Teen shot in Northview Heights

On Monday afternoon,  a 15-year old teen, Jerome Williams was shot by police during an altercation in Northview Heights.  You can read the story full story here:  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10271/1090894-53.stm

According to Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper, Police officers responded to a phone call concerning a robbery in the neighborhood and there was a chase.  Jerome, who had a gun, was told to drop it, and instead fired shots in the direction of the officers, who the returned fire. During the shooting, Jerome was struck and killed. Thus ended the life of a 15-year old teen. In the words of Chief Harper, “Any time life is taken, it is a tragedy.”

Increasingly in the world of teens today, death is not an event reserved exclusively  for grandparents and the elderly. We all know, however distantly, a young person who met an untimely end. When I first moved to Pittsburgh in 1993 a member of our junior class at Peabody High School was killed and the entire school was in mourning. After I graduated in 1994, a former classmate, who I’d sat in front of every day in homeroom was killed in Garfield. Whether someone got mixed up in something they shouldn’t have, or just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, they leave behind people who are devastated, who cared for and loved them, and who must now deal with their loss.

In literature as in life: here are a few titles about teens who either met an untimely end, or who got on the wrong side of the law (or were tempted to.)

Tyrell

by Coe Booth

Fifteen-year-old Tyrell, who is living in a Bronx homeless shelter with his spaced-out mother and his younger brother, tries to avoid temptation so he does not end up in jail like his father.

Tears of a Tiger

by Sharon Draper

The death of high school basketball star Rob Washington in an automobile accident affects the lives of his close friend Andy, who was driving the car, and many others in the school.

Shooter

by Walter Dean Myers

Written in the form of interviews, reports, and journal entries, the story of three troubled teenagers ends in a tragic school shooting.

Homeboyz

Seventeen-year-old Teddy Anderson, who is known on the streets as T-Bear, decides to seek revenge on the person responsible for his little sister’s death, which was caused by a stray bullet from a semiautomatic handgun.

by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

If you like ________, then try _________

“Where can I find Twilight?”  “How about the Pretty Little Liars series?”  “Leviathan wasn’t on the shelf!”

When you show up to the library looking for a particular book, and it isn’t on the shelf – that can be very disappointing.  But, with a little open-mindedness, we can help you can  find another book that you just might fall in love with.

Find some suggestions, after the jump.

Teen Book Review: The Tao of Pooh

Taoism isn’t a religion, it’s a way of life. But like any complicated concept, it can be difficult to understand and even more difficult to explain. One of the reasons that *The Tao of Pooh* is such a great book is because it explains a way of life in terms anyone can understand, using characters we all know and love: Winnie the Pooh and all of his friends.

The book covers all facets of Taoism, including topics such as accepting and appreciating things in their natural state without trying to fight or change it. “…the basic Taoism that we are concerned with here is simply a particular way of appreciating, learning from, and working with whatever happens in everyday life.” Pooh exemplifies the concepts of Taoism because of his disaffected attitude and his ability to believe that things will work themselves out in the end. Using a character from everyone’s childhood as well as brief humorous side notes, Benjamin Hoff explains Taoism in a way that is simple, easy to understand, and a lot of fun to read.

–book review by Alison Malehorn, a volunteer @ CLP – Main, Teen

Team: A Day in the Life of a Volunteer (or Two)

Ever thought about what it would be like to volunteer at the library? Then you don’t have enough to think about during your day. Regardless, we’re going to tell you about it! Awesome, right?

Right.

The day generally begins with waiting for the doors to open and surveying the colorful characters that frequent the library every day. With the library opening at ten, we () are the first wave of teen volunteers to come in.  That means lots of shelving. We split it up into two divisions after receiving a cheery greeting from the librarians behind the front desk. Thank God they’re morning people.

Now, onto the perils of shelving books. These include: shelving them incorrectly, one’s cart falling into the pits of doom near shelves in the teen fiction/non-fiction section, shelving so much MANGA that the pressure inside your cranium threatens to burst and you find yourself reeling from the room spinning, stubborn patrons who won’t heed the meek, “excuse me,” we utter so they get out of the way, our insane urge to make sure that all of the books are perfectly straight (and our subsequent cases of acute OCD).

Other duties include: making advocacy posters, cleaning the whiteboards in the art club room, scanning new teen books into the system, fixing battered and broken CD cases, and shelf straightening. Shelf straightening is rather self-explanatory: we straighten the books on the shelves.

