humidity Factor.

The Legacy of Spending Money. The Allowance:Gelt without Guilt. Proper Breeding. Six-Figure Dating. Shopping: Wholesale vs Retail. Collecting and Displaying Charge Cards. Scouting for schools (His not Yours). Majors for Husband Hunters. Theme Parties: bat Mitzvahs, Sweet Sixteen, Pledge Dances, sammies Shipwreck. TAB the All Occasion Beverage.

Let's Exercise Kids!


I'm guilty of it too, sitting around all day playing video games and getting no exercise. When the weather is nice it's easy to go outside and go for a nice long walk along the shore, but when it's raining for days I need to do something, move around a little bit. I fell in love with this video the very first time I saw it. These kids really motivate me to get moving.
Even more exciting is the warm-up DoDo bird, and the funky Kangaroo who make sure you don't quit. This lovely video also includes a work out in an enchanted rain forest with "the hottest tunes and dance steps ever seen on tv!"
Check it out today at Barrett Memorial Library