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.
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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.

Two is Better Than One

Life is filled with awesome combinations: cookies & milk, peanut butter & chocolate, chips & salsa… Don’t you love it when your local Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh partners with another cool organization to bring you amazing programming? This week there are two such programs:

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Photo by philfraleyproductions.com

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Hill District and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History are teaming up to bring  you Carnegie Museum of Natural History @ the Library.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM 

Go behind the scenes of the museum, meet scientists and create experiences that bring museum displays to life! Our friends from Carnegie Museum of Natural History will be at the Library with fossils and other museum objects to share activities that focus on energy and the environment. Come learn about an exciting new opportunity for teens.

Sponsor: Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Location: Hill District

What’s all the buzzing about? Well, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Squirrel Hill and the Burgh Bees community are coming together and presenting Gardening Thyme: Honey Bees.

Honey Bees photo by: doandroidsdance.com

Wednesday, May 8, 2013  

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM 

Join us for a presentation on honey bees. Learn about the different types of honey bees, the Burgh Bees community apiary and honey bees as part of our agricultural system. There will be honey for tasting, a hive observation (a contained box with bees in it), and beekeeping tools and jackets.

Location: Squirrel Hill

To learn more about this, check out Corey’s blog:

buzz buzz with Burgh Bees and other Bee resources

lauren @ CLP – Woods Run

Great Movie, Better Soundtrack

NPR (one of my favorite news and culture resources) just offered a sneak peak at the Jay-Z produced soundtrack to the most anticipated movie of spring.  The Great Gatsby, with an all-star cast including Leo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, and Tobey Maguire is sure to be a spectacle.  With such talented performers and, of course, amazing source material in the form of F Scott Fitzgerald’s Great American Novel, the movie will, no doubt, offer some new insights into the “American Dream,” wealth, class, love, and obsession.  Jay-Z’s task was to re-imagine the decadence, excess and exuberance of the Jazz age using modern genres and performers.  He pulls it off, including artists like Andre 3000,  Bryan Ferry, Emeli Sande, Florence + The Machine, Jack White, and Nero.

The excitement surrounding this soundtrack got me thinking…What other movie soundtracks have become as culturally important as their movies?  Check out a few of my pics!

  

What’s your favorite movie soundtrack?

~Brooke, South Side

New Slang

Slang, especially as an indicator of the evolution of language, is fascinating.  Slang is defined as “the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker’s language or dialect but are considered acceptable in certain social settings. Slang expressions may act as euphemisms and may be used as a means of identifying with one’s peers.”  Needless to say, slang changes as the times change.  Dude, the slang used when I was growing up is way different from the slang used now.  Slang also varies epically by region.

I recently came across two different articles about current American slang.  One described how the punctuation slash (/) has not only entered our vocabulary to mean two or more of the same thing, but is now being written out as “slash” to mean the same thing as “/”.  Example:  “Does anyone care if my cousin comes and visits slash stays with us Friday night?”   Not only has this piece of punctuation turned into a spoken word, but its written form is now being used.  More confusingly, the word is now being used to add something as a follow up phrase.  Example:  “I really love that hot dog place on Liberty Street. Slash can we go there tomorrow?”

The second new slang phenomenon is how young people in Baltimore are using the word “yo” to replace “he” or “she” in instances where the gender of the person is unknown.  A study ‘found the kids used “yo” instead of “he” or “she” when they didn’t know the gender of the character. But they also used “yo” as a substitute even when they did know the gender.’  For example: “Yo threw a thumbtack at me” (instead of he/she threw a thumbtack at me).

It takes a wickedly talented author to convincingly incorporate slang into yo books without sounding like a derp (like I do in this post).  These sick books explore slang in all its fantastic glory.  Grab a book, sit back, and just moss.  YOLO, right?

Spa Day @ the Library!

If you’re a teen who will be near the West End Library on Wednesday, stop in to get pampered!

There will be he normal Teen Lounge stuff  – Xbox, Wii, Art Corner, and snacks, but you can also make a body scrub from scratch – this sugar-based concoction will make your skin smoother if you’re into that.

CC licensed photo by flickr user knittycent

You can take home easy skin care recipes to make from stuff you probably have in your own kitchen.

This could be a great Mother’s Day gift, too!

It’s from 4:30-6:30 and is FREE as usual. Check out the event page by clicking here.

Can’t get to the West End on May 1st? Check out these books:

The Green Guide To Natural Beauty by Karen Gilbert

EcoBeauty: Scrubs, Rubs, Masks, and Bath Bombs for You and Your Friends by Lauren Cox

Herbal Crafts: More than 60 Simple Projects to Beautify Your Home and Body by Jessie Hawkins

Home Spa: recipes and techniques to restore and refresh by Mannie Rosa Golden

Recipes for Natural Beauty: 100 homemade treatments for radiant beauty by Katie Spiers

Nature’s Beauty Secrets: recipes for beauty treatments from the world’s best spas by Dawn Gallagher