July 29 - Single Working Moms Week

Lets give a shout-out to all the single working mothers whom manage to be the sole provider for their children and still be a loving and caring mother. Congrats to you wonderful ladies, we have just the thing for you- library programming. Check us out for some fun summer and year-round activities for your kids, bring them down and enjoy some quiet reading time amongst our stacks of book while we entertain your young-lings.

Today is also, making me quite hungry and, Lasagna Day, National Chicken Wing Day and Rain Day (that last one not so much hunger as a brooding-in-doors kinda feeling). Here are 5 great recipes for Lasagna today from the LA Times.

Rain day started in 1874 in Waynesburg, PA by Byron Daly who bet the local drug store owner that it would rain on July 29, Byron's birthday. The bet, a hat, was easily won by Daly who had been keeping records of his rainy birthdays throughout the years. Today the tradition continues on with many a memorable hat being won, take a look here for the Rainy Day Festival history.

 Today in history.

-1108 King Philip I, King of the Franks 1059, 1060-1108), dies at 56.

-1565 Mary Queen of Scots marries her cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.

-1567 James VI is crowned King of Scots at Stirling.
-1655 Biggest town hall in the world opens in Amsterdam.
-1783 Skaptar Volcano on Iceland erupts killing about 9,000.
-1856 Robert A Schumann, German pianist/composer (Humoresque), dies at 46.

-1883 Benito Mussolini, [Il Duce], Forli Kingdom of Italy, Fascist Italian dictator (1922-43) born.
-1890 Vincent Van Gogh, painter, dies in Auvers, France.

-1921 Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party.
-1932 Great Depression: in Washington, DC, U.S. troops disperse the last of the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans.
-1949 BBC radio begins broadcasting.
-1953 Geddy Lee, Toronto Canada, lead vocalist/bassist (Rush-Tom Sawyer) born.

-1966 Martina McBride, country singer born.

-1971 The Oland family presented the Bluenose II to the province of Nova Scotia as a floating maritime museum.
-1972 Wil Wheaton, CA, actor (Star Trek Next Generation-Wesley, Stand By Me) born.

-1981 Prince Charles of England weds Lady Diane Spencer at St Pauls' Cathedral, London.
-2006 Robyn Denise Moore divorces Oscar-winning actor Mel Gibson (55) due to irreconcilable differences after 31 years of marriage.
 
Books and Movies: The Goods.

If your looking for some good reads, the New York Times Best Sellers list ending August 4th can be found here publishers weekly also has a best sellers list found here

Check out the Kirkus book review for Two Fronts by Harry Turtledove here

Movies that have been released in theaters recently are: The Wolverine
Check out the movie listings for Red Deer and Sylvan Lake.

Joke of the Day

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: James T. Kirk:  To boldly go where no chicken has gone before.

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: Mr. Scott:  'Cos ma wee transporter beam was na functioning properly.
   Ah canna work miracles, Captain.

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: Dr. McCoy: Dammit Jim!! I'm a doctor not an farmer!

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: Mr. Spock: Obviously, it was the logical thing to do.

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: Mr. Data: Why is a barn yard fowl crossing a thoroughfare humorous?

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: Mr. Worf: For the honor of all chickens.

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: Counsilor Troi: I knew it was going to happen. I could sense it.

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: Computer: Insufficient information.

Stay tuned for our next, "On This Day in History"!  

July 25 - a book and a joke

 A new segment that might make its appearance on some of our future blogs, Books and Movies: The Goods.

If your looking for some good reads, the New York Times Best Sellers list for this coming week can be found here publishers weekly also has a best sellers list found here

Check out the Kirkus book review for Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein here

 Also take a look at the Kirkus review for If you want to see a Whale by Julie Fogliano here

Joke of the Day

Why do fish live in salt water?

Because pepper makes them sneeze!

July 23 - Meet the New Prince

Looks like we are all out of luck on any official holidays for today. However, why not celebrate along with the UK the first pictures of the new royal prince.

Today in history.

-636 Arabs gain control of most of Palestine from Byzantine Empire.
-685 John V begins his reign as Catholic Pope.
-1215 Frederick II crowns himself Roman Catholic king.

-1726 Benjamin Franklin sails back to Philadelphia.

-1798 Napoleon captures Alexandria, Egypt.
-1840 The Act of Union joining Upper and Lower Canada received royal assent in England. It came into effect on February 10, 1841.
-1864 Battle of Woodstock, VA.
-1885 Ulysses S. Grant, 18th US pres, dies in Mount McGregor NY, at 63.

-1904 Ice cream cone created by Charles E Menches during La Purchase Expo.
-1942 Hitler's Directive #45: order to occupy Stalingrad.
-1961 Woody Harrelson, Midland TX, actor is born.

-1975  Ottawa banned the Soviet Atlantic fishing fleet from Canadian ports for overfishing.
-1986 Britain's Prince Andrew (26) weds Sarah Ferguson (26) at Westminster Abbey in London, England.
-1989 Daniel Radcliffe, London, actor (Harry Potter in the Harry Potter series of movies) is born.

-2011 Amy Winehouse, British singer songwriter, dies at 27.

 
 A new segment that might make its appearance on some of our future blogs, Books and Movies: The Goods.

If your looking for some good reads, the New York Times Best Sellers list for this coming week can be found here publishers weekly also has a best sellers list found here

Check out the Kirkus book review for True Love by Jude Deveraux here

Joke of the Day

What did the pig say at the beach on a hot summers day?

I'm bakin'. 

July 24 - Tell an Old Joke Day and National Drive-Thru Day.
There is not much to say about these two days, their names tell us all we need to know to effectively enjoy them. Do you have an old joke you're willing to share? Leave us a comment with some of your best old, and new, jokes.

Some fun facts about this day in history.

-1534 Jacques Cartier, lands in Canada, claims it for France.
-1567 Mary Queen of Scots is forced to abdicate & 1-year-old James VI becomes King of Scots.
-1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie becomes King James VIII.
-1754 Anthony Henday reached Fort Paskoyac; he later reached a Blackfoot camp southwest of present-day Red Deer, being likely the first European to set foot in territory that became Alberta.
-1766 Ottawa Indian chief Pontiac signed a treaty with the British ending the uprising he initiated 3 years earlier. The treaty helped to establish aboriginal rights for the future.
-1802 Alexandre Dumas, Aisne France, author (3 Musketeers, Count of Monte Cristo), (d. 1870) is born.

-1934 Jimmy Holiday, US singer born.
-1938 Instant coffee invented.
-1965 Bob Dylan release "Like a Rolling Stone".
-1969 Apollo 11 returns to Earth.
-1969 Jennifer Lopez, Bronx New York, actress and pop singer is born.

-1975 Apollo 18 returns to Earth.
-1980 Peter Sellers, actor (Pink Panther, Mouse that Roared), dies at 54.

-1981 Summer Glau, American actress born.

-1982 Anna Paquin, Oscar winning actress born.

-2005 Lance Armstrong retires after winning a record seventh consecutive Tour de France victory.

 A new segment that might make its appearance on some of our future blogs, Books and Movies: The Goods.

If your looking for some good reads, the New York Times Best Sellers list for this coming week can be found here publishers weekly also has a best sellers list found here

Check out the Kirkus book review for Storm Riders by Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes here

Joke of the Day

How do you get a tissue to dance?

Put a little boogie in it.

Stay tuned for our next, "On This Day in History"!  

July 22 - Spooners (Spoonerism) Day

Happy July 22 everybody, and congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the birth of their son!

Today is Spoonerism Day, not sure what a Spoonerism is? Chances are you are guilty of committing this mostly-hilarious vocabulary slip-up at least once in the past week. Spoonerisms are phrases, sentences or words where the sounds of the words have been swapped. For example when we are speaking quickly we might say "slow and sneet" when what we really mean to say is "snow and sleet". The idea of Spoonerisms came from Reverend William Archibald Spooner who was reputed to be particularly prone at making these language slips, today is known as Spooners day because he was born on this day in 1844. Check out the link bellow for some Spooner inspired stories.
Pinderella and the Cince
Beeping Sleauty
Ali Theeva and the Forty Babs
The Pea Little Thrigs
Goldybear and the Three Locks

Now for "Today in History".

-1035 Robert II/I, Duke of Normandy, dies.
-1099 First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Jerusalem.
-1210 Joan of England, Queen consort of Scotland, wife of Alexander II of Scotland is born.
-1298 English defeat Scots at Battle of Falkirk.
-1461 Charles VII, King of France (1422-61), dies at 58. 

-1731 Spain signs Treaty of Vienna.
-1775 George Washington takes command of US troops.
-1793 Two days after becoming the first explorer to reach the Pacific Ocean by land Alexander Mackenzie wrote an inscription on a rock at Bella Coola, "Alexander Mackenzie, from Canada by land, 22nd July, 1793."
-1934 Louise Fletcher, Birmingham AL, actress (One Flew over Cuckoo's Nest) is born.
-1940 Jacqueline Kennedy's parents divorce.
-1941 Ron Turcotte, Canadian jockey born.

