Summer is Here!

School's out and summer has begun (okay, officially it is still four days off, but once school's out, summer is here). The place to be cool this summer is the Mukwonago Community Library. There is simply tons of cool, "wet" and "watery" things happening here during June, July and August-- the theme this year is "Make a Splash at the Mukwonago Library".

Next week alone we have a Pirate Pajama Party at 6:30 pm on Tuesday the 22nd. The next morning, join us at 10 am for "Silly Songs and Stories." Teens can play many of their favorite Wii games in the afternoon, 1:30-3:30 pm on Wed., June 23. That night, you can be a detective, or a suspect, in the Library's Murder Mystery Party: Hulas and Homicides, 6:00-8:30 pm. Thursday is lapsit storytime at 10 am, then Ocean Origami for grades 4-8 at 2:00 pm.

And those are just the one-time events. The weekly reading challenges are ongoing throughout the summer, with separate challenges for children, teens and adults. Join in the fun and you could win a cool prize in one of our raffles. Story and drawing challenges are also underway-- tell us about "The One That Got Away," or draw a sea monster. And we have a "Guess How Many Origami Frogs" contest open to children as well.

Later in the summer, we'll have our Second Annual Recipe Contest, a bunch of cool movies-- with water/fish themes, and a Hula dance troupe. Visit our Youth Services and Adult Services web pages for a full listing of what's going on. Or, stop in to the library and pick up our brochures that give a full listing of the special events and activities available throughout the summer.

Make Waves this summer-- at the Mukwonago Community Library!

Self-Check is Here!

The new self-check unit is installed and open for business! Just scan your library card, then scan your books and other materials one and a time, and voila, you are done. The unit will tell you your account status and print out a receipt for all of your check-outs. It's simple and fun!

Rant or Rave: The World Below

This is a Rant or Rave that I am surprised to be writing. Sue Miller is not "my kinda author". Frankly, though I had heard her name on a few occasions at the library, I really didn't know who she was, nor what kinds of books she wrote. It is sometimes difficult to break me out of my norms of historical fiction, classics, science fiction & fantasy and non-fiction. Certainly, if I was consciously to step outside those norms, I doubt Sue Miller would've even been on my list of potential authors to explore. Certainly, she would not have been near the top of that list.

Funny thing happened on the way to forum-- I heard Sue Miller speak at the Milwaukee Public Library Spring Literary Luncheon. More, I heard her read from her latest book, The Lakeshore Express. And I was impressed and engaged. Far more so than I expected. She was quite charming and interesting, and her book was good. Very good, actually.

So, upon returning to the Mukwonago Community Library, I checked to see if we had any of Ms. Miller's works on audiobook. And, lo and behold, we had The World Below on CD. And, lo and behold, it was good. Really, really good.

Oh, there are bits and pieces that don't quite fit, especially at the beginning, and there are a few places where the narrator describes events from the past in a level of detail and specificity far beyond what she could actually know about those events. But these are minor quibbles. The World Below references the human ability, skill and foible both, to present one version of yourself to the world, while maintaining a quite different perspective and history hidden below the surface. Known only to a few, and visible to others only at rare moments when circumstances are just right.

It resonated strongly with me, perhaps because from time to time, I find myself wondering what if? What if I had gone to prom with someone else? What if I had pursued a different course of study in college? What if I hadn't grown up in the country? What if, what if, what if? The World Below echoes those What Ifs, explores the ways we justify things in our past. Paper over some of the hurts and what ifs that didn't go at all the way we expected them to. It is a rich, deep look into human nature, particularly into the worlds we all create-- one on the surface, and one (maybe more) below.

The World Below is not an easy book. It twines together the life stories of several generations of one family, and following who is where is why is when can be challenging. But it is most definitely worth investing the necessary time and energy to fully appreciate. As an added bonus, it also does have a historical fiction section, as Miller's descriptions of Georgia Rice's stay in a Maine tuberculosis sanitarium added much to my understanding of what it must have been like to have TB in the early 20th century. I know of diseases like TB and polio, of course, but in a hypothetical "gee, that sounds bad" sort of way, rather than through any personal experience. Miller vividly transforms that theoretical understanding into something much more profound and personal with her elegant narrative.

It is a fine, fine book. Once I return from my current jaunt back into the classics (Great Expectations), I will give The Lakeshore Limited a read to see if it is as good, or better. Anyone else have any feedback on Sue Miller's work?

Budget Simulator

The size and growth of our nation's debt is an issue of concern to many, regardless of political affiliations or ideological preference. If you'd like to try your hand at reducing America's debt and developing a fiscally responsible federal budget, then go to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's (CRFB) new budget simulator and give it your best shot.

