Ages 11-18
Blog Post
Magic Lessons
by joy k
If you enjoyed Justine Larbalestier's Magic or Madness as much as I did, you'll be happy to hear that the sequel, Magic Lessons, just landed at the library. The Magic or Madness trilogy is the story of Reason Cansino, an Australian teen who's been raised not to believe in magic. But when she walks through a mysterious door in the basement of her grandmother's Sydney house and finds herself on a snowy New York City street, she has to admit magic is real.
The third and last book of the trilogy, Magic's Child, is being published later this month. You can read previews of all three books in the series on Larbalestier's web site, which also has a cool glossary of some of the Australian slang used in the books.
Blog Post
Pet & Wildlife Photo Contest Deadline!
by erin
Time is running out to submit your photo of a pet or wild animal! Drop your entry off by 9:00 PM this Thursday, March 8 - at the Downtown Library Youth Department Desk. Winners in 4 categories (Grades K-2; Grades 3-5; Grades 6-8 and Grades 9-12) will be awarded gift certificates to Borders at the Awards Ceremony on Monday, March 12, 7:00-8:00 PM at the Downtown Library Youth Department. Contest Guidelines after the break
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #55
by muffy
Finn* by first-time novelist Jon Clinch, is an imaginative reconstruction of the life and death of Finn, Huck's father, "Pap.".
In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck and Jim find Pap Finn's body in a house floating down the Mississippi River, among such oddities as women’s underclothes, a wooden leg and two black cloth masks, and the walls covered with “the ignorantest” kind of scrawling.
Shunned by his father, Adams County Judge James Manchester Finn and his successful brother Will, Finn is a violent, bigoted, ne’r-do well drunk, and often in trouble with the law. He blames his black sheep status on his on-again, off-again relationship with his black mistress, the mother of his pale mulatto child, also named Huck.
Working from a few tantalizing hints in Mark Twain's text, Clinch not only fleshes out the shadowy figure of Huckleberry Finn's father but creates clever and plausible backstories for the likes of Widow Douglas and the Thatcher family, and all the while, following Twain’s lead – allows the Mississippi to play a prominent role in the unfolding tale. Highly recommended.
* = Starred Review
Blog Post
Announcements from New York Comic-Con
by joy k
One of the more interesting anime-related announcements at last weekend’s New York Comic-Con was the introduction of the English-language voice cast for the U.S. release of the Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle anime. You can see the cast listing and watch the NYCC panel online at the official Tsubasa anime website; you'll be happy to hear that some fan favorites—such as Vic Mignogna, the actor of Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist—will be lending their voices to the main characters. The first dvd won’t be released until May, but until then, you can follow the adventures of Syaoran, Sakura, Fay, and Kurogane through the original manga by CLAMP.
Blog Post
Happy 46th birthday, Peace Corps
by Maxine
On March 1, 1961, President John F. Kennedy stood on the steps of the Michigan Union and by executive order announced the beginning of the Peace Corps. This experiment in activism was a huge success with many young people out of college as well as older retirees venturing to far off countries to teach, help with farming and start health clinics. The Peace Corps is alive and well today, still offering those who want to serve exciting and challenging opportunities.
Blog Post
Blue Jean Pocket Purses
by Bertha
We supply the blue jean pocket, along with beads, ribbons, and sequins. You create the perfect tiny tote for your backpack or purse.
Wednesday, February 28 at Northeast Branch from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. Teens welcome. No registration.
Blog Post
Career Skills Workshop for Grades 9-12
by K.C.
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Learn where to look for a job, how to create a resume and beef it up, and how to ace the job interview. Join us in the multipurpose room of the Downtown Library this Sunday, March 4 from Noon to 4 p.m. Refreshments will be served.
Register at the Downtown Youth desk or call 327-8301.
Blog Post
Got tape? Then create!
by K.C.
Don’t miss Duct Tape! Re-Mix at Pittsfield Tuesday, Feb. 27 from 1-3 p.m. We’ll provide the tape - in a bunch of colors from camouflage to pink - and you do the rest. Make what you want and meet other tape heads. We’ll have duct tape books like Got Tape?: Roll out the fun with duct tape on hand for inspiration.
