Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front

"The surest way to become a pacifist is to join the infantry." Bill Mauldin, Up Front (1945)

At the end of World War II, Bill Mauldin was famous as the creator of cartoons that depicted the everyday plights of American soldiers, “dogfaces” as he called them. The cartoons made him a hero to his fellow soldiers; they earned him the wrath of General George S. Patton who threatened to throw him in jail. Born into humble circumstances in Mountain Park, New Mexico, Mauldin went on to win two Pulitzer Prizes (the first at age 23), published numerous collections of his cartoons, ran for Congress and worked as an actor.

This coming Thursday night, author and historian, Todd DePastino will present a slide show discussion of Mauldin's famous World War II cartoons and discuss his recently published biography entitled Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front.

Mr. DePastino’s presentation will reveal the irreverent originality that made Mauldin not only the most widely known cartoonist of World War II but also the most endeared among his fellow enlisted soldiers.

Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front
Thursday, April 3, 2008, 7-8:30pm in the Community Room of the Main Library, 145 Washington Ave.
This program is free and open to the public.

Posted by TG at Main

Calligraphy Classes for Teens

Sheri Bishop, calligrapher and book artist, will present both the upper and lower case letters over the course of three classes. Create a special look for your notes and letters. The classes are free, but registration is required. Participants should plan to attend all three classes. Call 955-2828 to sign-up.

These classes are sponsored by the Buckaroo Ball Foundation, the LANL Foundation, and the Santa Fe Community Foundation.

Tuesday evenings 6:30 – 7:30 pm

April 15th, 22nd, and 29th

Southside Branch Library
6599 Jaguar Drive Call 955-2828 to save your space.

Books Galore!

The Santa Fe Police Department has teamed up with Santa Fe Public Libraries to collect children’s books for the Boys and Girls Club. Decorated boxes are located in the city’s three library branches for the collection of new and gently used books. All types of children's books are needed, including story books, educational books and those in both English and Spanish.

Pictured are kids helping kids to get books. The book drive runs from March 15-April 15. In the pictures, a young Southside Branch volunteer gives her time to do some artwork for the worthy cause and we took a picture of our first donators who love coming to the library to check out books and attend our Books and Babies and Preschool story time programs.

The Santa Fe Public Library at all three locations are participating: the Main Library, 145 Washington, Oliver La Farge Branch Library, 1730 Llano St., and Southside Library, 6599 Jaguar Dr. Here at our Southside Branch, youth volunteers worked on getting the box decorated for our generous patrons.

Stop in and share your books.
Posted and photos by TT at Southside

Black Adder

Aficionados of chain mail, snuff and codpieces rejoice! The Santa Fe Public Library has acquired the Black Adder series on video and DVD. Admirers of all things Middle Aged, Elizabethan and Mad King George - including his son, the Prince of Wales;current and past viewers of Jeeves and Wooster; and House or Mr. Bean, PREPARE YOURSELVES! Before computers, cruise missiles and (gasp!)napkins, our ancestors used the rack, axes and bad food to gain access to information. Thank heavens we are more sophisticated now.

For those who are not fully aware of this little gem, forsooth, get ye to Google or a BBC website! This BBC series includes venerable actors Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Miranda Richardson and Tony Robinson as Edmund’s execrable(stinky) sidekick, Baldrick.

Thrill to the sounds of hooves and heels clopping on cobblestones and the sweet lilt of the minstrel’s theme song. Create your own cunning plan to reserve your copy of Black Adder ere long.

Posted by CD at Southside

Library Value Calculator

What is the Santa Fe Public library worth to you?
How much would you pay out-of-pocket for your library services?
Go to http://www.santafelibrary.org/calculator.html
and use the new Library Value Calculator. You can enter the number of times you have used various Library services in a month and the calculator will tally the value of the Library services you have used. See how your tax dollars are being well spent.

