Tiny library puts the word out on the street

Another in the series "Libraries Aren't Just Buildings Anymore'.

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The Little Free Library sits on a post along 38th Street in Norfolk next to a white fence. It's planted at the edge of the garden of David Oliver and Tom Kirsch who say they got the idea for the free library from a story on NBC Nightly News about a year ago. A friend built the "library" using recycled material that includes an old desk drawer, PVC pipe, edging from a yard sale and a cereal bowl. (Bill Tiernan | The Virginian-Pilot)

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By Krys Stefansky
The Virginian-Pilot
© March 16, 2013

A week ago, a little house-shaped cabinet with a glass front door appeared on a post outside Eleise Theuer's home on Redgate Avenue in Norfolk. The hut on a pole is about as big as a dorm-room fridge, maybe a tad smaller.
A sign beneath says:
"Take a book - Leave a book
FREE LIBRARY
Read a book - Return a book."
Theuer filled it with old books for the first time last Saturday and waited to see what would happen.
"It's really funny," she said. "We call it 'the human bird feeder.' We sit in the window and watch it."
Theuer's curbside library soon got its first customer.
"Somebody took a sewing book by Lotta Jansdotter right away, and a classic. That night, five more books were missing. Then, the second day, we got 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' and some sort of Clive Cussler book. But more are going out than coming in so far," she said. "It's kind of exciting. It's like Easter every day, to see what's in there."
This book giveaway has a wider following than people walking in front of Theuer's house. Theuer has heard of another free book box in Norfolk on 38th Street, and the Woman's Day magazine on stands now contains an article and web address, LittleFreeLibrary.org, the Wisconsin-based nonprofit from which readers can download building plans for their own weatherproof sidewalk bookshelves and join in to promote literacy and book exchanges.
Theuer's husband, Jim, an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, heard about the organization. Eleise Theuer told her dad, Jim Bolton, who built the book cabinet for her with a chimney, painted red, and a shiny brass knob on its door.
By midweek, the little door had been opened and shut pretty often. A dozen books were gone. Theuer is fascinated by what people took, calling the experience an interesting anthropological study.
"I have a house full of boys, and they laughed at me for putting gardening books and sewing books in there, but they've gone first," she said.
"My husband likes military books, and a couple of those have gone. We're kind of competing to see what's popular."
Krys Stefansky, 757-446-2043, krys.stefansky@pilotonline.com

The Downton Abbey Music Experience

 A great blog post by Elise Babel from the public librarian publib listserv.  The music, including the now iconic Downton Abbey theme, is a wonderful way to continue to experience the series.  I have just ordered the first album for the library's collection.  Put a hold on it now!

When I first saw the popular TV series “Downton Abbey” on PBS’s “Masterpiece Classic” in winter 2010, I was drawn in by the opening theme song. As I continued to watch the series, I loved hearing the accompanying music. It had a supporting role in many scenes, reflecting the atmosphere and the time period of the series.  Whether you’ve been a regular viewer of the series or a newcomer, the soundtrack is available for your listening pleasure.

There are two soundtrack CDs. The first album, simply titled “Downton Abbey,” contains music for the first and second seasons and was released in 2011. It has 19 tracks which mostly are instrumental. Three songs are sung by Alfie Boe and Mary-Jess Leaverland. Boe sings two songs popular during the early 20th century; Mary-Jess sings “Did I Make the Most of Loving You” which is an original song.

The second album “Downton Abbey: The Essential Collection” was released last year. With 23 tracks, it includes music from the first two seasons (including a few tracks not on the first album) and from the new season. Rebecca Ferguson sings “I’ll Count the Days” which is an original song. Scala & Kolacny Brothers present their take of the popular songs “With or Without You” and “Every Breath You Take” originally by Sting and the Police respectively.

John Lunn composed the music for the series. Last year he won in the category of “Outstanding Music Composition for a Series” at the Primetime Emmy Awards.  The Chamber Orchestra of London performs under conductor Alastair King.

Notes on a very old page

As I’m listening, I can imagine some of the events in the show as the music plays. Depending on the track title, you can hear strong and upbeat themes while others are deep and somber. The orchestral music is beautiful and relaxing. On some tracks, the music is enhanced with synthesized material. My favorite track is “Downton Abbey–The Suite” which has the extended version of the show’s theme song.
I bought both albums as they were released.  Because I already had the first CD, I imported only the new tracks from “Essential Collection” on to iTunes on my Mac at home.
So while the series is over for the season, you can return to Downton Abbey through its music anytime.

Researcher says interest in zombies waxes, wanes to mirror societal dissatisfaction

I haven't been able to figure out the fascination with zombies.  A while ago, one of my book groups read 'The Passage' by Justin Cronin which was a 'Heather's Pick' on the Chapters.ca site.  I just didn't get it and only read it because it was a book group title.

 

The 'zombie' craze has hit new 'highs' (or 'lows') with the book genre 'Amish Zombie Romance'. The most incongruous fusion I have ever seen.  I don't know how (or if) the Amish fiction fans will embrace this.    

 

This article helped me understand why the zombie phenomenon is so big right now.  Many people are nostalgic for a past that was gentler and more civilized.  For our sakes, I hope the interest in zombies ends soon!   

Costumed actors, promoting the Halloween premiere of the AMC television series "The Walking Dead", shamble along the Brooklyn Bridge while posing for pictures in New York, in this Oct. 26, 2010 file photo. Clemson University English professor Sarah Lauro says people are more interested in zombies when they're dissatisfied with society as a whole. As of last year, Lauro said, zombie walks had been documented in 20 countries. The largest gathering drew more than 4,000 participants at the New Jersey Zombie Walk in Asbury Park, N.J., in October 2010, according to the Guinness World Records. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Mar 11, 2013 - 8:55 AM EDT
Last Updated: Mar 11, 2013 - 8:55 AM EDT

Meg Kinnard, The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Zombies seem to be everywhere these days.

