Shut up and play: Come try Silent Library!

You don’t need to be made of solid muscle to play our version of the MTV show, Silent Library, and we promise not to try to make you vomit. We will try to make you laugh, though!

Silent Library

Tuesday, October 8, 3:30-5:30

When your friends are being humiliated with zany challenges, do you have the strength to just stand and watch? For example…have you ever seen someone make a sandwich using only their feet? Just like the popular MTV show, if you can stay silent while your friends are going berserk, we will give you prizes!

By now, we hope you know that we don’t usually give you the (shh) finger…but come on by for Silent Library, and we’ll make exceptions to that rule.

Want to play, but would rather see someone else humiliated than do it yourself?  Check out one of these books!

Schadenfreude, Baby! : a delicious look at the misfortunes of others (and the pleasures it brings us), by Laura Lee.

Why does it feel so good to see others feel so bad? Take a moment away from your own troubles to dig into the troubles of others. Right or wrong, you just might feel better.

I love you, Beth Cooper, by Larry Doyle.

Dennis was captain of the Debate Team. Beth Cooper was the head cheerleader. And until Dennis gave a totally unique graduation speech that went something like, “I love you, Beth Cooper!” neither she, nor her beefy Army boyfriend knew or cared who Dennis was.

Cringe: teenage diaries, journals, notes, poems, and abandoned rock operas, by Sarah Brown.

If you’ve ever read one of your own diaries from years gone by only to be filled with the sudden urge to light a match, buy a paper shredder, or move far far away, consider reading someone else’s loot, instead. If you’re extra nosy, there’s more like it here and here.
:

How to Survive Anything, by Rachel Bucholz.

From embarrassing parents to shark attacks – if knowledge is power, advice on these moments could be key to you staying alive.
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“What’s that smell?” (oh, it’s me.) : 50 mortifying situations and how to deal, by Tucker Shaw.

Prom! Overflowing toilets! Zits! All of the horrible, very real what-ifs of adolescence and some thoughtful tips to go with them.

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See you there!
Whitney, CLP – Main

The Write Idea: The Ralph Munn Creative Writing Contest and You

“We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” – T. S. Eliot

Did you ever have a wish to become some famous writer?  You’ve just finished reading a fantastic book that made you just itching to grab a pen and start scribbling — or maybe a keyboard to hammer out some crazy idea that is just bursting to get out?  Sometimes watching a movie or even listening to a particular song can urge me to spit out some sweet story that sounds just as impressive as the ever so popular Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins; To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; or my all-time favorite, The Host by Stephenie Meyer.

Well, you now have that chance.  On May 7^th, you, my dear writer, have an opportunity to grab that dream and make it come true.  Perhaps you have heard of it before and maybe not, but Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is once again providing you the opportunity to participate in the Ralph Munn Creative Writing Contest.  There will also be workshops that you can attend to get some tips on writing and a chance for others to critique your work.  As William Faulkner says, “Get it down. Take chances.  It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.”

Need some inspiration?  Somewhere to start?  Check out these books:

• Spilling Ink by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter
  

• The Pocket Muse by Monica Wood
  
• Ralph Munn Creative Writing Anthology, 2011 (the winning authors’ stories!)
• Poetry Speaks: Who I Am edited by Elise Paschen (also includes CD where authors read their poetry aloud!)
  

“Make everybody fall out of the plane first, and then explain who they were and why they were in the plane to begin with.” – Nancy Ann Dibble

Hmmm… kinda reminds me of the screenplay from LOST…

Just Try to Remain Silent: Sign Up for The Silent Library Program

Do you think you could remain silent while someone plucked a hair from inside your nose?  Could you prevent yourself from laughing at the sight of a good friend being fed baby food while dressed in a diaper and bib?  Would you be able to refrain from squealing in horror after seeing yourself made up by a person wearing a blindfold?  If you answered yes to all of these questions, then you could win big on Tuesday, February 7th!  Just like the popular MTV game show, we’ll be holding our own version of Silent Library (minus the vomit) in the Main Teen Center.  We dare you to remain silent while you and your teammates humiliate yourselves whilst attempting outrageous and embarrassing stunts for prizes.  Registration for this event is required.  Reserve your spot today!

Want to participate, but you think you’d die of embarrassment?  Check out these books instead:

How to Survive Anything by Rachel Buchholz

Advice on surviving natural disasters, embarrassing moments, and social situations.

