Consider the Cicada

Are you ready for CICADAPOCALYPSE 2013?

The hordes are rising.

In case you haven’t heard, the East Coast has been bracing itself for an insect invasion of biblical proportions. An entire generation of cicadas (known creepily among entomologists as Brood II) is currently emerging from 17 years of underground existence, ready to molt into adulthood, join life on the surface, and spend a few weeks flying around in crazed, baby-making swarms.

So what is a cicada exactly? In the case of CICADAPOCALYPSE 2013, we’re talking about a genus local to North America known as Magicicada. The babies (aka nymphs) begin as soft, squishy things that spend the majority of their freakishly long lifespan living deep underground, feeding on fluids from tree roots. As the seventeen-year mark approaches, the cicadas wait until the ground temperature hits the mid-sixties, and all at once, they begin their synchronized tunneling to the top. Once they reach the surface, it’s time for the pivotal molting moment, which begins their transition into the shiny-winged, hard-shelled, red-eyed monster bugs about to plague states from Florida to New York and beyond.

The Molting.

The grown-up cicadas are here for one thing—mating. The males fly together in giant screeching swarms in hopes of impressing the ladies with their beautiful/deafening chorus. Ideally, the music making leads to baby making. After just a few weeks, eggs have been laid and the party’s over for another 17 years.

The good news is Magicicada don’t bite or sting. Mostly they just fly into stuff and make lots of noise and leave their discarded exoskeletons lying around. Will we see any in Pittsburgh? Maybe. Wary cicada-watchers can keep their eyes on some of the handy maps tracking sightings of Magicicada across the country.

In the meantime, there are some folks who welcome the arrival of Brood II. Some want to eat them. Some want to jam with them. Some just want to watch them as they fly around and shed their old body parts all over the place. Then there are the haters.

Luckily for everyone, the library is a great source for bug stuff of all sorts.  Better read up on these noisy natural wonders lest they emerge in your own backyard.

  

Scripts? Who needs scripts? Hone your performance skills at the Beechview Teen Improv!

If the idea of performing off-the-cuff in front of a group of your peers sends your mind into a tailspin, it’s okay! We have books about that.

Like comedy? Like acting? Do you ever watch Saturday Night Live and think, “I could do that”?

If you dream of being the next Steve Carrell, Kristen Wiig, or Jay Pharaoh–or if you’re just looking for a fun thing to do that will make you way more entertaining at parties–you should definitely check out the Beechview Teen Improv.

CLP – Beechview will supply the venue, as well as different interactive games and activities that will get your mind into an improvisational mood. All you need to supply is yourself, your wit, and your willingness to look a little silly.

This fun event will be happening from 3:30 – 5:00 PM this Friday, May 24th. Hopefully, you’ll be happening along with it! For more information, call 412.563.2900 or e-mail beechview@carnegielibrary.org.

~Joseph
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main

Mortal Instruments

Have you ever felt like you keep seeing things that NOBODY else is noticing?

Clary Fray feels that way too. Except, when she witnesses a murder at Pandemonium Night Club in NYC – nobody notices AND the victim vanishes into thin air. How do you call the police when there is no victim or evidence?

After her mother’s disappearance and witnessing the murder, Clary is thrown into an underworld filled with demons and demon hunters. Including one Shadowhunter, Jace, who “looks like an angel and acts like a jerk.”

City of Bones (the book) is so good that it’s a series AND movie. Coming August 23rd! Check out the trailer and order the books from the library!

Coming in March 2014: The sixth and final book of the Mortal Instruments series. City of Heavenly Fire!

Did you know there was a prequel too? The Infernal Devices takes place in the same universe as Mortal Instruments, just in the Victorian era! Read Clockwork Angel to get started!

What do you think about the upcoming movie? Excited? Worried it won’t live up to the books?

Michael @ CLP-Hazelwood

Haters Gonna Hate

Translated for adults.

Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers.

-Some old person

Actually, I’ve noticed an increase in less-than-flattering chatter about young adults making the rounds.  For example, a recently published study claims that today’s teens expect to work less and have more than previous generations.  I’m also sure you heard about the egoism exhibited by a certain famous millennial during a visit to Anne Frank’s House.  And apparently, vocalists  – more specifically young, reality television competitors – can’t even sing songs properly anymore.  And then came the mother of all indictments from Time magazine – “The Me Me Me Generation“.  Well, you know what?  To all the haters, I’m calling HOGWASH!

Here’s the thing about most of the people I encounter who speak disparagingly about “those millennials”, they have almost zero interactions with young adults on a regular basis!  There is no way an entire generation can be summarized by the actions of one person, one study, one reality television competition, or one article. In fact, many of the criticisms of young people I’ve been hearing lately, sound eerily familiar.  It wasn’t too long ago that my generation was characterized as being a bunch of ambition-less slackers.  We were even assigned an anthem.

And, as it turns out, we didn’t turn out to be the losers everyone predicted we would be.  But I digress.  The disapproval of young adults isn’t new, it is universal and spans time.  (Please see the quote above which is most often attributed to Socrates.)  So, as someone who has the good fortune to work with teens, here is my response:

• Sure, maybe some teenagers are materialistic, but probably no more so than any previous generation or any current other age group.  In fact, according to the very same study, materialism actually peaked when my generation were teenagers!  And the bit about teens having no work ethic, the teens I know work hard.  Here is an example- despite making up only 11% of the population of Pittsburgh, teens were responsible for contributing almost 50% of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s volunteer hours in 2010!
• There is no denying that what the Biebs wrote was ludicrously insensitive.  But there is not one adult on the planet that can claim to have never said or done anything embarrassingly stupid and self-absorbed in their youth.  Teens haven’t changed, technology has.  The humiliations (I’m using plural because there were MANY) of my youth could not be documented the way they are now, where mistakes are recorded permanently and can spread as fast as a wildfire.
• And lastly, the criticism of vocalists featured on reality television…  Well, I guess I agree with that one.  But that is the whole point of teen culture and style – whether it is singing or fashion- is not supposed to appeal to old people adults like me.  It is actually meant to repel us.  Just ask the hippies, punks, goths, and ravers who have come before.

