Archive for the ‘Books, Movies, and Music’ Category

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12
Dec
2011

Scream

by Jake Gauslow

Even if you don’t know it by name, odds are you recognize this painting:

It was originally done in 1893 by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, whose birthday is today (1863); between 1893 and 1910, he produced several different versions. Munch began painting in the middle of the Impressionist movement, but soon decided that it was too superficial and that it limited his ability to express himself. His new direction–deriving his works from highly personal, emotional expression–heavily influenced the Expressionist movement.

Interestingly, Munch’s works seem to be highly susceptible to theft. The Scream was placed in a special gallery for the 1994 Olympics, but was stolen on the opening day while security was, presumable, focused on the games. While it was eventually recovered undamaged, a different version of The Scream, along with another Munch painting, Madonna, was stolen from the Munch Museum in 2004. These thieves were more careless; both paintings were damaged, and The Scream could not be fully repaired. Finally, in 2005, several other Munch works were stolen from a hotel in which they were on display; one of these was damaged as well.

A few final pieces of trivia regarding Munch:

  • While American bank notes feature former presidents and other important figures in the founding of America, Norwegian ones feature important figures in the arts and sciences. Munch is on the 1000 Kroner note.
  • You’re probably familiar with the Scream movie series–the iconic mask from these films was based on Munch’s painting.
  • In 2006, while The Scream was still missing, the makers of M&Ms used the painting in an ad and offered a reward of 2 million M&Ms for its return; the paintings were returned within a few days. The company has offered to donate the cash value to the Munch Museum.

If you’re interested in reading more about Munch’s life, Sue Prideaux has written a biography entitled Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream. You’ll find it on the fourth floor in our biography collection.

Jake Jake Gauslow
Adult Services Librarian
jgauslow@friscotexas.gov

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24
Oct
2011

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na…Bob Kane!

by Jake Gauslow

Who?

While you may never have heard of Bob Kane (whose birthday we celebrate today), there’s no doubt that you’ve come across his work a time or two. In 1939, the 23-year-old comic book artist created a new character—the Bat-Man. Writer Bill Finger, who also worked in Kane’s studio, gave suggestions for changes to be made to the original idea, changing him from a Superman clone with red tights and wings to the scientist and detective who would become known as the Dark Knight and the Caped Crusader. Finger wrote the story, Kane provided the art, and Batman had his debut in Detective Comics (note the initials DC) #27 in May of 1939.

Now, several movies, an animated series, a campy 60s TV series, innumerable action figures, and countless comic books and graphic novels later, Batman is 72 years old. He has retired, died, returned, been cloned, gone through several sidekicks and nemeses, and had so many adventures that I can’t even begin to sum them up here. Fortunately for you, we’ve got plenty of ways for you to catch up on the action.

To the Batcave!

Jake Jake Gauslow
Adult Services Librarian
jgauslow@friscotexas.gov

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20
Oct
2011

Looking for Something Spooky?

by KatieBreithaupt

Check out our new video book reviews, just in time for Halloween!

 


KatieIcon Katie Breithaupt
Library Assistant
KBreithaupt@friscotexas.gov

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17
Oct
2011

It’s Time for Wheel! Of! Time!

by Jake Gauslow

Wait…what?

No, you’re not looking for Pat Sajak and Vanna White—that’s a different wheel. You’re looking for Robert Jordan—whose birthday we celebrate today—and Brandon Sanderson, who was drafted to finish Jordan’s epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time after Jordan’s death in 2007.

Jordan began writing the first book in the series, The Eye of the World, in 1984 and published it in 1990. He had conceived the series as a trilogy, but his editor, stating that Jordan had a tendency to run a little long, doubled it and gave him a contract for six books. Jordan eventually one-upped him and doubled the length again, aiming for a twelve-book series.

Just after finishing the eleventh book in the series, Jordan was diagnosed with terminal heart disease. While he fully intended to beat the odds, he also began preparing extensive notes so that another author could finish the series the way he wanted it to end if he was unable to complete it. After Jordan’s death in September of 2007, it was announced that that author would be fellow fantasy author and longtime fan Brandon Sanderson, who quickly realized that it was not one, but three books that he would be writing. Two of these have been released already.

As of today, The Wheel of Time spans thirteen books (plus a prequel), over eleven thousand pages, and over four million words! If you want to listen to the audiobooks instead, it’ll still take you about seventeen and a half days. You’d better get started right away—the final volume, A Memory of Light, is expected to add another 300,000 words to that total. You’ve still got some time, though; it’s not scheduled to be released until sometime in 2012. Come in and check them out—they’ll be on the fourth floor in the Science Fiction section.