Schadenfreude, Baby!: A Delicious Look at the Misfortune of Others (and the Pleasure It Brings Us)

by Laura Lee

Taps into our universal longing to gawk and smirk at the people who stand—or fall—for all of us.

“What’s That Smell?” (Oh, It’s Me.): 50 Mortifying Situations and How to Deal

by Tucker Shaw

Tips for dealing with the embarrassment that is the teenage years.

Mega Traumarama!: Real Girls and Guys Confess More of Their Most Mortifying Moments!

from the Editors of Seventeen Magazine

Delight in the humiliation of your peers!

Senryu: an ancient poetry contest

photo by flickr user ds2nd

I would bet money that most readers of this blog have heard of the Japanese poetry form called haiku, with its 5-7-5 syllable structure, alluding to nature.  Senryu is like haiku, but it is often about day-t0-day occurrences instead of nature, and is part of an interactive poetry game called maekuzuke.

Maekoto Ueda, in the introduction to Light Verse from the Floating World, a collection of senryu, explains it thus:

“The word senryu is derived from the name of a person, Kara Senryu (1718-1790), who lived in the downtown district of Edo, a city now known as Tokyo.  His real name was Karai Hachiemon, and he made a living as the head official of his ward, a position he had inherited from his father at the age of about thirty-six.  Perhaps his work was boring, or perhaps it did not bring him much income.  For whatever reason, in 1757 he decided to make a debut as a master of maekuzuke, a verse-writing game played by a good many people in Japan at the time.  …

[In the game] the master would first announce the maeku (previous verses) usually containing two lines of seven Japanese syllables each. For example:

just in case it should happen   moshi ya moshi ya to

just in case it should happen    moshi ya moshi ya to

Anyone who wanted to enter the contest was to add a tsuskeku (following verse) of 5-7-5 syllables in such a  way that the two verses combined would make a good poetic sequence.  To use the example cited above, one entrant for the contest submitted the tsukeku,

at the teahouse                     mizuchaya e

he puffs rings of smoke     kite wa wa wo fuki

all day long                             hi wo kurashi

which seems to picture a shy young man who is secretly in love with a waitress working at the teahouse.”

The entrants would pay a fee to submit, and would get a chance to win prizes for the best verses.  The judge of the verses was the maekuzuke master, who also wrote the maeku.  Senryu became synonymous with this poetry game because he eventually was the master of over 2.3 million maekuzuke.  Eventually the game part of the poetry form lost popularity, but the following verse (tsukeku), became a form of poetry in its own right, and kept the name senryu. (I paraphrase from pages 1-3 of Light Verse from the Floating World).

photo from flickr user shinyai

The freedom in subject matter that came with writing senryu led to many poems that showed what life was like in Japan back when the poems were written.  Here are some of my favorites from the compilation:

the doctor gets paid

by the victim he’s killed–

great business to be in!

***

the love letter

from a man she doesn’t care for–

she shows it to mother

***

sheltering from rain

he’s memorized all the words

on the plaque

Check out some of our books of Senryu and add your own Senryu in the comments!  I’ll even give you one of Senryu’s own starter verses:

it goes on forever / tsuzuki koso sure

it goes on forever / tsuzuki koso sure

- Tessa (CLP – East Liberty), who will give the first teen who comments or tweets us (@CLP_Teens, #senryu) an answer to this verse an awesome national poetry month poster:

Video Contest: Show us why you NEED your library!

photo by flickr user Yorkton Film Festival

 

Here’s a great way to practice your filmmaking skills and help the library out at the same time: 

1. Make a short (3 minutes or less) film for the American Library Association’s Why I Need My Library contest, showing why you really NEED your library.  You can use digital animation, live action, or something other mind-blowingly creative method.

2. Submit the film through YouTube and get exposure for yourself and your library!

3. Possibly WIN up to $3,000 for your library and maybe a $50 gift card for books.

I know that there are talented teen filmmakers out there who know the value of their libraries:

[YouTube= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2tJCPu_YZg%5D

The deadline for the contest is APRIL, but now is the perfect time to assemble your crew, start storyboarding, and let your local teen librarian know about your plans so (s)he can offer support and resources.  Each CLP location should have a FlipCam for you to use, and a computer with Windows MovieMaker. 

Here are some guidelines and a list of tips and resources from ALA.  They include a bunch of great websites and books for you to use.