And so concludes my manifesto.  To the teens of Pittsburgh, try not take the criticisms of adults too much to heart.  In fact, knowing yinz has made me MORE hopeful for the future – a time when you, as adults, will most assuredly look down at the next generation!  In the meantime, enjoy some films featuring the rebellious youth of yesteryear:

                     

Fresh Perspectives: A Teen Documentary Series

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Main, Teen is screening four documentaries that focus on aspects of the teen experience, including independence, over-coming adversity, self confidence and establishing your personal identity.  All teens are welcome to come watch the films and connect with others on Wednesdays from 6-8pm in the Teen Department (Oakland).

May 22:  Film Series Kickoff & Screening
A glimpse into five Indiana teenagers’ senior year of high school.

May 29:  Now We Can Dance: The Story of the Hayward Gay Prom
The story of the Hayward Gay Prom which has been attracting hundreds of Bay Area youth since it began in 1995.  The creation of this film was a two-year project that trained teenagers to be filmmakers with the help of Hayward Public Library staff members and professional advisers.

June 5:  Girls Rock!
Four girls transform their lives at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls.

June 12:  This is What Love in Action Looks Like*
The story of a 16-year-old blogger whose parents sent him to an ex-gay rehabilitation program and the folks in the community who stood up for their friend.  His blog leads to one of the first examples of social media inspiring change and hope.

*We’ll wrap up this film series on June 12 with a popcorn bar featuring Pittsburgh Popcorn Company popcorn!  Stick around after the film to eat, mingle and talk about the films!

This awesome event was curated by Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Main’s Teen Gay Straight Alliance, which meets twice a month.

Don’t forget to check out The Labs @ CLP.  They have everything you need to get your thoughts on film, create and record your music and more!  In the meantime, here are some books & films to inspire you:

   

          

Fantasy Faceoff: Who Will Win?

Some characters are obviously the best. Or are they?

Here, at CLP – Main, Teen this Saturday, May 11th, we’re pitting your favorite fantasy, science fiction, comics and pop culture characters against each other in a game inspired by March Madness!

Confused?  No Problem!  Here’s a quick rundown of how things will go:

ROUND I: Vote! Narrow your list of favorite characters down to the top competitors.

ROUND II: Debate! We’ll pull two characters’ names from a hat, you’ll advocate for their merits and they’ll be entered into the bracket. You have just a few minutes to convince the crowd why your character would advance to the next round, conquering their unlikely opponent.

ROUND III: Last Warriors Standing! Design a play-by-play of this final, epic battle with your teammates.
.

There will also be snack s and prizes for participating!

Register for the event here, or tell us you’re coming on facebook.  In the meantime, check out these tangentially related books!

We’ll see you there!

Morgan, CLP – Main, Teen

Summer time is travelling time!

Summer time is almost here!  It has been a long, long, long winter, but we finally have some nice weather and (hopefully) some time off to enjoy it!  Whether it is summer vacation for teens or a few days off for librarians, I think everyone is looking forward to this summer.

One of the best things about summer is the chance to get away for a few days or even longer if you are lucky.  I always like to travel to Moraine State Park and enjoy the beach and a picnic.  It’s one of my favorite places to go.  Another place I love to visit is Cook Forest, where you can go hiking, rent a cabin, and go canoeing or fishing.

If you can’t get away or can’t get away anyplace far, you can always escape somewhere through a good book.  Some of my favorite books explore travelling and visiting new places.  These are a great way to travel to new places without leaving your house or spending a cent!

 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson is one of my favorite books despite the super girly looking cover!  It is about a 17 year old girl named Ginny whose free spirited artist aunt Peg passes away and leaves her an unusual gift of a plane ticket to London and 13 blue envelopes with different clues in them.  Each envelope can only be opened when Ginny reaches a new destination in Europe.  Ginny gets to visit lots of cool places all over Europe and she meets lots of interesting people.  This is a great book for anyone who has ever wanted to visit some of the fascinating locations of Europe!

 The Name of the Star is another book by Maureen Johnson (who you might be able to tell is one of my favorite writers).  This one is also about travel, but it is a lot different than 13 Little Blue Envelopes.  In this book, Rory Devereaux moves to London with her parents and has to attend an English boarding school that is totally different than her regular American high school.  The first part of the book is all about the difficulties Rory has while trying to fit in and adapting to living in England.  She has to learn how to play field hockey, eat new foods, and deal with the cold and damp weather.  But then just as she’s getting used to everything, she becomes the target of a serial killer who is re-enacting the Jack the Ripper murders!  This is both an exciting mystery and a great travel tale about the city of London.

 Not primarily a travel story at all, but John Green‘s The Fault in our Stars does involve travel!  It is the story of Hazel Lancaster, a 16 year old who meets Augustus Waters at a therapy session for cancer survivors.  The two get close and fall in love as they deal with the strong emotional issues they are both dealing with.  But Augustus does arrange for Hazel to travel to Amsterdam to meet her favorite author.  It’s a great book that happens to have a bit of travel in it.