Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Web 2.0 continued

For those in attendance at Lee Carter's workshop on Web 2.0 technologies, read this to see what you can do when you are committed to something. I do feel a little like a slacker after this article.

For those unable to attend, there will be an encore presentation later this year, and I highly encourage you to attend. Lee covered blogging, social networks, and new technologies. There was a technology petting zoo so people could hold and look at new gadgets. As always, Linda had nutritious, tasty snacks so everyone could keep up their strength.

Cheers,
Melody

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

The Eastern Front

Here is the display from SW for the Amarillo Reads book.










Lots of interesting items, including a Soviet army hat, combat boots, and other gear.




It is likely that WWII could have dragged on for much longer if the Axis powers were not forced to fight on two fronts. City of Thieves brings the Siege of Leningrad to modern readers.











It is estimated that the Soviets lost close to a million people--mostly civilians--though the official count was considerably less than that, at 632,000, according to Harrison E. Salisbury, author of The 900 Days: the Siege of Leningrad. The winter of 1941-1942 was known as the Hunger Winter. Benioff cites Salisbury as his main source, along with interviews with survivors. Hitler sent invitations to a New Year's Eve party to be held in Leningrad, confident that he would hold the heart of Russia. We know how that turned out.





Bridget and Cynthia worked together on the display and SW, and it is quite moving.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

The Courtyard Hound











There are so many layers to City of Thieves; we have the game of chess, the search for eggs, and the book within the book, The Courtyard Hound. Kolya and Lev discuss the merits of various Russian authors on their journey, and Northwest's display highlights the literary layer of the Amarillo Reads selection:





Love the onion domes! And the Matrushka dolls! Oh, and Anna Karenina as well.
If you have read the book, you recall the spriited discussions between Kolya and Lev regarding the great Russian authors.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

North Branch Eggstravaganza

Heh heh. Get it? No? Well, look at these pictures of the fantastic display at North:
















More display loveliness:


























See? You couldn't resist a bad pun either.


I do apologize for not making this post by 6 for those of you going home then on Wed, but sometimes the best laid plans. . . .