JUST ARRIVED!

It's like Christmas in November! Our shipment of NEW books has just arrived and are ready to be checked out! New titles include:

I Am Malala - by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai

New York Times Best Seller - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Escape Under the Forever Sky by Eve Yohalem

James Patterson middle school series: Save Rafe, Ultimate Showdown, My Brother is a Big Fat Liar

The Devil's Intern by Donna Hosia

Skink No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen

100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith

Greenglass House by Kate Milford

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

 

 OLIVER

One of my passions is the theater, especially musical theater. Well, we are all in for a treat this month as the St. Anthony Village High School presents the musical "Oliver" - book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart, based on the novel "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens.

I have found throughout the years that many times high school and community theater productions are just as good (if not better) than a professional staging. I know it takes many hours of hard work from the students, director, stage crew, etc. to put on a play, especially a musical.

I would encourage you all to support our young actors by attending one of the productions.

Performances are Friday and Saturday, November 14 and 15 at 7 p.m. with a matinee at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 16, in the high school auditorium. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors.

Announcing the finalists for the 2014 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

• The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson (Viking/ Penguin Group (USA))
• Girls Like Us by Gail Giles (Candlewick Press)

• Skink—No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers/ Random House)

• Greenglass House by Kate Milford (Clarion Books/ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

• Threatened by Eliot Schrefer (Scholastic Press)

• The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin (Roaring Brook Press/ Macmillan Publishers)

• 100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers/ Simon & Schuster)

• Noggin by John Corey Whaley (Atheneum Books for Young Readers/ Simon & Schuster)

• Revolution: The Sixties Trilogy, Book Two by Deborah Wiles (Scholastic Press)

• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (Nancy Paulsen Books/ Penguin Group (USA)

The winners will be selected in November - stay tuned!

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/awards-and-prizes/article/64001-young-people-s-literature-longlist-announced-for-2014-national-book-award.html

October is National Book Month

Celebrate by participating in one or more of the following activities:

• Read together as a family.
• Encourage your children to send letters to their favorite author - you never know when they may get a response! 
• Read a bedtime story to your children.
• Swap books with friends - you may find a new 'favorite' author!
• Donate gently used books to your library. 

                                                                   

Twin Cities Book Festival - Saturday, Oct. 11
Children - Tweens - Teens


Check out the Twin Cities Book Festival on Saturday at the State Fair grounds, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
The day will be filled with story times, activities and author visits. New this year is a tent for teenagers where they can meet some favorite authors, including Morgan Matson and Stephanie Perkins.


http://www.raintaxi.com/twin-cities-book-festival/authors/children-tween-teen-programs/#teentent

Does High School GPA Matter? Well, Actually...

High School GPA Linked To Higher Income Later

Which One Are You?

One of my favorite things to do in the summertime is go to a bunch of Twins games at Target Field:

I'm a huge Twins fan, so I mainly go for the game itself, but you do see a lot of interesting things/people at the ballpark.

Here is a list of some of them:

12 Types of People You See At The Ballpark

I am firmly a "#8".  Which one are you?!

Hey...I'm A "List Guy" Too!

On WCCO.com today:

Making Lists Can Save You Money

Basically, this article says that making grocery lists and following them can save you money in the long run.

I'm a big "list maker" myself.  I used to use pencil and paper, but now I find this to be my preferred method:

I always have a "to-do" list going to make sure I don't forget things I need to do.  Sometimes things will stay on the list for weeks (or even longer), but I love the feeling of deleting them when I'm done with an important task.

I'm also pretty good with managing money too.  Hmmmm...maybe there is something to this!

Friday

Have a nice weekend St. Anthony!

If Only Homework Was The Same Way, Right?!

Work Banned After 6:00 p.m.

There is now a law in France (yes, an actually law!) stating that an employee cannot check his/her work email/phone between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.  Seriously...I'm not making this up!

The land that gave us the 35-hour work week back in 1999 is giving employees another break.

What do you make of this?

On one hand, there are many people are over-do it on the job.  That is certain.

On the other hand, though, isn't that their choice to do so?  I don't think that too many companies are FORCING people to work overtime.  It's more like people themselves get caught up in the job and neglect their lives and the lives of their families/friends.

So, while I "like" the concept behind the move, I'm not so sure it should be up to the government to enforce it.  Seems like a personal decision to me.

What That Sound Outside Your House At Night Could Be...

Wandering Bear

That rustling sound you sometimes hear at night?  I wouldn't worry too much.  It might ONLY be a 300 lb. black bear with cubs.

(!)