It's an interesting exercise, and provides a pretty good overview of the areas where reductions can be achieved (though it makes no provisions for the actual political or social/cultural impacts of the various choices).

Scoopie Night for the Library

Plan your dinner for Monday, May 24 at the Mukwonago Culver's, where 10% of your purchase will benefit the library's expansion and renovation project. In addition, library volunteers (myself and other staff members included) will be serving food during the promotion.

This event is only from 4:30 to 7:30 pm, so lunch at Culver's that day won't help the library (though the food will no doubt be tasty). You will need a flier for us to get credit, which you can print out here. Additional fliers will be available at Culver's that night.

Come out for butter burgers and frozen custard on Monday night and help the library out at the same time-- Win/Win!

Self-Check Coming!

The library has ordered a self-checkout station, and it should be installed before the start of the Summer Reading Programs. This station will allow you to check out materials by simply scanning your card, then scanning the items you wish to check out. The process is very similar to the machines they now have at many grocery, department and home improvement stores.

Waukesha, New Berlin and many other libraries around the state and the country are using these stations, and all report that their customers find them easy to use and very convenient. The new checkout station will be just to the east of the circulation desk, where one of the catalog access computer stations is right now.

Holds, ILL and video game items will still need to be picked up at the circulation desk, but the rest of our materials should be able to be checked out at the new station once it is up and running.

Rant or Rave: Dracula

In my continuing quest to catch up on "classic literature" that I should've read in high school or college, but didn't, I listened to Dracula last month. It was quite good, though if it weren't the first vampire novel, I doubt it would have lasted this long and generated so much follow-up literature. Parts of it are terribly melodramatic, in the 19th century tradition of idealized romance and British propriety, while a few parts make you roll your eyes at the obtuseness of the main characters.

Obtuse until you remind yourself that the characters aren't steeped in vampire lore, the way much of the western world is. The concept that Count Dracula could form from fog, or transform into a bat, or command wolves was brand new to everyone when Bram Stoker wrote Dracula in 1897. So, you can forgive the main characters most of their complete blockheadedness in regards to the Count's activities.

Three interesting tidbits from Dracula that I had no idea about before reading it:

• It is written entirely in the form of diary entries, newspaper articles and personal narratives. There is no "omniscient author". It gives the novel a very different feel than we are used to today, and also provides a fascinating glimpse into turn-of-the-century British mores and customs.
• In addition to introducing the concept of vampires into popular culture, as well as the singularly evil Count Dracula, the novel also introduced the world to the stereotypical insane asylum resident, often caricatured in cartoons. In the novel, the patient Renfield plays a significant role, and Stoker's depiction of his psychosis and reaction to the proximity of the Count are clearly the inspiration for many portrayals of a "typical" madman on stage and screen.
• Dracula also introduced the character of Van Helsing to the world. A dutch doctor who also happens to be familiar with the legends and myths of the eastern European lands. Van Helsing, though physically vibrant for his age, is far more intellectual and philosophical in Dracula than he is often portrayed as in later movies. Certainly NOT like the ripped, action-figuresque Hugh Jackman from the 2004 film.

The ending to Dracula is a bit abrupt, and far too conveniently coincidental for my tastes, but overall it is quite a fun read. In addition to the main storyline, the novel also provides some interesting insight into the culture, beliefs and science of its time. A fascinating century-plus long look backwards. So-- a fairly enthusiastic Rave for Dracula.

Back in the Saddle Again

Sorry for the long pause in posting. April wound up being a very busy month. Lots of programming and events, coupled with a significant increase in expansion project activity. April saw Spring Break week, Earth Day activities and more.

May will be busy too, partly in preparation for our Summer Reading Program challenges and events, but also with its own fun events. Registration for the children's and adult's summer reading challenge begins June 1, with the kickoff date of Monday, June 14. Join in the fun! This year's theme is a beach/water-related one, with Make A Splash @ the Mukwonago Community Library for the kids and Ride the Title Wave @ the Mukwonago Community Library for our adult patrons.

Join us Monday, May 24 between 4:30 and 7:30 at the Mukwonago Culver's for Scoopie Night. Bring along a flier and 10% of your order will be donated to the library's expansion fund. Copies of the flier are available to be printed off of our website. Details on the expansion project and its progress are available here.

Several Rant and Rave segments to come, as I have been listening and reading during the past month, just not posting as much (okay, at all). For details on other summer events and programs, be sure to check out our Youth Services web page and our Adult Services web page. You can also follow us on Facebook.