Here are a couple titles available at your local library:

   Movie making course : principles, practice, and techniques : the ultimate guide for the aspiring filmmaker / Chris Patmore

Get animated! : creating professional cartoon animation on your home computer / Tim Maloney.

Sharpen those paintbrushes…

If I could do anything, I would…

That’s this year’s theme for the DOODLE 4 GOOGLE competition.  It’s open through March31st, but you have to get your school to register by March 17th!  Tell your favorite art teacher and point him or her to this site: http://services.google.com/doodle4google/register

Then go to town on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper and submit your entry.  You could see your logo on the Google homepage on May 27th.  Think about how many millions of people use Google every day!  That’s major exposure.

CLP Quick Flix – Contest Deadline Extended!

Did you totally mean to enter the CLP Quick Flix Teen Video Contest but time got away from you?  Did you film some stuff, but not get around to editing it?  Well, I have good news for you: we extended the deadline!  The new deadline is Friday, August 8th…but if you get it in by the end of the weekend, you’ll probably be okay.

If you already entered and are wondering who won, you’re going to have to wait a little longer: winners will be announced at the CLP Quick Flix Film Screening and Award Ceremony on Saturday, August 30th from 3-5pm at CLP – Main, Teen.

I’m looking forward to seeing your flix!

Karen

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!!!

Joseph Beth Booksellers on the South Side are throwing him a party, complete with live wizard rock, trivia and costume contests, and more!

And, to top it all off, 20% of the purchases you make will come back to The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh!  So, you don’t have to feel guilty buying instead of borrowing from the library!

Tonight, Thursday, 7:00 – 9:00!

-LeeAnn

Do Beechview Survey, Try for $25 Gift Card

Beechview teens, if you’ve ever wanted to have a voice, now’s your time. Fill out the online survey and be part of planning Beechview’s future. Just go to http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/survey-intro.zgi?p=WEB227LUNTWWC9. It only takes a minute to do it and you get a chance to win a $25 VISA gift card.

                                                       Tina, Teen Librarian, CLP Beechview

Writing Contest with Cash Prizes!

Hey Ya’ll!

The 2^nd Annual United Black Book Clubs of Pittsburgh’s Celebration of Reading Writing Contest is now underway with prizes up to $500 in cash!  Topics are:

•  Middle School:  Grades 7 -9  

The hero of a tall tale is “larger than life,” even when the character is based on a real person, and tall tale heroes solve problems in hard to believe ways.  Try reading Lies and Other Tall Tales collected by Zora Neale Hurston, available in the Carnegie Library system, and write your own tall tale in 1 – 3 handwritten or typed pages.

 

• High School: Grades 10 – 12

In Zora Neale Hurston’s book Their Eyes Were Watching God the main character, Janie, goes on many journeys trying to find her voice.  Choose a genre of literature (poem, essay, story, letter, etc.) and discuss, in 2 – 5 typed pages, how you found your voice, referring to Janie’s own search, other works of literature, and/or history.

OR

In an effort to battle the Great Depression in the 1930’s the Works Progress Administration created the Federal Writers’ Project.  Zora Neal eHurston was able to make her voice heard by being published and paid through this project. The Federal Writers’ Project gave African Americans the opportunity to voice and document their existence in Pittsburgh from the 1700’s to the 1940’s.  Choose an African American in Pittsburgh from the past and write an essay, in 2 – 5 typed pages, on how, why, what, where, and when they found their voice.  Don’t forget to write from your own voice in the essay so you give us some character!

• Entries are due by April 18^th, please send to:

CLP – Homewood Branch

Celebration of Reading Writing Contest

7101 Hamilton Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15208

• All submissions should have a cover page with the name, age, grade, school, home address, telephone number, and email address of the writer, and the title and genre of the work.  Also, put your name and the title on each page of your submission.  Your entry should by typed, double-spaced, on 8 ½” by 11” white paper, with page numbers, and 12 point font.  Remember to keep a copy for yourself!

• Judges will choose a finalist for both middle and high school, according to content, organization, style, focus, and conventions used.  The work must be original, so if you want to quote a source, see a teacher or librarian to help you cite it!  The winners will be announced at the opening gala at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Homewood Branch from 7:00 to 9:00 pm on May 9^th, 2008. 

Good Luck and Happy Writing!! 

 

FYI: For those of you with younger siblings and cousings, there’s an elementary school topic too.  For details, call Miss LeeAnn, the librarian at CLP – Homewood, at 412.731.3080