New Teen Books at Main

We created a new section for new Teen books at the Main Branch of the Santa Fe Public Library. New books for Teens are now being shelved at the end of the Adult New Books Section. Our plan is to make a Teen fiction area in the near future. Come down to Main and check out the new Teen books.
Check out this list of recently added Teen books.
Let us know what you think.

Southside One Year Anniversary

We’re One Year Old!
The Southside Branch of
the Santa Fe Public Library
Invites
Our Library Patrons of All Ages
to join us in Celebrating
the One Year Anniversary of
the Grand Opening of
the Southside Branch Library

Saturday, March 22

Come to the special activities for you and
your family!

11:00 am to 12 noon –
Joy Ginther and the “Pink Elephant Theater”
Music, Magic, and Puppets
For Kids of All Ages

2:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Flamenco’s Next Generation
“La Nueva Generacion”
Teenage Dancers from Maria Benitez’s
Institute for Spanish Arts

3:00 pm
Join the Library Staff, Friends, and Volunteers
for Birthday Cake!

Southside Branch Library, 6599 Jaguar Drive
(505) 955-2828
This free event is sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library.

Tune in @ Your Library

Teens, you still have two days to get technical at your local library. Teen Tech Week runs through the 8th, so you still have time to send in that promotional song you wrote or vote for next year's theme. And remember, libraries aren't just about books anymore.

SPRING FORWARD…

Daylight Savings Time
The second Sunday in March is this weekend, so that means it’s time to set clocks forward an hour. Daylight Savings Time starts Sunday, March 9 at 2:00 a.m.

If you are taken by surprise at the early starting date (doesn’t is usually happen in April?), it is because the new law changing the start date for Daylight Savings Time went into effect last year. For a brief history of daylight savings see http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/daylight_time.php
The Santa Fe Public Library has a couple of books on daylight savings:
Seize the daylight : the curious and contentious story of daylight saving time by David Prerau and Spring forward : the annual madness of daylight saving by Michael Downing.
We get that hour back when Daylight Savings ends on November 2, 2008.

Posted by PS at Southside

Familiar Faces in Cat in the Hat hats

Children and their families came to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday at a party February 29th and March 1st at Santa Fe Public Libraries with Storyteller Daniel Gonzales portraying the character “Cat In the Hat”

Mayor Coss helped by reading “The Cat In the Hat” on Friday at Southside, while Daniel acted out the story. Some of the children were invited to help the “Cat In the Hat” with finger puppets while he read “Happy Birthday” by Dr. Seuss. Drawings were held for Dr. Seuss books and Library Director Pat Hodapp donated her Dr. Seuss hat to be given away at the drawing as well.

After the stories, the children played “Pin the Green Eggs on the Green Ham” and children designed their own Dr. Seuss characters. And of course what is a birthday party without cake? Everyone was in the party mood for cake and goodies to remember Dr. Seuss on his special day.

Posted by TT at Southside. Photos by TT at Southside.

The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love

The mission of Peace Corps is “to promote world peace and friendship…and to help the peoples of …countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained manpower.” Today, Peace Corps works in over 70 countries around the world.

The United States Peace Corps was instituted by President John F. Kennedy and was made official by an act of Congress in the fall of 1961, which makes it 47 years old. During that time, more than 187,000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in 139 countries—and it is important to note that Peace Corps never enters a country unless asked to do so by the host country’s government.

So, what is the Peace Corps experience? When I was stationed in Nepal in the 1970s, it was challenging and rewarding. We had three months of initial language training and two years in an immersion situation which led to the fluency which in turn enables learning about, being part of, and adapting to the local culture. Being a Peace Corps Volunteer isn’t easy. In the early days, and still in some countries, Volunteers had to walk to their posts (one Volunteer in Nepal had to walk 10 days to reach his site), often had no running water and electricity, and their situations meant living in an environment whose frame of reference may have only overlapped 10% with what they were used to. Life is not always easy. Privacy is often impossible, and unwittingly being the village entertainment is a struggle that ultimately improves one’s sense of humor. My baths, taken fully clothed at the local spring, drew at least 50-60 onlookers for the first month or so.