Food For Fines

Coming in May: Our second Food For Fines drive. For each non-perishable food item received, we will reduce your fines by $1.00. The maximum reduction is $20, and the reduction does not apply to lost items or fines from other libraries.

Expired food will NOT be accepted.

The drive runs from Monday, May 10 through Saturday, May 15.

Food will be donated to the two Mukwonago Food Pantries.

Stuff this Week

A busy week, so my apologies for not posting more and providing more advanced notice-- remember, you can always check our online calendar to see what's happening as well. So, it the spirit of better late than never, here's a breakdown of the remaining Spring Break week at the library:

• Tonight, Tuesday April 6: Job Hunting Workshop; 6:30-7:45
• Tomorrow, Wednesday April 7: Pigeon Party-- fun and games for K-2nd graders; 2:00 pm
• Thursday, April 8: Mad Hatter Tea Party-- enjoy tea and crumpets while make a mad creation; grades 7-12, 2:00 pm
• Friday, April 9: Game day-- we'll have a Wii station (but only one), and a variety of board games.

Next Tuesday, April 13, LaBak the magician will be here for an evening of magic and fun, starting at 7:00 pm.

Join us at the library!

Rant or Rave: Uncle Tom's Cabin

As part of my "Catching up on all the books I probably should've read when I was younger but somehow never got around to," tour of literature, I recently read Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Classic title, about which I knew next to nothing except that it was vehemently anti-slavery and had a major impact on the abolition movement in the mid-1800s, culminating ultimately in the Civil War. That's about it. Things I did not know about Uncle Tom's Cabin:

• It was the best-selling novel of the 19th Century, selling over 300,000 copies in its first year of publication, and the second-best selling book to the Bible.
• It was made into a multitude of different plays and dramatic performances during the second half of the 19th Century, none of them authorized by Harriet Beecher Stowe.
• That there was a controversy regarding Stowe's descriptions of southern slave life since she never actually visited any southern plantations, relying instead on written narratives and interviews with escaped slaves.
• My understanding that the Uncle Tom character of the book was a race traitor, a figure to be scorned, even a villain, came from the unauthorized plays and 20th Century literary criticism, not from the book itself.

The writing in Uncle Tom's Cabin is good. Not great, but good. Actually, at its best it is great, but the book is quite uneven-- some sections are extremely engaging and well-written, while others suffer from either heavy-handed "preaching" from the author or over the top melodramatic prose.

But while Stowe's actual writing is inconsistent, the story and the subject of the book are not-- her vivid depiction of the evils of slavery, the negative, nearly inconceivable harm it did to so many people-- comes through brilliantly. To get a true sense of what slavery was like as little as 150 years ago, read this book.

So, a nearly unqualified rave for Uncle Tom's Cabin. It is a powerful, generally well-written and engaging story that will give you a new appreciation for just how awful an institution slavery was, and is, in our world. The only qualification is to be aware that at times the author does interject herself too much into the narrative-- telling, rather than showing-- and this can be distracting and annoying on occasion.

Final note-- if anyone ever calls you an Uncle Tom, simply smile at them and say "thank you." It will likely confuse them, and then you can tell them that Uncle Tom was a compassionate, kind and spiritual man, who always helped others and sacrificed himself to protect others from harm and injustice. Stowe's book is a Christian book, strongly grounded in 19th Century Protestant Theology, and Uncle Tom is in many ways a Christ-like figure. Never violent, willing to bear physical and emotional wrongs stoically to help others with the support of his faith, Uncle Tom is not a race traitor or a subservient whipping boy. He is a strong, principled man who doesn't compromise his beliefs even when it costs him severe beatings.

Signs of Spring

It was quite pleasant out this afternoon-- sunny, low 40's, hint of warmth and growth on the breeze. Rotund rodent from Pennsylvania to the contrary, it seems that maybe spring is at least dabbling its toe in the waters around this area. Felt good.

Some other signs that spring is preparing to enter, stage right:

• The first baseball game of spring training was on the radio yesterday. What a treat and a thrill to hear Bob Uecker's unmistakable commentary-- Brewers fans are lucky to have Mr. Baseball calling their games. He will be missed when he retires.
• Girl Scout cookies have arrived! As a hopeless addict of the Thin Mints, the day of delivery for those yummy little cookies is always a happy one.
• The first green sprouts can be seen, here and there. Daffodils, I think, but I'm not certain-- I don't have a brown thumb, but it isn't green, either.
• The college basketball season is winding down, with March Madness visible in the distance.

Spring isn't my favorite season, but I do enjoy the sense of rebirth and new possibilities it brings after the cold and huddled indoorsness of winter. 50 degrees or bust!

Bad Predictions Review

During the NFL football season, I enjoy reading Gregg Easterbrook's weekly column Tuesday Morning Quarterback at espn.com. After the football season is over, I love his annual Bad Predictions Review column-- because many of the things the so-called "experts" and "pundits" predicted were so horribly wrong! And because experts and pundits rarely get called to the carpet for their really awful predictions-- though many are quick to highlight the predictions they nailed.

The whole column is a blast to read, but here are a few of the predictions that were particularly awful, and amusing:

Tom Curran of MSNBC forecast Percy Harvin as a draft bust: Harvin was Offensive
Rookie of the Year.

John Clayton of ESPN Predicted:

... a Super Bowl of Steelers over Giants; neither team made the playoffs. He
used an incredibly scientifically advanced formula to predict the Bears,
Bills, Browns, Redskins, Seahawks and Texans would make the playoffs; none did.
Clayton forecast the Saints to finish 8-8; they won the Super Bowl. He said the
Jets would finish 6-10; they reached the AFC Championship Game.

For kicks, there are some horrendously wrong non-football picks included in the column as well. Including this beauty:

In 2002, Joseph Stiglitz, who had just won the Nobel Prize for Economics, and
Peter Orszag, who is now director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote this paper which concludes "the risk to the government from
a potential default on [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] debt is effectively zero."
Stiglitz and Orszag claimed to have used a computer model to run "millions of
potential future scenarios" and found there could never be any situation in
which taxpayers were harmed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans. So far, the
Fannie-Freddie bailout has cost taxpayers $112 billion, with a potential
ultimate loss to taxpayers of $1.9 trillion.

Aye Carumba! Anyway, check out the whole thing. It is well-worth the read, even if you aren't a football fan.

Rant or Rave: Star Trek

Yes, I'm a little behind the times, but I finally got a chance to watch last year's "reboot" of the Star Trek series. It was an enjoyable film all the way around, with some good acting, an interesting recasting of the origins of Captian Kirk, Mr. Spock and the rest of the gang.

I was skeptical at first when nearly all of the original crew members of significance meet, or already know each other, before being assigned to the Enterprise. But after it becomes clear that this is an alternative future and not meant to be the exact past of the original series it makes more sense. As with most time travel scenarios, it doesn't necessarily make complete sense, because we don't even know that time travel is possible, much less how it actually works, but it is believable enough to allow the suspension of disbelieve and to enjoy the show.

The visual effects are terrific, the bad guy is pretty good, though not on a par with Khan or the Borg, the two best bad guys in the Star Trek universe, and the plot holds together pretty well. Toss in some good to very good acting and a pretty well-written script and you've got a fun new addition to the Star Trek pantheon. A guest appearance by Leonard Nimoy is very good, and the way that Scottie is re-introduced to the crew is quite fun.

Ovearll, the film does a nice job of retaining the core "feel" of the original series and Enterprise crew while still re-imaging enough of the original show connections (Spock and Kirk despising each other, Sulu as a martial artist as well as a navigator, etc.) to keep things fresh. The time travel scenario is a little strained, but less so than most time travel storylines-- you can tell the writers put some time into thinking through how time travel might actually work and to incorporate that into the plot.

So, a fairly strong rave for Star Trek. As a definite Trekkie (as opposed to a Star Warsian), I enjoyed it a lot and look forward to future storylines in the alternative timeline established in this film. Will they revisit some of the Enterprise's more memorable encounters, but with a different dynamic to the crew and some variations to the ultimate outcomes? Or, just develop brand new adventures? Either way, it could be a lot of fun and I hope future films are as good or better than this one.

New Book Cart!

The March book cart is now open for business-- this month brought to you by The Three Stooges! Yes, it is idiots and dummies month, wherein we feature many, though not all, of the Complete Idiot's Guide to... and the ... for Dummies books. We have Complete Idiot's Guides to financial planning, natural remedies, job interviews, chemistry and much more. Or, if you prefer, Raising Chickens, Acrylic Painting, and Beekeeping for Dummies (not all in one book-- those are three separate titles. Though a Raising Chickens and Bees While Painting with Acrylics for Dummies book would be interesting!).

There's a lot of great titles available in these two series, so check out the cart and see if we can help unidiotify or dedummy you on some topic you've always wondered about but never explored. Personally, I'll be checking out Facebook for Dummies when it comes back in. Possibly The Complete Idiot's Guide to Speed Reading in the meantime.

Reference Librarians rock it again!

