Tomb of the Unknown Librarian

My co-worker, Sarah, discovered a freaky, dark yet not so sinister story scrawled inside the library’s copy of McKay’s Modern Portuguese-English English-Portuguese Dictionary by E. L. Richardson, M. de Lourdes Sa Pereira and Milton Sa Pereira, 1943, Reprinted March 1958. The story is an examination of a young anonymous girl’s infatuation with her Brazilian cousin, his reckless driving and the social constructs of ethnocentricity. It’s really not great writing but it is written across dozens of pages in the margins and whitespace of the letter headings. She deciphered most the handwriting. Page numbers and word entries are included in case there is some significance.

Story from the Portugese Dictionary

P.53 Brônquios to Cabeça

I’m afraid of speeding. A while ago in Brazil, specifically in 1990, I was with my cousin. We had just left from a birth day party and he

P.74 Cubatura to Dalém

was drinking but I didn’t know that.

P.107 Guarda-Vista to Heróico

I could see the clear blue ocean, shinning like an amethyst and emerald green trees lining the shores.

P.109 I to Impagável

I was sure that God was blessing us by creating such a picturesque place. I was feeling a good energy

going through my

body, as (more…)

I stumbled across a fun yet thoughtful picture book called Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth. Three siblings, Addy, Karl, and Michael discover a large panda bear holding an umbrella in their yard. As it turns out Stillwater is their neighbor. They quickly become friends as the large panda tells short, reflective Buddhist meditations. With each of Stillwater’s teachings, the illustrations change from attractive and colorful watercolor to simple, black brush/pen and ink drawings that are reminiscent of traditional Japanese art yet feature friendly animals that border on comics. At first glance, you might think the character’s depictions are pretty generic but Muth has really added subtle details that reinforce the kids’ unique personalities from Addy’s timid curiosity and sweetness to Michael’s exuberance. You might have heard the stories before, since they are adapted from Buddhist teachings, and one especially might border on pithy (or more hackneyed like something you would find in Who Moved My Cheese? 2.0) but the stories flow naturally and don’t seem the least bit forced. Great for storytelling themes for storytimes or for teaching children about looking at things from different perspectives.

Muth, Jon J. Zen Shorts. 2005. Scholastic: New York. LB $16.95. ISBN 0-439-33911-1

The Daily Show featured Janis Karpinski, author of One Woman’s Army about the amok at Abu Gharib and her career in the military rising to the rank of Brigadeer General before being demoted and quite likely scapegoated by the Bush administration.

Currently watching: Tivo / The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – October 28, 2005 – guest Janis Karpinski

The Book Standard, October 19, 2005, has an interesting article about Daniel Handler’s book tour by satellite at about 15 movie theaters around the country with a trivia contest and all. Now if only a bunch of public libraries could get in on an author satellite feed (cinemeeting) like this one.

Here is an excerpt:

This new satellite-broadcast solution was devised by HarperCollins and a company called National CineMedia, a venture of AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark USA, Inc. and Regal Entertainment Group, which operate close to 1,000 cinemas around the world. According to the company’s website, “one in every two households is within ten miles of one of these theatres.” For Handler’s event, 15 booksellers partnered with 15 movie theaters. Those who pre-ordered the book—which had a first print run of 2.5 million—from one of these stores, received a free ticket to the satellite event.

If it was a streaming web event, or even if the library partnered with the theaters to provide tickets– I know it is designed to sell books– the payoff would be enormous for the publisher in terms of marketing goodwill.

Currently reading: The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket