I had no expectations when I sat down to watch the movie (500 ) Days of Summer. I’d actually even forgotten that the film’s director is from Madison. (How could I forget that with so many Madison press reports on that fact? I guess I’ve been busy lately.)
At any rate, I can honestly say my enjoyment of the movie had nothing to do with the Madison connection. The movie engaged me in a way few do these days and resonated long after I’d turned off the DVD player.
It took no longer than the opening credits to draw me in. Regina Spektor’s song was coupled with clips from the childhoods of both main characters. Showing the “home movie” style clips side by side while playing the song Us struck me as brilliant.
I found the execution, acting, and soundtrack first-rate in this coming-of-age story. Almost everything seemed authentic. I’m not a guy…but I could feel Tom’s struggle as if it were my own. Best of all were the nuggets of wisdom in the telling of the timeless story of unrequited love. What you remember may not be what happened. Your mind’s eye sees what it’s ready to comprehend. Growth comes in stages. The kind of growth that changes a person can be extraordinarily painful. And, mercifully, time heals.
The non-linear way the story was told was innovative. The split screens were technically well executed and artful..especially the scene that showed Tom’s expectation versus his reality. I watched that scene several times so I could fully appreciate the craft of telling two very different stories simultaneously.
The director, Marc Webb, grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and graduated from West High School. He talks about the movie here. I thought this interview with Webb provided depth and gave an interesting perspective. I did some reading about the movie and then I watched the video commentary. I’ve never done that before. Hearing the writers, director, and actor comment on the scenes gave me a deeper appreciation for what they accomplished by turning a pretty simple tale into a touching movie.
The library owns it on DVD. (It’s rated PG-13 and definitely contains sexual material and language not suitable for children.) You can find it in the SHARE catalog.
As I was investigating some of the products on my Christmas giving list, I did research on Consumer Reports online.
The library has a subscription to Consumer Reports online and you can log in with your library card number from here. Doing so allows you access to the full range of information instead of just the basics.
Read reviews from the experts who do careful research and report on it without influence from advertisers. The website also offers opinions from people (like many websites do now) which can give you additional insight before making a purchase. The online version isn’t a carbon copy of the magazine, it contains unique content, keyword searching ability and other nifty features. I still love reading the magazine. However, the website allows you to search the compiled information all at once as opposed to scouring through stacks of magazines.
If you are looking for information on how to make a decision on what to buy, how the products compare, or market pricing…this is the resource you’ll want to explore!
There is a chill in the air again. For my family, that means the season for soups has finally arrived. I have found the perfect book full of inspiring new recipes to try. You won’t forget the title if you are a soup lover like me … LOVE SOUP: 160 all-new vegetarian recipes from the author of The Vegetarian Epicure, Anna Thomas. I made the pea soup last week and it was wonderful. Just a touch of thyme and paprika gave the soup a whole new flavor. The author also includes wonderful recipes for side dishes that can be served with the soups, like warm breads and fresh salads. There is a soup for every season and every veggie in your garden. Soup isn’t just for winter anymore. I don’t acutally have to wait for that nip in the air to make my favorite comfort foods. Anna’s book is on my Christmas list this year; you might want it on yours, too!
One of the most popular sessions at the annual Wisconsin Library Association conference is a panel presentation on new technologies or applications for use in the library. That is partly due to the playful, humorous presentation of the librarians but also because they share their experiences with some useful and fun products. This week one of my tasks was to get the photos from the Lorine Niedecker Wisconsin Poetry Festival onto the Niedecker Web site. I sat down to work on it but I just wasn’t in the mood to have to format lots of pictures and code them into the Web page, etc. etc. First I thought I would use the library’s Flickr account, but being unable to quickly remember the login, I recalled a description of a photo management/sharing Web site from the conference. I went back to look at my notes and there it was “Picasa.”
