Shaking it with Metro Station

So the artist of the week is one that has been blowing up my iPod for a few months now. I'm not gonna lie, I am a more then a little obsessed with Metro Station. I completely dig that they have this 1980's electronica vibe to them that makes me want to shake it (I kind of set myself up for that one!). I'm not joking. I probably shouldn't be admitting this, but it is more then a little possible that I have had dance parties at my apartment with my one year old niece to "Seventeen Forever". And when I say with my niece, I actually mean alone by myself. Or both. Semantics.

Anyways, I just now realized that one of the members, Trace Cyrus, is actually the brother of Miley Cyrus. Who knew? Everyone, apparently. Does that family have the gift or what? Is there a single Cyrus who doesn't have a platinum album?

So the song this week I'm featuring is one of their lesser known treasures, "Kelsey". Hop on over to our MySpace page if you want to see a side of Metro Station that gives "Shake It" a run for it's money.

I heart I Heart Daily

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like everything you are doing is leading you to some small step to a great discovery? Welcome to my day.

I had a customer come up to me and ask me if I knew anything about who created roller blades. Being a person who will only run if there is a fire, exercise isn't my thing and of course I was clueless. So I visited my favorite website ever, Word Book Online. From there I found began my journey into Wonderland. I followed some random link to this invention website, http://www.brenda-inventions.blogspot.com/ventions.blogspot.com/, which by itself wasn't really exciting but the link on THAT sight was. It showed me what people in Mentor were checking out web wise that day, and at the top of the list was my ever beloved http://www.readergirlz.blogspot.com/. I'm glad I followed the yellow brick road to my fave page because, like always, they led me to the mother of all coolness: http://www.iheartdaily.com/

What is I Heart Daily? It is this amazing website where every single day they keep you in the know about what is happening. Celebrities, fashion, music, books, movies, you name it, they talk about it. I know, I know, it sounds very familiar to the fabulous page you are currently reading, just with more entries right? Here's the kicker. It is the "they" that makes this site amazing. "They" are teenagers and college students. As a relatively young person (cough), I really like being in the know from people who don't have to ask their kids what's hot but actually wear it themselves. Want a bonus? They are nice! With a tag line like "You'll never hear about the stuff we hate, just the stuff we heart", how can you not love them?

And I do. I heart I Heart Daily.

BTW, in case were wondering, roller blades (aka in line skates) were originally created in 1760 by a man named James Plimpton. I also heart stories with compete, full circle endings!

2009 is the Year of Science

Everyone likes to celebrate accomplishments, and 2009 is the year to do it.

Our ever so informative friend from circulation, Eric, has told me that 2009 marks the anniversary of some really cool accomplishments of the science world. I knew that February 12 will mark the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, but I did not know it marked the 200th anniversary Charles Darwin's birth. In fact, this is just the beginning of awesome anniversaries of science. 2009 also shows us, among other things, the 400th anniversary of the first time Galileo used his telescope.

So in celebration of the amazing achievements we will be celebrating in science this year, here are a list of some books that may help get you in the mood.

Simon Bloom, the Gravity Keeper by Michael Reisman

Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa

Footprints in Time by Petru Popescu

Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks

Shift by Charlotte Agell

Double Helix by Nancy Werlin

Lost Time by Susan Schmid

Stellar Science Projects about Earth's Sky by Robert Gardner
Galileo Galilei and the Science of Motion by William Boerst

Serving up the feel goods

How is it that Ellen DeGeneres always knows what's I'm thinking? The video pick of the week is a car commercial I saw on her show this past week while I was cooped up on my couch with a sore throat. Watching daytime television is the best part of being sick after taking four hour naps without anyone judging you. Ellen shows the coolest random videos.

We serve many things here at the library: people, books, music, the feel goods. This video cracks me up because for all the things we do dish out, there is one thing we don't. It pokes a little fun at those who just don't quite get what we're about at MPL. Here's hoping that it puts as big as a smile on your face as it did mine!

Want to smile? Check out our MySpace page!

I need a Paper Route

Who doesn't love a little electronica?

Paper Route is the band of the week. Never heard of them? I'm not surprised. I sort of came across them by accident. I Googled something wrong and bam, music to my ears. Talk about a happy accident. They have this wanna be 80's flash back vibe with a little mellow techno thrown in. Very nice. As far as I can tell, this band is on the newer side. I've only been able to track down the EP's from iTunes and occasionally on a website. I think they're from the UK. So while it may be hard to get your hands on a hard copy, it is definitely worth a trip to our MySpace page to check them out.

"You Kill Me" is the perfect song for anyone who has had their heart a little roughed up by someone they love, but they don't want to whine about it. Sometimes love sucks, but it's not worth the time or energy to gripe about it for a hundred years. This song will not bring you to tears, it will not speak to your soul on some primal level, it's just a good little piece that says "wow, this sucks".

We've all been there. It's almost as common as the paper.

A frog Walked into a library

A frog walked into a library and asked the librarian what she would recommend." How about this sir?" asked the librarian, showing him Toad of Toad Hall. " Reddit, reddit," said the frog.
{{Chuckle}}

So in these dark at noon winter days of hum-drumness, here’s a nice little list of funny books to perk you wallflowers right up.