Almost all returned Peace Corps volunteers, including me, will tell you that the experience has changed our lives positively and forever----that the ability to adjust and adapt, be patient and flexible, and take a positive course in the face of adversity are still part of our lives. A reference librarian at Southside Library was posted as a librarian with the Ministry of Agriculture Library in Kingston, Jamaica in the mid 80s. He says that although government bureaucracy was sometimes frustrating, he was surprised how during his second year in Jamaica he adjusted and in many ways felt at home. He enjoyed learning about different cultures and food which in Jamaica included Caribbean and Indian.

Over the years, new programs, in response to countries’ needs, have evolved. Small business development, HIV-Aids prevention, forestry, and other sustainable development programs are growing while many of the original programs, such as education, are still in place. Peace Corps is expanding especially in the former USSR and Eastern Europe. Peace Corps has also instituted a push to recruit older Volunteers, hoping eventually to attract those above 50 as at least 15% of the Corps. There are also new programs recruiting minorities and two-year college graduates. A number of graduate schools also take Peace Corps experience as part of graduate studies, and in some cases there is student loan forgiveness.

Volunteers also tout their understanding of international problems and conflicts, but in turn, they almost universally say that they received much more than they ever gave in their country of service. In fact, many of us feel that we are fortunate to have brought back to the US a perspective that we can share with fellow Americans, a perspective that usually includes the importance of other religions and value structures, the highly developed support systems in other cultures, and an ability to either expect the unexpected or have no expectations at all, a state that is remarkably calming. If you’re interested in the Peace Corps click on the link for information. Life is Calling. How Far Will You Go?

Posted by JA at Southside.

To the White House with Book in Hand

"It's true you can't judge a book by its cover, but you can tell a lot about a person by what he or she reads."

That’s what Katie Couric said on her January 29, 2008 program of the CBS Evening News. With this questionable presumption in mind, she then went on to ask the presidential candidates what book, besides the Bible, they would bring with them to the White House. John McCain said Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. Barak Obama picked Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals. And Hillary Clinton said The Federalist Papers. There were other presidential candidates that were asked at the time, but it’s less relevant now that it appears they won’t be moving into the White House with their favorite book any time soon.

Inspired, or in some other way motivated, by Ms. Couric, Bill Moyers, on his February 8th program of Bill Moyers’ Journal, invited his viewers to recommend to his blog what book, other than the Bible, the next President, whomever they may be, should take to the White House. The response was robust, and Mr. Moyers’ blog received a horde of responses. The most popular recommendations were:
• Naomi Klein, THE SHOCK DOCTRINE
• Howard Zinn, A PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES
• Kim Michaels, THE ART OF NON-WAR
• Jared Diamond, COLLAPSE
• Chalmers Johnson, BLOWBACK triology
• Tom Paine, COLLECTED WORKS/COMMON SENSE
• Al Gore, ASSAULT ON REASON/AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
• David Cay Johnston, FREE LUNCH
• George Orwell, 1984/ANIMAL FARM
• Naomi Wolff, THE END OF AMERICA: LETTERS TO A YOUNG PATRIOT
• Greg Mortenson, THREE CUPS OF TEA
• Barbara Ehrenreich, NICKLE AND DIMED
• Barbara Tuchman, MARCH OF FOLLY
• Doris Kearns Goodwin, TEAM OF RIVALS
• David Korten, THE GREAT TURNING
• John Steinbeck, THE GRAPES OF WRATH
• Ayn Rand, ATLAS SHRUGGED
• John Dean, BROKEN GOVERNMENT
• John Perkins, CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HITMAN
• James Carroll, HOUSE OF WAR
• Thomas Friedman, THE WORLD IS FLAT
• Lao Tzu, TE TAO CHING
• Tim Weiner, LEGACY OF ASHES
• Dr. Seuss (THE LORAX, HORTON HEARS A WHO, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO, IF I RAN THE ZOO)
The only book on this list that the Santa Fe Public Library does not own is the one by Kim Michaels, The Art of Non-War. We’ll order and try to get it for any presidential hopefuls in our midst. And there was a whole cart load of other titles recommended-- maybe you’d like to go to Moyers’ blog to see if there’s something you find inspiring. As for the next president, may s/he read well.
Posted by TG at Main Library