Opening Fishing

It was Opening Fishing this past weekend...

Around these parts, that is a pretty big deal...

Fishing Report

Any good stories?!

Do Something Nice For Mother This Weekend

This Sunday is Mother's Day.  Make sure you do something nice for Mom sometime this weekend.  Examples include:

-Give her flowers
-Take her out to dinner.
-Go to a movie
-If she's a sports fan, take her to the big Wild game tonight (or get her Twins tickets for later in the week)
-Do something with her that SHE really enjoys.
-Just say "I Love You" (sometimes it only needs to be as simple as that).

Remember, there will probably come a time in your life where you'll want to tell your Mom things and won't be able to.  Take advantage of this holiday to not let those moments slip away.

Mom Memes

The Draft

Tonight, the NFL Draft begins.

I've never been a HUGE fan of the draft, as I'm already in "baseball mode" now, but there is no denying its importance.

Will a guy like Johnny Manziel still be available when the Vikings are on the clock?

We need a franchise quarterback, but is this the guy?

What about upgrading the worst defense in the league last year?

So many questions!

The answers begin tonight.

What The "Experts" Think We Should Do

Can We Do It Again?!

Wild Try To Regroup

For some reason, Minnesota sports teams have a great affinity for dramatic playoff runs.

Minnesota Twins: 3 World Series appearances, all went to a Game 7.

Minnesota Vikings: Where to even begin?

Minnesota Wild: Had a remarkable run in 2003 of being down 3-1 in first and second playoff rounds...but coming back for the victory.  Were down 2-0 in the first round to the Avalanche this year...came back to win the series.

So, here we are again.  Wild down 0-2 to the rival Chicago Blackhawks.  The good news?  The next two contests (starting with tonight's game) are at the X in St. Paul.  The better news? History seems to be in this team's favor.

Go Wild!

For Fans Of Apple (Trust Me, This Is Not What You Think...!)

Apple

Gotcha!

Doe-Simkins Links #2: The Great Depression

The Great Depression Links For Doe-Simkins

1. Name some ways the Great Depression impacted Minnesota.

Minnesota Historical Society

First-Hand Account (YouTube Video)

Letters Between A MN Couple Living Through The Great Depression

Minnesota Public Radio Broadcast Involving Great Depression Issues

2. How did lifestyles change for women during the 1920s and 1930s?

Assumptions Of The Great Depression

BEST Article On This Subject!

Women During The Great Depression

The Invisible Women Of The Great Depression

3. What problems did farmers face during this period?

U.S. Farmers During Great Depression

The Great Depression Hits Farms & Cities

Farming In The 1930s

The Farming Problem

A Glut of Misery

4. What did private organizations and the government do to relieve the problems of the Great Depression?

The Bonus Army

Government Response

Hoover's Response

The New Deal

New Deal #2

Church Charitable Giving

Non-Governmental Aid

History of Depression Relief Aid

5. Minnesota's Gangster Era

Minnesota Monthly

St. Paul Gangster Kidnapping Turns 80

St. Paul's Gangster Era

Minnesota Gangster History

Gangsters Left A Mark In Minnesota

St. Paul's Gangster History

A Haven For Hoodlums

Doe-Simkins Links #1: World War I

World War I Links for Doe-Simkins

General

Minnesota Soldier Diary

Letter To Family


What are some things everyday Minnesotans did to support the war?

Supporting Soldiers At A Church Service

Auction

Troop Rally

Junior Red Cross

Military Parade

Victory Gardens

Fort Snelling

Study Guide


What were some tensions surrounding patriotism in MN communities during the war?

German Citizens Looked At Suspiciously

Anti-German Sentiment In New Ulm

Military Registration


Describe some new methods of warfare that were developed during the war?

World War I Technology

Trench Warfare

Poison Gas

Poison Gas #2

War Of Attrition

Tanks

Flamethrowers

Aerial Warfare

Prom Explained

Still the best explanation of prom I've ever seen!

Have a great weekend (and prom!) St. Anthony!

Taking Matters Into His Own Hands...

I came across this story today and thought it was pretty funny (in a certain sense):

Driver Jams Cellphones

Basically, a commuter in Tampa Bay jammed the cellphone signals of all the cars around him on his ride to work every day for nearly two whole years!  He probably still would be doing it to this day had not a cellphone company tower started looking into frequent reports of outages along the same stretch of road.

The unfunny side of the story, though, is that this joker also jammed police radios and emergency-only calls as well.  Hence the large fine.

I've heard of hating text-and-drive commuters, but I don't think this is the solution (!).