-1948 S. E. Hinton, American author is born.

-1949 Alan Menken, New York, Disney composer (Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast - 8 Oscars) born.
-1950 King Leopold, after 6 years in exile, returns to Belgium.
-1964 David Spade, comedian is born.

-1973  Rufus Wainwright, Canadian singer born.
-1982 Biggest mass wedding, Rev Sun Myung Moon weds 2,200 couples in NYC.

-1992 Selena Gomez, American actress/singer born.

-1994 OJ Simpson pleads "Absolutely 100% Not Guilty" of murder.
-2008 Estelle Getty, American actress, dies of Lewy body disease at 84.

A new segment that might make its appearance on some of our future blogs, Books and Movies: The Goods.

If your looking for some good reads, the New York Times Best Sellers list for this coming week can be found here publishers weekly also has a best sellers list found here

Check out the Kirkus book review for My Beautiful Hippie by Janet Nichols Lynch here

Joke of the Day

A librarian is working away at her desk when she notices that a chicken has come into the library and is patiently waiting in front of the desk. When the chicken sees that it has the librarian's attention, it squawks, "Book, book, book, BOOK!"

The librarian complies, putting a couple of books down in front of the chicken. The chicken quickly grabs them and disappears.

The next day, the librarian is again disturbed by the same chicken, who puts the previous day's pile of books down on the desk and again squawks, "Book, book, book, BOOK!"

The librarian shakes her head, wondering what the chicken is doing with these books, but eventually finds some more books for the chicken. The chicken disappears.

The next day, the librarian is once again disturbed by the chicken, who squawks (in a rather irritated fashion, it seems), "Book, book, book, BOOK!" By now, the librarian's curiosity has gotten the better of her, so she gets a pile of books for the chicken, and follows the bird when it leaves the library. She follows it through the parking lot, down the street for several blocks, and finally into a large park. The chicken disappears into a small grove of trees, and the librarian follows. On the other side of the trees is a small marsh. The chicken has stopped on the side of the marsh. The librarian, now really curious, hurries over and sees that there is a small frog next to the chicken, examining each book, one at a time. The librarian comes within earshot just in time to hear the frog saying, "Read it, read it, read it..."

Stay tuned for our next, "On This Day in History"!  

July 21 - National Ice Cream Day

Yahoo it's ice cream day. What better way to end the weekend and enjoy the summer weather than with a little ice cream.  Designated by former US president Ronald Reagan as the third Sunday in July.
Some interesting facts about ice cream:
- It takes approximately 50 licks to finish off a scoop of ice cream.
- Vanilla is the number 1 seller flavour.
- The US is the top ice cream consuming country in the world.

National Parenting Gifted Children week (21-27). What a great way to celebrate the awesome work parents of gifted children do than with a week dedicated to them. The SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted community) sponsors the third week in July in support of the joys and challenges of raising and guiding gifted children.  Take at look at the SENG website here.

We are also in the midst of National Scrabble week (19-24), which speaks for itself, if you enjoy words, games and putting the two together than this is the week for you.

The following are some interesting events in history.

- 356BC Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
- 285 Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler.
- 365 Alexandria hit by Earthquake; about 50,000 die.
- 1320 Count Louis of Nevers marries 8-year old daughter of Philips V.
- 1540 John I Zapolyai, prince of Transsylvania/king of Hungary, dies.
- 1793 Alexander Mackenzie party reached the Pacific via the Bella Coola River, the first explorer to complete the journey overland. Though a physical triumph, Mackenzie's achievement failed to provide the fur traders with a viable route.

- 1796 Robert Burns, Scottish poet (Auld Lang Syne), dies at 37.

- 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte wins Battle of Pyramids in Egypt.

- 1836 Canada's first railway, the Champlain and St Lawrence Railroad, officially opened; it began operations on July 25. The railway heralded the most important change in transportation in Canadian history.

- 1865 In the market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots and kills Davis Tutt in what is regarded as the first true western showdown.
- 1870 Josef Strauss, Austrian composer (Dynamids), dies at 42.
- 1873 Jesse James & James Younger gang's 1st train robbery.
- 1899 Ernest Hemingway, Oak Park Illinois, author born.

- 1951 Robin Williams, Chicago, Illinois, American actor and comedian born.

- 1956 Michael Connelly, American author.