Sympathy for Tea

I admit it, when I read a good book I am influenced by what is being served to drink and eat. I first noticed it when I read a Miss Read book based on Thrush Green, an imaginary English village, where her answer to everything was to make a pot of tea, pull out the biscuit tin and enjoy. I went through many cups of tea reading that series one long, cold winter.

Anyone who read Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes can understand that when his father comes home, on his rare visits, it is tea he asks for. Good Irish Breakfast tea with milk. It warms the soul.

Who could read Isak Dineson’s Out of Africa without purchasing a Kenya coffee just to experience a little of her world?

Recently I read Alexander McCall Smith’s series which starts with The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency set in Botswana. Tea makes the detective’s world go around, not just any British tea, but true Botswanian Bush Tea. Imagine to my surprise that even in Santa Fe you can purchase Botswanian Bush Red Tea. At Kaune’s, of course. I have now had the pleasure of several pots of the herb infused tea and can understand how as Mma Precious Ramtoswe says, it is best for contemplation and conversation. Much more satisfying than ordinary British tea.

There are many mystery writers who focus on tea and food—often laced with poison. Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs will tell you more about tea and tea mixing than you ever want to know—her heroine runs a tea room and sells tea. Then there is Death by Chocolate by G.A. McKevett and of course all of the Diane Mott Davidson mysteries from Killer Pancake to Double Shot. The food mystery writer with the best credentials is Lou Jane Temple, a Kansas City caterer and food and wine critic. Her clever titles include Bread on Arrival and Red Beans and Vice. She includes recipes in her books—not the poisoned recipes, just regular recipes that are prepared or served by the characters in the novels.

But it is tea that draws me in and makes me want to put the kettle on. Bush tea anyone?

Why do some movies take so long to make it onto DVD?

In my last post on DVDs, I mentioned how the film Taras Bulba intrigued me, from the first time I saw it on NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies.

The making of this film is a story in itself, because it was released in 1962, way before the use of CGI special effects. Back then if you were a director and wanted 2,000 16th century Cossacks on horses galloping across the steppes of Ukraine, what you did was spend 6 months of location shooting in Salta, Argentina, hired out a regiment of the Argentine Army, and your costume dept. had to come up with 2,000 16th century Cossack outfits! Plus Polish knight oufits too! The scene in the latter part of the film where the Cossack cavalry gathers from all points on the compass remains a breathtaking piece of cinema. And Yul Brynner was excellent as Taras Bulba.

The last time I remember seeing Taras Bulba was in the 1980's. In 2008 MGM is finally doing a DVD release. Which brings up the question: Why do some movies take so long to make onto DVD, while others are released 3 months after theatrical release? You may indeed wonder why your library, or video store never seems to have some favorite movie from the 60s or earlier?

First of all don't blame your library or video store. We are all subject to the whims of distributors. And librarians tend to be inclusionists. We like the idea of all these old films being on a more permanent format, and becoming available somehow, to whoever wants to see them again. And Video stores, while favoring popular titles, do like having large collections; it keeps people browsing longer, so that they're bound to rent something.

The answer usually comes down to money, lawyers, and music rights. Older films tend to have legal issues, such as who owns the film now, or does some actor's or director's estate have a say in a re-release. And if the film was shot in Technicolor in the late 50's or 60's, the film stock may be over 40 years old now, requiring some restoration, which means money being put up front, for a good digital transfer.
If there is some dispute over which studio owns what after countless Hollywood mergers, lawyers tend to get involved. Lawyers also enter the picture if music rights have to be renegotiated
Older movies may have had music rights in place for the original theatrical release, and even the VHS release back in the 1980's. But for a DVD release, the music rights have lapsed, and renegotiation ensues. And suppose some music publisher of just one song, holds out for more money this time.