In the popular TV series “The Walking Dead,” humans struggle to escape from a pack of zombies hungry for flesh. Prank alerts have warned of a zombie apocalypse on radio stations in a handful of states. And across the country, zombie wannabes in tattered clothes occasionally fill local parks, gurgling moans of the undead.

Are these just unhealthy obsessions with death and decay? To Clemson University professor Sarah Lauro, the phenomenon isn’t harmful or a random fad, but part of a historical trend that mirrors a level of cultural dissatisfaction and economic upheaval.

Lauro, who teaches English at Clemson, studied zombies while working on her doctoral degree at the University of California at Davis. Lauro said she keeps track of zombie movies, TV shows and video games, but her research focuses primarily on the concept of the “zombie walk,” a mass gathering of people who, dressed in the clothes and makeup of the undead, stagger about and dance.

It’s a fascination that, for Lauro, a self-described “chicken,” seems unnatural. Disinterested in violent movies or games, Lauro said she finds herself now taking part in both in an attempt to further understand what makes zombie-lovers tick.

“I hate violence,” she said. “I can’t stand gore. So it’s a labour, but I do it.”

The zombie mob originated in 2003 in Toronto, Lauro said, and popularity escalated dramatically in the United States in 2005, alongside a rise in dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq.

“It was a way that the population was getting to exercise the fact that they felt like they hadn’t been listened to by the Bush administration,” Lauro said. “Nobody really wanted that war, and yet we were going to war anyway.”

The mid- to late 2000s also saw an uptick in overall zombie popularity, perhaps prompted in part by the release of post-apocalyptic movies including “Dawn of the Dead” and “28 Days Later.”

As of last year, Lauro said, zombie walks had been documented in 20 countries. The largest gathering drew more than 4,000 participants at the New Jersey Zombie Walk in Asbury Park, N.J., in October 2010, according to Guinness World Records.

“We are more interested in the zombie at times when as a culture we feel disempowered,” Lauro said. “And the facts are there that, when we are experiencing economic crises, the vast population is feeling disempowered. … Either playing dead themselves … or watching a show like ‘Walking Dead’ provides a great variety of outlets for people.”

But, Lauro pointed out, the display of dissatisfaction isn’t always a conscious expression of that feeling of frustration.

“If you were to ask the participants, I don’t think that all of them are very cognizant of what they’re saying when they put on the zombie makeup and participate,” she said. “To me, it’s such an obvious allegory. We feel like, in one way, we’re dead.”

Parade’s End is HBO’s answer to Downton Abbey

Series about aristocrats during First World War debuts Feb. 26, starring Benedict Cumberbatch of Sherlock and Rebecca Hall of Vicky Cristina Barcelona

NICK BRIGGS / HBO

Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall in the miniseries Parade's End, which debuts on HBO Canada on Feb. 26.

By: Tony Wong Toronto Star Staff Reporter, Published on Tue Feb 26 2013

The veiled lives of the British ruling class are examined against the backdrop of the First World War. And there is plenty of scandal.

Sound familiar? For those suffering from Downton Abbey withdrawal now that Season 3 has wrapped, HBO is presenting Parade’s End, a five-episode BBC co-production that premieres Feb. 26.

PBS has had a major hit with Downton Abbey and HBO is all too aware that the public broadcaster is eating its lunch when it comes to British society drama. But then again, who would have thought British period television would be competing with CSI: New York for audience share?

There are some major differences of course. While Downton and Parade’s End happen at the turn of the century and span roughly the same time period, Parade is much more cinematic and sweeping in scope.

It’s based on English writer Ford Madox Ford’s tetralogy about the lives of the ruling class during the First World War.

Originally published as four separate novels, it has been hailed as one of the great works of British literature by fans including Graham Greene and W.H. Auden.

Parade’s End stars the ridiculously square-jawed British actor Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, War Horse) as Christopher Tietjens, an aristocrat trapped in a marriage to an unfaithful wife and an unexpected romance with a suffragette.

Like all great British soaps, it centres on class and morality. But Parade’s End works best as a dissertation on the erosion of the Edwardian ideal, as Tietjens’ outmoded sense of morality loses ground to a more pragmatic and cruel world.

Cumberbatch’s deep basso and trembling stiff upper lip are worthy of an Emmy in itself, as he alternates from a cartoonishly proper English gentleman to something more vulnerable and human as he struggles with honour, duty and self.

The standout though is Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), who plays his callous wife Sylvia with complete, scene-stealing abandon.

It’s hard not to compare this production with Downton Abbey. I found myself missing the marvellous interplay and clash of class between servant and master that makes Downton so compelling. There is far less of an Upstairs, Downstairs vibe to Parade’s End, a look at the society who decided when the trains would run, not the serfs who were shovelling the coal. But the serfs are frequently more interesting, especially when they’re usurping the master.

But bringing a 900-page series of novels to the screen was undoubtedly challenging.

And it took Britain’s (arguably) greatest living playwright, Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love), to tackle the job, especially since author Ford was rather fond of turgid prose.

“He had a passion deep and boundless like the sea . . . a thing the thought of which made your bowels turn,” is the way author Ford describes Tietjens’ developing love.

Focusing the sweeping plot lines was likely also problematic, since some of the scenes feel rushed and choppy as if Stoppard needed to get to the next tangent. The first three episodes are almost entirely devoted to the first book, leaving the last two episodes to tie up the knots.

Still, if you’re a Downton Abbey fan, Parade’s End is likely worthy of space on your PVR.