After a hard day’s work (more like two hours in an air-conditioned building filled with books) we pick up our bags from the office, bid adieu to the awesome librarians we work for, and share a giant cookie from the Crazy Mocha. (Julie pays for the cookie, and Jemma breaks off little pieces until Julie finally gives up and gives Jemma half.)

Thinking of volunteering now that you’ve read this candid, ringing endorsement? Stop by the library of your choice and ask about volunteering opportunities!

Be Your Own Top Model

Last week, CWTV debuted cycle 15 of your favorite show and mine, AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL! For the next few months, each model will compete with who can squeal the loudest, create the most drama, miss their families, and–oh yeah–model!

This cycle is more about high fashion than ever, with the winner getting a photo spread in Vogue Italia instead of Seventeen Magazine and being subject to the critiques of famous fashion designers such as Roberto Cavalli, among others.

If you want to get a grasp on not just the world of modeling and fashion (you know, in order to tune out the screaming ignoramus models-to-be and focus on why the wrinkly European people on the show are really important) but also mold yourself into the most fierce you that you can be, check out these resources!

TYRA.COM – Tyra’s own personal site for beauty, inside and out. Learn the secrets of the smize and modeling H2T!

Passion for Fashion: Careers in Style
by Jeanne Beker

Whether your interests lie in design, modeling, photography, or make-up, this book will outline all of the different opportunities you can have in the fashion industry–and prepare you to pursue them.

America’s Next Top Model: Fierce Guide to Life – The Ultimate Source of Beauty, Fashion, and Model Behavior
by J. E. Bright

Tyra Banks believes that education, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a positive self-image are essentials of modeling, and in this book, you’ll learn how to develop all of these things. Self-empowerment is the key to being the fiercest you you can be, whether model or not!

Model: A Memoir (Pretty Girl. Ugly Business.)
by Cheryl Diamond

Cheryl Diamond was 14 when she left North Carolina for New York and its promise of modeling stardom. How Diamond remains optimistic after spending a night locked in a storage unit and fending off one lecherous model scout after another remains to be seen, but if you’re looking at an intimate portrait of the industry, you’ll get it here.

Hungry: A Young Model’s Story of Appetite, Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves
by Crystal Renn

I might enjoy the fashion industry, but no enjoyment should be without the knowledge that the fashion industry has really hurt women in America by privileging specific kinds of bodies (what the industry calls “coat hanger” bodies) over others. In Crystal Renn’s story, we see what happens when a model’s pressure to lose weight overtake the need for nourishment.

~Joseph
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main

The End of Ice Cream Season

School’s back in session, which can only mean one thing: the end of summer, and with that, the end of ice cream eatin’ weather.

This is why it’s important in the coming months to eat as much ice cream as possible*. Even better–make your own!

This article tells you everything you need to know to make your own frozen treats…from standard vanilla, to the more exotic mint or mango:

How to make ice cream in (almost) any flavor

You can also watch this video and learn how to make quick n’ easy homemade ice cream in a plastic bag:

Or, venture into the stacks and check out one of these amazing frozen treat related titles:

Ice cream : 52 easy recipes for year-round frozen treats / Sally Sampson ; photography by Alexandra Grablewski.

Ice cream! : delicious ice creams for all occasions / Pippa Cuthbert & Lindsay Cameron Wilson.

The ice cream maker companion : 100 easy-to-make frozen desserts of all kinds / Avner Laskin ; photography by Danya.

Ice cream : the delicious history / Marilyn Powell.

++++

On a non-ice cream related note: this is my last week working at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Teen Department. I’ve had a great time and have learned a lot from working with all of you this past year. Luckily I’ll be close by (at the First Floor’s New & Featured Department,) so come and say “hi” if you get the chance!

Best, Tara

PS – What do you think is the best ice cream (or, frozen yogurt or custard) in all of Pittsburgh?

*this statement based on questionable health studies

The Creepiness of Vermont

M.T. Anderson has written some really funny books.  And serious books (award-winning, incidentally).  And funny-serious-award-winning books. 

And now he has gone missing, in the midst of making a video promoting his book The Suburb Beyond the Stars!!

[Vimeo=http://vimeo.com/12896374]

Yes, it is 10 minutes and 55 seconds long, but it’s worth it.  If you’re a fan of Paranormal Activity or the Blair Witch Project or the Grudge, then you will like this video.  And M.T. Anderson is very charming.