As to why it took so long for Taras Bulba to make it onto DVD, it's hard to uncover. It was released on VHS, and there have been poorly transferred DVD copies from Taiwan of questionable status. In searching I came across this press release from MGM:
MGM TO RELEASE THREE YUL BRYNNER EPICS ON DVD FOR THE FIRST TIME
"MGM has announced that three major action epics starring Yul Brynner will be released on DVD for the first time in February, 2008. The titles are Solomon and Sheba, Taras Bulba and Kings of the Sun. The latter two titles in particular have been on many action fan's "most wanted" lists in terms of films that should be released on DVD. The DVDs will be available on March 25. "
One person’s epic may be a potboiler to someone else, but at least such titles have now been released for film lovers to judge on their own.
Posted by JP at Southside

TROUBLES OF OUR TIMES SUBJECT OF NEW BOOK TO BE LAUNCHED AT SANTA FE LIBRARY

Angelo Jaramillo’s latest book, stressing a young individual’s belief in freedom of speech and the troubles in our present society, will be launched at a reading/signing in the Community Room of the downtown main branch of the Santa Fe Public Library at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 2. Admission is free.

In Psalms of Anarchy, Jaramillo uses verse and prose to tell the story of a battle against depression and disenchantment with certain aspects of the present time. He says that his “language is often daring, dangerous and explosive” but the reader may find that it possesses a stark originality reminding one of the “beat” writers of the 1950s and 60s.

Angelo Jaramillo is also the author of The Darker: Tales of a City Different, published by Sunstone Press in 2006, and is currently working on a Masters at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In addition to his studies, he is a talented film and stage actor, a freelance cultural critic for the Santa Fe Reporter, and is currently finishing his first major creative nonfiction novel Alcaldeza: The Life and Tragedy of Debbie Jaramillo.

Hoop Dancer in Action

One of the highlights of 2007 here at the Main Library was the Children of the Portal Holiday Sale, and the hoop and fancy shawl dances in the lobby by Micayla Johnson of Taos Pueblo. The last blog of the year in this space, “Dancing in the New Year,” (December 31) was a tribute to her dancing. You can now see videos of both dances on YouTube at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkXE31UwwDo
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r4UUzu5flw&feature=related

RG at Main

KNME Reading Rainbow Workshop

Reading Rainbow, the popular PBS television show is sponsoring Reading Rainbow Writers and Illustrators Workshops for Children in Grades K-3 at the Southside Branch of the Santa Fe Public Library, 6599 Jaguar Drive, on Saturday, February 23. The workshop is free and open to children in grades K-3 and will be held from 10:30a.m. until Noon. Children’s author Mary Saunders will lead the workshop and provide advice on how to create a story. The workshop is in conjunction with the Reading Rainbow Young Writers &.Illustrators contest.

Children may bring in an existing story or get ideas for a new one. Materials will be provided.

All entries into the Reading Rainbow Young Writers & Illustrators Contest need to be submitted by March 31. Entry forms are available at all Santa Fe Public Library Children’s Rooms. All entries will be judged by each grade level, separately.

Take a Vacation. Go to Work: Volunteer Traveler to Speak

Volunteer vacationing, or taking a vacation to do volunteer work, is not a particularly new practice. A Google search leads to a number of well-established, non-profit organizations that coordinate volunteer travel internationally and nationally. One such organization, Global Volunteers ,has been around since 1984. The guidebook, Volunteer Vacations: Short-term Adventures that Will Benefit You and Others,was released first in 1987 and is now in its 9th edition (the Library owns the 8th edition but we’ll fix that).