Blog Post
Winter Break Gaming: Super Smash, Retro Octathalon ][, DDR, Pokémon and More!
by eli
Midwinter Break is almost upon us, and that means videogames at the library! We've got a great schedule of events lined up for you, starting this Friday night with a Super Smash Bros. Melee Regulation Throwdown for Ages 13+, From 6-8:30 at the Downtown Library. Read on for full rules for this event. Then, on Saturday, 2/24, from 11-5 PM, we'll have our second annual Retro Octathalon for All Ages, an 8-game high score contest featuring great classic (pre-1990) games. Then, on Sunday, 2/25, from 1-4 PM, our DDR tournament series continues with an All-Ages DDR Tournament.
But that's not all! The games continue into the week, with a pair of Pokémon Tournaments from 1-4 and DS Fest / Open Play Events from 4-7, on both Monday 2/26 and Tuesday 2/27. So, if you're stuck in town this break, stay warm with gaming, food, prizes, and some serious competition at the Downtown Library! Read on for full tournament details.
First, the long-awaited ruleset for the SSBM Regulation Throwdown. This is a slightly modified version of the MLG SSBM Ruleset, which you can read in all its glory here. Here's how it's going to work:
No Items.
Banned Stages:
Yoshi's Island (Pipes)
Fourside
Hyrule Temple
Flatzone
Great Bay
Brinstar Depths
Icicle Mountain
Big Blue
Mushroom Kingdom 1
Mushroom Kingdom 2
Venom
Yoshi's Island 64
Peach's Castle
Kongo Jungle
Onett
Poké Floats
Random Select Stages:
Final Destination
Battlefield
Yoshi's Story
Fountain of Dreams
Dreamland 64
Pokemon Stadium
Allowed Pick Stages:
Corneria
Jungle Japes
Green Greens
Brinstar
Rainbow Cruise
Mute City
1st Round will be in the form of randomly assigned 4-player round-robin pools. Each player will play the 3 other members of their pool 1v1 and the 32 players with the best overall records in the first round will advance to the elimination rounds. Ties going into the top 32 will be broken by 'strength of schedule'; if you defeated someone who went 2-1, you're more likely to move on than someone who defeated someone who went 0-3.
All matches will be 1v1, 4 Stock, 8 Minute, but due to time constraints, not all rounds will be best of 3 matches. Pool matches will only be a single round against each opponent, but if time allows, quarterfinals and higher may be best of 3.
In the pools, with only 1 match per pairing, there will be only random stages, but once we move to best of 3, we will use Advanced Slobs picks. This means:
The first match is on a random stage. We won't have the staff to enforce Double-Blind character picks, but you can work that out with your opponent.
In the Second and Third matches, the loser of the previous match can either choose a random stage or select a stage from the random or allowed picks stages. The winner of the previous match then chooses their character, and the loser can then choose their own character.
Each of the 3 matches must be on a different stage.
Stalling / Camping / Hiding will not be tolerated. If you are spotted refusing to engage, you may be forced to forfeit one of your lives in that match.
I think that about covers it for SSB. Any questions / suggestions?
OK, moving on, here's the game list for the Retro Octathalon.
1. Paperboy, 1984.
2. Mappy, 1983.
3. Spy Hunter, 1983.
4. Jungle Hunt, 1982.
5. Donkey Kong, 1981.
6. Ms. Pac Man, 1981.
7. Rally-X, 1980.
8. Breakout, 1976.
The top 3 scorers in each age group (12 and under, 13-18, over 18) across all 8 games will be invited to the finals which will feature surprise retro games. Stop by any time during the day to try for high scores, even try more than one to improve your scores if time allows!
OK, hope to see you all there this weekend!
Blog Post
"It Happened One Night" over and over
by Maxine
On February 22, 1934, Frank Capra's film, "It Happened One Night"
was released. This screwball comedy starring Claudette Colbert as a spoiled heiress and Clark Gable as a cocky reporter was the first film to sweep the the Academy Awards which, by the way, are presented this Sunday, February 25 at 8 p.m. on ABC. The movie became a standard for other romantic comedies of the period like "Bringing Up Baby" with Katherine Hepburn and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith with Carole Lombard. And Capra became known as a master of the comedy genre.