- 1966 Gemini X returns to Earth.
- 1969 Neil Armstrong steps on Moon at 2:56:15 AM (GMT).

- 1978 World's strongest dog, 80-kg St Bernard, pulls 2909-kg load 27 m.
- 1980 Jean-Claude Droyer climbs Eiffel Tower in 2 hrs 18 minutes.
- 1996 Wayne Gretzky announced that he would join former Oiler teammate Mark Messier and play for the New York Rangers, after an unsuccessful stint with the St Louis Blues. It was his third team in a year.
- 2007 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the bestselling Harry Potter series is released.

- 2010 Victoria's Secret model Miranda Kerr (27) weds British actor Orlando Bloom (33) in a secret ceremony.
- 2011 NASA's Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135.

A new segment that might make its appearance on some of our future blogs, Books and Movies: The Goods.

If your looking for some good reads, the New York Times Best Sellers list for this past week can be found here publishers weekly also has a best sellers list found here

Check out the Kirkus book review for Danny, Who Fell in a Hole by Cary Fagan here.
 
Joke of the Day

Knock knock.
Who's there?
You know.
You know, who?
He's dead, you can say his name now.

Stay tuned for our next, "On This Day in History"!  

Week 25

100 Greatest Books
of All Time.

Week 25

What is your favourite book of all time?
Cast your vote by commenting here at the bottom of this post,
posting a note on our facebook page or adding it to our in-house ballot box.
Each Friday we will tabulate the votes and post them on our
Facebook, Twitter and Blog accounts.

One vote per visit please.
The final Top 100 will be announced at the end of December.

The Stand by Stephen King
is still in the lead with twelve votes.

This week's nominees: 

 Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

The Outsiders

Each Friday we will tabulate the votes and post them on our
Facebook, Twitter and Blog accounts.

One vote per visit please.

The final Top 100 will be announced at the end of December.

 

 

July 18 - Nelson Mandela Day

Heyyy-Ooooo!!!

 It's comic con international week, starting today for one week only can we indulge in our comic con dreams, take in a "con" and feel no embarrassment over it. We say, "let's do it!"

Today is also Nelson Mandela Day. I really enjoyed the description the website (see below) put together for this day; "The overarching objective of Mandela Day is to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better, and in doing so build a global movement for good. Ultimately it seeks to empower communities everywhere. “Take Action; Inspire Change; Make Every Day a Mandela Day.”"

 For more information on Mandela Day and how you can "Make Everyday a Mandela Day" take a look at http://www.mandeladay.com/

Lets look at today in history.

-390BC Roman-Gaulish Wars: Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome.
-1552 Rudolf II, of Habsburg, emperor of Germany (1576-1612) born.
-1591 Jakob Handl, [Petelin], Austrian composer/bandmaster, dies at 40.
-1610 Michelangelo Merisi, Italian artist (b. 1573) dies.

-1656 Battle at Warsaw: Swedish king Karel X Gustaafbeats Johan II Kasimir & occupies Warsaw.
-1817  Jane Austen, English novelist, dies at 41.

-1905 The Dominion Act created the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, effective September 1. Regina and Edmonton, respectively, became the capitals on July 20.
-1918 Nelson Mandela, Qunu South Africa, political prisoner (ANC)/President (1994-1999)/ Nobel (1993) was born.
-1921 The United Farmers of Alberta won the provincial election, forming the government until 1935. They chose Herbert Greenfield as premier.
-1925 Hitler publishes Mein Kampf.

-1926 Novelist Margaret Laurence, whose extraordinary qualities of love, fortitude and vitality were revealed through her writing, was born at Neepawa, Man.
-1950 Jack Layton, Canadian politician born.

-1966 Carl Sagan turns 1 billion seconds old (31 years, 8 month, 15 days, 17 hours, 46 minutes and 40 seconds).
-1967 Vin Diesel, American actor born.

-1977 Vietnam becomes member of UN.
-1980 Kristen Bell, American actress born.

-1992 Singers Whitney Houston & Bobby Brown marry.
-2012 Kim Jong-un is officially appointed Supreme Leader of North Korea and given the rank of Marshal in the Korean People's Army.

A new segment that might make its appearance on some of our future blogs, Books and Movies: The Goods.

Iris Johansen has recently released her new book Hunting Eve. You can check out it's book review by Kirkus here
Movies that have been released in theaters today are: The Conjuring, R.I.P.D. and Red 2
 

Joke of the Day

Where does George Washington keep his armies?

In his sleevies.

Stay tuned for our next, "On This Day in History"!