But volunteer vacationing does seem to be gaining in popularity these days. The Travel Industry Association of America found in a November 2006 survey that 24 percent of respondents were currently interested in taking a volunteer or service-based vacation. Travelocity, the online travel service, surveyed 1,017 people in late 2007 and found that 17.7 percent of respondents had previously taken a vacation with a volunteer or philanthropic component and 38 per cent will consider incorporating volunteer activities in their vacation in 2008. www.travelocity.com/forecast2008

This Wednesday night February 13 at the Main Library, 145 Washington Ave., one such volunteer traveler, Jane Stanfield, will present a slide presentation on her year of volunteering around the world. The title of the presentation is One Magical Year—Volunteer Vacationing Around the World and will include highlights of her travels through 11 countries on six continents. The program is at 7pm in the Library’s Community Room and is free and open to the public. Travel on down.
Posted by TG, Main Library

Thoughts on Jane Austen

Public Television has been showing Jane Austen movies on Masterpiece Theater lately. I love watching Jane Austen movies. I find her a little harder to read, but worth it. Recently a co-worker and I were discussing various film versions of some of Austen’s work. I expressed a disappointment with the last version of Persuasion that was recently shown on Public TV, but admitted that it was probably due to the fact that I loved the BBC production of the book released in 1995 and starring Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root (available of course at Santa Fe Public Library). We then had to discuss various versions of Pride and Prejudice, starting from the Laurence Olivier version of the 1940’s up to the last feature release starring Keira Knightly. My favorite stands as the award winning version done in 2001 and starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth (in a wet shirt….). My co-worker then recommended the Bollywood version Bride and Prejudice which unfortunately at the moment the library doesn’t have (but we will try to order!). She says she understood much better the relationship between characters after seeing the Bollywood version.

Several attempts have been made to add to the stories written by Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice has spawned several modern sequels or versions:

Jane Austen in Boca by Paula Marantz Cohen
Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman series by Pamela Aidan
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll
Mr.Darcy’s Daughter's by Elizabeth Aston
An Unequal Marriage by Emma Tennant
Presumption by Julia Barrett.

And some related books on the subject:The Jane Austen Book Club (another DVD we must order for the library!) by Karen Joy Fowler
Flirting with Pride and Prejudice: Fresh Perspectives on the Original Chick-Lit Masterpiece edited by Jennifer Crusie and Glen Yeffeth.

So enjoy a dose of Jane Austen, either in DVD, Video, Books on Cassette or CD or in the book form—readily available at the library.

Posted by KS @ La Farge

Santa Fe’s Doña Tules—A Snow Beauty

Because of this snowy weather, sometimes I miss out on things, like working on my garden, and always try to learn new things about Santa Fe, and its rich culture and diversity. Yesterday was my anniversary of having moved here a year ago from Silver City to work at the library at Southside. Last night as I watched the snow falling, I thought how much I missed making snowmen with my granddaughter. Then I came in to work, and there had been a two hour delay and a masterpiece was in the making on the employee patio.

A Circulation clerk and building maintenance staff member said they were piling snow up to make a snow woman! Yeah! Doña Tules. Who? Ok…I saw the book on the shelf. I check in the New book collection, which is extensive. Great, I found it. Hmm, so I asked other staff. She seemed to be an interesting woman. So with the information I had from staff, glancing through the new book Doña Tules: Santa Fe Courtesan and Gambler by Mary J. Straw Cook, and some websites http://www.justalice.com/Website/dona.htm, http://www.santafebotanicalgarden.org/subpages/OrtizBaxterFeb06.html, I found many stories about Doña Maria Gertrudis Barcelõ.

I raided the craft closet in children’s. I grabbed tuile for Madam Tules, and of course, what is a girl without her eyelashes, and added the defining touches that might have made Doña Gertrudis Barcelo proud. Of course, I added a Library Card.

The three of us worked at paying homage to the entrepreneur extraodinaire. No matter. We had fun. And I want to know more about Santa Fe and its wonderful people past and present. Tonight I’ll talk to my granddaughter and tell her about the groovy snow woman we made. By the way, you have to read the book. Its awesome!
By TT at Southside