Picasa is free photo editing software from google. Rather than simply working with an online application, with Picasa you need to download the software to your computer. The download went smoothly so I started working with my collection of 44 photos. I had to mess with the program a little to be able to find the photos that were stored on the library’s server, not on my computer. Once I was able to access the server and obtain the photo collection I was given the ability to do a variety of edits. I was able to view and discard the blurry photos, rotate the ones that were sideways, correct a variety of photo attributes and add captions. I could also save the photos in a variety of sizes for different uses. Picasa also has the capability of making a movie from your photographs.
Once I had the photos the way I wanted them I selected the ones to display and dragged them to a collection. From there I simply hit the upload button. I was able to label these photos as “public” so that I could make them easily available. Take a look at the results. The photos can be viewed individually or seen as a slide show. It is also possible to keep your photo albums private. Once the photos were uploaded, Picasa gave me the code to embed on the Niedecker Web page, greatly simplifying that job. All in all, Picasa is a useful photo editing site with enough features to keep most photographers happy.
Grooveshark is an online music service that allows you to sample different music for free (or pay a small fee for the ad-free version). Fresh from a legal settlement, Grooveshark’s 
audience is growing daily. The LA Times points out that Grooveshark is about enabling people to sample and discover new music artists, giving folks the ability to share their discoveries with friends.
With an easy-to-use interface, a very good search engine, and a great recommendation system, Grooveshark has the potential to keep you exploring music on your computer way too long.
According to Wikipedia, Grooveshark doesn’t have any Beatles music. But it does have quite an extensive catalog. Also, it has more than just music. I just finished listening to Bill Cosby’s Revenge. I hadn’t heard that since I was a little girl. It was just as funny all these (many) years later!
I just finished reading I’m Off, Then; losing and finding myself on the Camino de Santiago by Hape Kerkeling and I too am ready to venture down the Camino de Santiago but not sure if I would survive the arduous 500 mile pilgrimage. Looking at the 20 percent increase of pilgrims since the 2006 publication of this book; Kerkeling has had this inspiring influence on many. I have seen the Pyrenees Mountains in Spain while traveling in comfort by train along the northern coast of Spain but never ventured out on a hike in them. It is hard to fathom the pilgrimage to the Spanish shrine of St. James that the author took by foot from Saint-Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compestela in 6 weeks carrying a 25 pound backpack all the way. Hape is one of Germany’s most famous comedians and he shares his tale in a very appealing journal style. The description of fellow pilgrims, both the weird and the wonderful, and the description of the sites to see, some planned and others unexpected were very entertaining. I loved how he ended each day’s entry with a little nugget of knowledge gained along the way. I couldn’t help but imagine what nuggets would follow my own entry if I were to follow his path. My favorite day was on July 3, 2001 when Hape Kerkeling met God. I wanted more detail, deeper insights but he was not forth coming. I’m just glad he made this discovery, better late than never.
Do you need a break from bloodsucking love stories, ghostly friends or hairy man-wolves? If you are between the ages of 9 to 99, then I have some suggestions for good teen/young adult books that may kick-start and inspire your imagination in a new way.
A Year Down Under, A Long Way from Chicago, and A Season of Gifts all by Richard Peck.
These books tell the story of Grandma Dowdel and the families she meets. Full of humor and satisfying endings, these books are truly books that should not be overlooked by any age reader!
Cabin on Trouble Creek and Oregon Bound by Jean Van Leeuwen
Cabin on Trouble Creek tells the true story of 2 brothers in the middle 1800s left alone for a winter on the new homestead. Their story of survival is sure to be of interest to many readers!
Oregon Bound tells a fictionalized story of a young girl traveling in a covered wagon with her family in the 1800s. She is a plucky girl who helps her family and others through the long trek.
Faith, Hope, and Ivy Jean by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Two girls in high school in our modern times participate in a switch. They spend 2 weeks going to school and living in opposite types of families., alternating in the city and in a small mountain town. Well written and full of wonderful characters, both good and bad.
Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan
A young girl living in Africa with her parents faces illness, death and ruthless relatives. This book is a can’t miss!
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman
It is Gold Rush!! How Lucy finds a way to accept moving to a place with no school, no library and nothing but dust and noise is delightful.
Alligator Bayou by Donna Jo Napoli
I had never heard of the Italian immigrants who settle in Florida and Louisiana until I picked up this book. It is a book about acceptance of others and the surprising kindness of people.
Bound by Donna Jo Napoli
This book is fascinating as it tells the story of life in China when young girls were forced to have their feet bound. This was considered beautiful to the people in that era. This story is touching, sad, and wonderful!
Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have by Allen Zadoff
This book tells the story of an overweight high school boy trying to find his place in the world. He is funny and smart. He is asked to join the football team and becomes a hero for a while! Read this book to discover just what can happen the “fat kid” in high school!
Another Shore by Nancy Bond
One of my all time favorites that tells of a young girl visiting a reenactment museum who finds herself caught in the past.
Wintergirls, Speak, Prom, and Fever 1793 all by Laurie Halse Anderson
This is one of my favorite Young Adult authors. All of these books deal with real life problems in a way that reaches all ages. These books, in turn, cover young girls dealing with eating disorders, assaults, dating, and the Plague.
It may not seem like it now but winter weather could be just around the corner. November 9 – 13 is Winter Weather Awareness Week in Wisconsin. (That’s a lot of w’s.) It’s a good time to make sure you know where your ice scraper, snow shovel and warm clothes are.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation Travel Information site is useful for tracking winter driving conditions in Wisconsin. The National Weather Service’s Office of Climate, Water and Weather Services has this page of useful information including the temperature and precipitation outlook, weather forecasts and warnings, awareness/preparedness articles and historical winter storm data. A few minutes of preparation could make a difference for you and your family. Have a safe winter!
Over the years, I’ve learned the importance of seeking out books, music, movies, websites that make me laugh, bring joy, or inspire hope.
One of my favorite happiness boosters is reading from Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project. You can go to her web site and learn much about happiness. 
Her book, fittingly titled The Happiness Project ,will be published in late December 2009 (we’ve got it on order already). For now, you can explore the resources she’s sharing on her website. I subscribe to her blog posts and enjoy her daily. Her posts are generally thought-provoking and well supported by references to literature or studies.
Her post today struck me so I clicked on all the links and read the related posts. One of them discusses the importance of and need for a person to feel that he or she is growing. I know this to be true for myself and I see how it so clearly relates to our library’s mission…as well as our Foster Growth capital campaign slogan. (See how I can relate most everything back to that?!)
With a great cast of characters and a plot worthy of any hero’s quest, Into the Beautiful North is a story that will stick with you. Nayeli is a young woman in the small Mexican town of Tres Camarones, working at a taco stand and hanging out with friends. When the drug bandits arrive to threaten the citizens of Tres Camarones, she looks around for the men who will protect the town, realizing that except for the little boys and old men, they have all gone north. This includes Nayeli’s father who left years before. Inspired by her Aunt Irma’s Yul Brynner film festival and the movie “The Magnificent Seven”, Nayeli develops a plan to go north and find 7 Mexican men to bring back to Tres Camarones.
Joined in her quest by her goth friend nicknamed “Vampi”, another girlfriend Yoloxochitl, and their gay friend Tacho, Nayeli leads the group into “Los Yunaites.” On their journey they will find friends, kind strangers, trouble and adventure. Urrea infuses this story with a genuine sense of humor and irony. The characters are people you won’t forget.
I listened to the audio version of this story. It is read by Susan Ericksen who does an admirable job with the vocabulary as well as the voices of the many characters.
Connie Meyer
Sandy Wagenpfeil
Kelli Rowley
Shelly Menzer
Amy Lutzke
Bev Tucker