And before you read The Suburb Beyond the Stars, you’ll want to check out the Game of Sunken Places.  It’s a story about Brian and Gregory, best friends who go on vacation in Vermont, where Gregory’s Uncle Max lives.  Uncle Max makes them dress in Victorian clothing, and he doesn’t own a TV, but there is a weird board game modeled on the woods outside of his home that was left in their common room.  Once they start to explore the places on the board, it becomes clear that while, outside of Vermont, ogres tend not to be real, inside of the creepy Vermont woods, the rules are a little different.

So, yes, it is like Jumanji but creepy.  A perfect book to read as the Semptember days grow crisper and autumn puts you in that telling-stories-around-a-campfire mood.  Or is that just me?

BONUS FACT(S) ABOUT M.T. ANDERSON:

How he writes (taken from this interview over at NPR):

“‘I eat broccoli. I think about the plot. I pace in circles for hours, counter-clockwise, listening to music. I try to think of one detail in the scene I’m about to write that I’m really excited about writing. Until I can come up with that one detail, I pace. I put on another CD. I hum along. I get an idea. I prepare to begin. I shake out my fingers. I sit down. I type the first word. I erase it. I type in another first word, and consider the second word.

The phone rings. It’s a friend calling to tell me a great story about running into her ex-stalker at Cinnabon. We talk for an hour and a half.

My time for writing is up. I go to bed. I feel guilty and miserable. Oh well. Better luck tomorrow.’”

Excellent Science Resources

Need a current event in science? Check out this site: Science Daily. It summarizes (usually in a mere page or two) cutting edge science research from peer-reviewed journal articles. Not only will you be able to easily understand it and write a quick summary or report; Science Daily articles cover diverse areas such as biology, medicine, physics, chemistry, climate science and more. You are sure to find something interesting to write about, even if you think you’re not really all that into science.

And for those who are really into science (and thinking about pursuing a science degree in college), check out PLOS Biology (an awesome open access, peer-reviewed biology journal) and Stanford University’s Highwire Press (which partners with independent scholarly journals and university presses to provide access to abstracts and many free, full-text articles). If you’re planning on majoring in science, you’re going to be reading a lot of these complex journal articles, so you may as well get some practice. Both sites host free full-text science articles, and Highwire even hosts articles from other academic disciplines).

Check out these books for more help writing about science and writing research reports in general:

                             

Sara Dora, CLP-Hazelwood

MTV’s Video Music Awards

I am a pop culture junkie, and I love award shows.  The Video Music Awards is one of my favorites.  There is always something to talk about the next day.

Last night’s VMAs seemed down right boring to me.  Eminem left after his performance and was not there to accept any of the awards that he won.  Lady Gaga won 8 awards;  no suprise there.  Neither Taylor Swift nor Kayne West wowed me with their performances, and they got most of the up-front hype for their appearances. 

I like Chelsea Handler, but most of her comedy bits seemed to fall flat.  Russell Brand was a bit rough and naughty last year, but I enjoyed his turn as host much better. 

Well, I guess I have to have some highlights.  I would give Usher an A for his performance.

Usher rehearses for the VMAs.  Photo from Rap-Up.com.

I also really liked Florence and the Machine.  All of Sunday’s VMA performances can be replayed on MTV’s VMA web site: 

http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/2010/

Lady Gaga at the MTV VMA Awards

~Marian

 

Shaqui’s Music Reviews: The Complete Plantation Recordings

The Complete Plantation Recordings by Muddy Waters

The Album was good but I thought it was going to be a lot better. Dont get me wrong it was good but I expected a lot more from Muddy waters I guess this wasn’t one of his best albums. But their were some great things his guitar solos were amazing thou. And you can tell that all of the recording was done live. The recordings sounded great with most of the tracks but the live effect made some tracks less appealing

Black Night Road by Sonny Terry

The CD I listend to was Sonny Terry, Album Black Night Road, I thought the music was great. This album is perfect for some one who just wants to lay back and relax. The Album is really laid back and has a cool flowing vibe to it. Their are certain song that can help people cope with the lost of love ones songs that helps get over relationships.

**The above reviews were written by Shaqui as part of the Teen Fine Alternative Program.  If you’re interested in working off fines owed on CLP materials and are between the ages of 12-18, please contact your local CLP location.**