If you’re interested in more about Robert Jordan’s life and work, you’ll want to check out the documentary The Wit of the Staircase: The Life and Work of Robert Jordan, which is scheduled to be released tomorrow.

Jake Jake Gauslow
Adult Services Librarian
jgauslow@friscotexas.gov

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15
Sep
2011

The End of the Nine Old Men

by Jake Gauslow

Quick, name all nine current Supreme Court justices! (OK, name as many as you can.)

Source: Wikimedia via the Oyez Project

Here they are:
Chief Justice: John G. Roberts
Associate Justices: Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan

How did you do?

I’ll give you partial credit if you mentioned any of these retired justices: John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, Sandra Day O’Connor.

I’ll give you extra credit if you have any idea why I’m asking you about Supreme Court justices in the first place.

Answer: 30 years ago today, the Senate Judiciary committee approved Sandra Day O’Connor’s nomination to the Supreme Court; she officially took her seat 10 days later. What’s so significant about that? That’s happened basically every few years for the last two centuries or so!

Why, yes, it has. BUT: When Sandra Day O’Connor was confirmed, she became the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, after nearly two hundred years of being an all-male institution! (Two years later, O’Connor somewhat famously replied to a New York Times editorial that had referred to the Supreme Court as “the nine men” who interpret the laws. We won’t get into a heavy political debate here, but whether or not you agree with any her opinions, her influence is hard to deny. Over the 25 years she served on the Supreme Court, she gained a reputation for being the deciding vote in many cases.

If you’re interested in further reading about Sandra Day O’Connor, here are some suggestions:

 

Jake Jake Gauslow
Adult Services Librarian
jgauslow@friscotexas.gov

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22
Aug
2011

Something Censored This Way Comes

by Jake Gauslow

Although it’s felt like it for well over a month now, the temperature outside is not actually 451 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s a good thing, too, because that’s the temperature at which paper burns, which would be disastrous when you tried to carry your books out to the car (not to mention when you tried to go outside yourself, or had to pay your electric bill).

If you’re thinking I totally knew that bit about paper burning at 451°, you probably have Ray Bradbury to thank (also possibly a degree in science). Now you know another Ray Bradbury fact: it’s his birthday (he’s 91). What better way to celebrate than by (re-)reading Fahrenheit 451, his classic novel about a world where all books are burned? Plus, it’s a great way to prepare to celebrate Banned Books Week, which is coming up about a month from now (more on that later).

One of the most entertaining ironies in literary history is the fact that, over the course of several years, the publishers of Fahrenheit 451 slowly censored something like 75 different passages, cutting out little bits that they feared might contaminate the minds of the young. It would have been a great practical joke, had they not been serious.

Or, if you’re not into dystopias, you can always try Something Wicked This Way Comes. Everyone loves coming-of-age stories centered around evil carnivals, right?

Jake Jake Gauslow
Adult Services Librarian
jgauslow@friscotexas.gov

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15
Aug
2011

Bon Appétit!

by Jake Gauslow

Trivia time!

Today’s topic: Julia Child (it’s her birthday—she would have been 99 today)

Question: Before she became famous as a TV chef and author of cookbooks, what was Julia Child’s profession?

Here’s a hint:

Still stuck? That’s the shoulder insignia of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the predecessor to the CIA. That’s right—she was a spy! While stationed in Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka), she met her husband, Paul Cushing Child. They eventually moved to Paris, where she attended Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and, with the help of two friends, began to write Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which is perhaps one of the most famous cookbooks ever written. From there, her fame snowballed, leading to many TV series, Emmy and Peabody awards, an appearance on the cover of Time magazine, and nearly 20 books!

If you’re interested in more details on her life as a spy, check out Jennet Conant’s A Covert Affair.

Or, if you want to know more about French cooking, we’ve also got Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Or maybe you’re not interested in cooking yourself, but you’d like to know about how someone else fared while trying to cook every single recipe in this book over the course of a year; if so, then Julie & Julia is the book for you.

Whatever your tastes are, we’ve surely got something for you! Bon appétit!

Jake Jake Gauslow
Adult Services Librarian
jgauslow@friscotexas.gov

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12
Aug
2011

Schrödinger’s Birthday

by Jake Gauslow

Perhaps you’re familiar with the paradox of Schrödinger’s cat; perhaps you’re not. Or, perhaps, if I hadn’t asked you, you would have been both familiar and unfamiliar with it at the same time…

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the physicist or his thought experiment, here’s a brief summary, minus all the complicated details:

  1. He won the Nobel Prize in 1933.
  2. He later came up with a thought experiment about quantum physics that involved a cat in a box that was simultaneously alive and dead—until someone looked in the box to check which it was.