Recently, a patron told me "I wanted a picture of my great grandfather's tombstone (located in a far western state) that was located on private property. The person I contacted about it wanted TEN DOLLARS for the picture! When I told Mary Jo, Reference Librarian Extraordinaire, she said...."Let me work on it." Within a short time, she had obtained the same full color picture for me for free!"
Hidden behind the librarian's (usually) mild exterior lies a tremendous resource. There is no question about the veracity of the popular bumper sticker:
Ask and a Librarian will tell you where to go!

Brett Favre: Top 5 Ever?

So on the eve of the Super Bowl, it is always interesting to talk about who is the greatest at various positions, with quarterback being the most intriguing. Completely un-library related, but still a good topic to debate-- is Brett Favre one of the five greatest QBs of all time?

Interesting question, one that was debated on the local sports radio program last week. My take on it? In a word, No. He's a great QB, probably top 10 all time, but there are two factors that take him out of the running for top 5. 1) He holds the record for most Interceptions all-time. Partially a factor of his longevity, yes, but more a function of factor 2) The dude is too reckless, too impulsive, too much of a gunslinger to be rated at the same level as Joe Montana, Peyton Manning and Johnny Unitas.

The latest meltdown in the NFC Championship Game pretty much illustrates the point-- no, it was not Favre's fault that the Vikings put the ball on the ground as many times as they did, but once they started doing that, once the game was close despite the Vikings superior overall play, he felt the need to make a play. Force a play. And he did. And it probably cost the Vikings a trip to the Super Bowl.

A veteran QB, a future first-ballot Hall-of-Fame QB, has to know, simply has no excuse not to know, that the one thing you can't do is turn the ball over. At the end of the game, in field goal range, you simply must not give the ball away or take a sack that takes you out of field goal range. But Favre tried to make a play, to "sling it" into a place that he had busy trying to hit and which was absolutely disastrous for his team.

Do you recall Joe Montana doing that? Ever? Elway, Manning, Unitas, even Brady? Aikman, Bradshaw, Starr? They all make mistakes, and Elway tried to force some balls that he had no business trying to force, but not at the critical moment in the game where an interception absolutely destroys your teams chances.

So, despite all the records, all the great throws and unbelievable plays, Brett Favre is simply not one of the best 5 Quarterbacks ever. He has now cost two teams a chance to go to the Super Bowl by making a really bad decision at a really critical point in the game. A pretty good case can be made that Brett Favre should've appeared in at least four Super Bowls, but only made two because of his own flaws.

For the record, I'd take Joe Montana as the greatest QB in history, but if Peyton Manning wins today, and gets back to the Super Bowl a time or two more, I might have to reconsider that conclusion.

Great New Business Database!

The new ReferenceUSA Residential Module is now available! Check it out-- the residential module is a very useful tool for businesses who sell products and services directly to consumers. It's also great for just finding reliable directory information. You can access this excellent new database, plus a variety of other business resources from the Waukesha County Federated Library System's (WCFLS) Business Resources page: http://www.wcfls.lib.wi.us/business/

I Didn't Realize It Had Been That Long

One of my favorite comic strips of all-time is Calvin & Hobbes. Brilliant, hilarious, irreverent and often touching it was one of the few strips I looked forward to reading every day. Just came across a recent interview with the strip's creator, Bill Watterson, where it points out that Calvin and Hobbes went "dark" fifteen years ago.

Wow.

One of those thudding realizations that a big chunk of life somehow went by in what feels like a brief flash. Fifteen years ago I was single (and had just met my wife to be), had no children, had a cat instead of a dog, was living in an apartment on the east side of Milwaukee and was bartending to support myself while I went back to grad school to get my Masters degree in library and information science. Yikes.

It's a fascinating interview, although a very brief one. It is well worth a read, and an interesting look into Watterson's perspective on his own art. If you'd like to revisit those bygone strips with the incorrigible Calvin and his best friend Hobbes, the library has several collections of the strip. They are in our non-fiction section, under the call number 741.5 WAT.

Expansion Meeting Tonight

There is a Village of Mukwonago Board of Trustees meeting this evening, Feb. 2, at the village hall. The hall is located at 440 River Crest Court (behind the NAPA store on ES/Main St.) and the meeting starts at 7:30 pm. A major portion of the evening's agenda will deal with the Library's expansion plans, so if you are interested in our expansion project, please stop down.

We'll have drawings of the newest version of the expansion available for review, and the Library Board and the Village Board will be discussing financing and the future of the project.

Tonight, Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 7:30 pm at village hall. Hope to see you there!