Books:
Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman
Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins
Hoot By Carl Hiassan
Girl, 15, Charming but insane by Sue Limb
Angus, Thongs, & Full-frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
I am the messenger by Markus Zusak

Manga/comics:
Inubaka by Yukiya Sakuragi
Dramacon by Svetlana Chmakova
Case Closed by Gōshō Aoyama
Hayate the Combat Butler by Kenjiro Hata
Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

Step aside, Webster, there's new help in town

I think we all can agree that homework is not too much fun. In fact, I may even say that I hate it a little. I think the only thing I dislike more then homework is exercise. It is a necessary evil, but why does it have to be so boring?

Here's a website that is sure to take the dull out school stuff: www.wordia.com

So much cooler then your average resource tool, Wordia is a video dictionary. (You don't need to read that twice. It really says video dictionary. How cool is that?) I'm one of those people who needs to see it to believe it, and this site lets you see it, say it, live it. It takes the guess work out of those random definitions, and can make the grunt work a little more exciting. Not only is it entertaining, but it is accurate.

So next time you're stumped, don't get frustrated, get entertained. I do. Maybe homework isn't as bad as I thought...

Silversun Pick-me-Up with a Tegan and Sara Twist

"I've been waiting for this moment all my life, but it's not quite right" - Silversun Pickups

This week we're having a double helping of the song of the week. This week needs it. Have you ever had those weeks when your brain is in a funk? When you keep forgetting things you want to ask your friends because you just feel blah? That's been my week so far. I needed to clear my brain, so this morning I took my sure fire pick-me-up; indie rock.

I don't know what it is about indie rock that has me singing along at the top of my lungs. I don't know why singing at the top of my lungs boosts my mood. It may be because I grew up in the angst days of Alanis Morrisset, but deep down I know there are other angry rockers out there besides me. And indie isn't angry. It's too pretty to be angry. Seriously though, raging it out until your head gets clear is not a bad way to release stress. The Silversun Pickups are the perfect band to take you on a ride to clarity. They have a weird sound. They are just off enough to make them interesting, but not so interesting that you have to concentrate to enjoy them. Their level of off is the perfect music description of a good funk. Go to our MySpace page and listen to their song "Lazy Eye" and you'll see why this band is indie rock at it's finest. Words can't describe. It is easy bliss.

And I don't know why more people don't like Tegan and Sara, or for that matter have even heard of Tegan and Sara. I fell in love with them when they wrote "I Was Walking With the Ghost". In fact, that has been at the top of my shuffle for a few years now. This new song, "The Con," (which you can hear on our MySpace page), has me flipping for them all over again. I would tell you to get on the band wagon, but first we need to make a band wagon. Help me create a cultural phenomenon.

Get over funks the indie way, with a Tegan and Sara twist.

Heck yeah!

Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go by Dale E. Basye

Have you ever wondered what happens to good kids who do bad things? I like the bad guys to suffer as much as the next guy, but I've always wondered what happens to a good person who makes a few mistakes. According to Basye, not all crimes are created equal, and Heck is the place to sort that stuff out.

While this book was definitely not written for the older folks, similar to Harry Potter it can really be enjoyed at any age. It is funny, quick witted and you don't have to be a Dante fan to get a kick out of this story (however, for those of you who are, this books gives the D man some props). It pokes fun at all of those boring "masterpieces" you read in school that talk about death. For heavens sake, if you pardon the pun, the main characters are named Milton and Marlo! Paradise Lost, anyone?

For all of you who think there should be an upside to afterlife, this book is for you. It is definitely not of this world.

Who knew something so minimal could be so cool?

This is going out to all the music nerds out there.

I was having a conversation with Eric from circulation (you may recognize him as one of those smiling faces you see at the checkout counter) when he showed me an area of music I had never experienced; minimalism. You know those paintings of big red and blue squares at the art museum that has everyone saying "I could do that"? Think about that for your ears and you have minimalist music. Basically, this movement takes one concept and changes it slightly, over and over again. It's kind of like when the blinker on the car begins to match to the beat of the radio. For a few moments, they fit each other. I love those moments. While I would argue that this music was the beginning of the techno movement, some would argue it reminds them of nature. Either way, it is way cool.

Even if you don't like the music, you should most def check out the video we have on our MySpace page of a musician playing a duet by Steve Reichs called "Piano Phase" all by himself. That's right. Two pianos at the same time by the same man. It doesn't get better then that. This video is the perfect one to launch our latest feature; video of the week. It's about time we gave you a festival for the eyes.

Glad we like more then pop rock and want more minimalism? Check out these composers:
Philip Glass
John Adams
John Tavener
Arvo Part
Henryk Gorecki
Steve Martland
Michael Nyman

2009 New Years Resolution

Our goal at Mentor Public Library is to continue to bring you the freshest information about books, music and movies. We want to thank all of our readers for making 2008 fabulous, and we promise to work tirelessly over the next year to bring you things we hope will inspire you the way you inspire us. As always, please send us your feedback so we can continue to provide you with what you'd love to see.

Check out a hilarious version of our resolution with the latest video on our MySpace page.

Happy New Year!