Today is Schrödinger’s birthday, and to celebrate, I’d like to recommend Adam Felber’s Schrödinger’s Ball. It only pretends to be about quantum physics; mostly, it’s about being hilarious, and also sort of about the significance of our perceptions.

Jake Jake Gauslow
Adult Services Librarian
jgauslow@friscotexas.gov

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10
Aug
2011

Help Arrives

by Lori Carson

I read Kathryn Stockett’s The Help  over a year ago and have been anticipating its release on the big screen ever since.  Today is the day I—and probably millions of others—have been waiting for.

I have been preparing for this event for the last month.  Whenever I hear that a film based on a book that I like is coming out, I do four things.

  1. Re-read the book.  I usually wait until about a month or two before I plan to see the film to start reading the book again .  Sometimes several years may pass in between the time I originally read the book and the time the film arrives in theaters.  In this case, it’s only been a year, but I want it to be as fresh in my mind as possible.
  2. Check the local movie theater’s schedule and choose a time to go.  Buy tickets ahead of time if necessary.
  3. Invite friends along.
  4. Plan an after movie discussion group.   I love watching films and reading books.  I enjoy talking about them almost as much.  So, what could be better than reading a great book, watching the film, then discussing both with friends?  Answer:  Discussing the film and book with friends over coffee or tea!  Snacks are good, too, especially chocolate ones.

Here are some other movies based on books I have read that I am really looking forward to:

One For the Money  (January 27, 2012 release date) It should be highly entertaining to see the adventures of Stephanie Plum, Morelli, Ranger, Lula and Grandma Mazur on the big screen.  I can’t tell from the cast list who is going to play Rex the hamster, though.

 

Before I Go To Sleep (Release date TBD) If you like psychological thrillers, read this book.  Then go see the movie when it comes out.

The Hunger Games (March 23, 2012)  The books are amazing and the movie is going to be huge.  I am talking about the kind of huge in which people camp out for tickets to the premiere.  I won’t be bringing a sleeping bag myself, but I AM going to see it—perhaps just not as soon as the campers.

The Hobbit (Dec. 14 2012)  Speaking of camping out for tickets to the premiere….Tolkien and Peter Jackson.  Enough said.

 

I hope to see you at the movies.  I’ll be in the back row with popcorn.

Lori Carson Lori Carson
Material Services Librarian
lcarson@friscotexas.gov

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03
Aug
2011

#AwesomeBlogPost

by Jake Gauslow

If you’re not a Twitterer, tweeter, or any other demonym for members of the Twitter community, you probably have no idea what a hashtag is. That’s about to change. Basically, a hashtag is a way for people who use Twitter to categorize their tweets, much like the tags you see at the right of our blog. It uses the pound sign (#) followed by a short phrase with no spaces. Twitter keeps track of the most popular hashtags in real time, so users can see what other people are talking about at any given time (they call this “trending”). Recent news events have inspired trending hashtags like #Oslo and #AmyWinehouse.

Sometimes, people actually use hashtags for this purpose. Sometimes companies use them to keep track of entries to contests they hold on Twitter. Most of the time, people use them to play silly games where you have to come up with something that fits a certain topic. For the past day or so, a hashtag called #bookswithalettermissing has been popular. The idea is pretty simple: delete one letter from the title of a book to come up with a new, humorous title. A lot of people give a brief synopsis of the altered plot, as well.

Here are some of my own contributions (with links to the originals):

Of Mice and Me: The memoirs of Robert Burns (or Walt Disney).

Zorba the Geek: A young man trades his books for computer games.

A Wrinkle in Tim: One man’s memoir of getting older.

One with the Wind: A novel of the Wright Brothers.

Where Angels Fear to Read: Some of the most dangerous libraries in the world.

Around the World in Eight Days: The accelerated version of Jules Verne’s classic

The Lord of the Rigs: Biography of J.D. Rockefeller

The English Patent: A history of British inventions.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sins: A look at the darker side of Tweety Bird.

These are just a few of the ones I’ve come up with. Do you have any of your own? Leave them in the comments, or tweet them to us @friscolibrary!

Lori Carson Lori Carson
Senior Librarian
lcarson@friscotexas.gov
Jake Jake Gauslow
Adult Services Librarian
jgauslow@friscotexas.gov

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