The Orange Houses by Paul Griffin July 30, 2009

The Orange Houses by Paul Griffin

Jimmi, Mik, and Fatima. Before the hanging:

Jimmi is a street poet. Jimmi is a street junkie. It just depends on who you talk to. If you see him skateboarding and hear him reciting his verse, he’s without doubt a poet. But if you know that he’s already been to a desert war and back at the age of 18, and his ex-girlfriend killed herself, you also know there are memories he just has to block out.

 

Tamika, who prefers “Mik” that rhymes with Nick as opposed to Meek-a (yuck), is partially deaf. She wears woefully out-of-date hearing aids that she frequently turns down if not off. Blocking out noises is more pleasing to Mik than actually hearing them. Who needs to hear Shanelle’s taunting and threats of violence, Jaekwon’s come-ons, or all the other intrusive noise and harassment. Mik loves drawing and she’s good at it, and she’s not even sure she really wants the surgery that could improve her hearing, even though there’s absolutely no money to be had for that so-called surgery about which her mother keeps dreaming.

 

Fatima sells newspapers on the street corner by day. She wears a head scarf that partially covers a scar that runs across her cheek. She effortlessly folds beautiful angels out of newspapers. If you look closely while she’s folding, you’ll see she’s missing a few fingers. Fatima, 16, is trying to make it on her own in New York City. She has to. And she especially has to avoid the immigration police.

 

Mik, Fatima and Jimmi form a friendship that shines right through the orange houses that are not really orange but “beaten brick the color of the sky this drizzly dusk.” Mik and Fatima, introduced by Jimmi, bond over their artistic talents which they share as volunteers at the Veterans’ Administration Hospital.

 

Until one day…(Christie, The Loft)

The Year We Disappeared by John & Cylin Busby July 29, 2009

The Year We Disappeared, by Cylin & John Busby.

Maybe you’ve been pulled over by a cop for no apparent reason, patted down, or even falsely arrested. On the other hand, there are cops out there doing their best to protect and serve under extremely difficult circumstances. Cape Cod policeman John Busby, one of few on his force with the courage to stand up to the local bully — a suspected arsonist and murderer — is one of those, and it costs him dearly. One beautiful summer evening while driving to his midnight shift at work, Busby’s jaw is shot off at close range. He manages to remain coherent long enough in the midst of blood spewing everywhere to pass on the message that the shooting was intentional and his family is in imminent danger. What happens to John and his family? Who is behind this outrageous act of violence? How does John cope with his intense desire for revenge?

 

Busby’s daughter Cylin is just nine-years-old at the time. On a picture-perfect August day she paints her father’s car green and plays with her new box turtle that he has just given her. The very next day she and her two brothers are sequestered under 24-hour police protection. Cylin narrates her version of events in alternating chapters to her father’s story. Her narrative brings a childlike innocence and bewilderment to this horrific, true crime story. Cylin writes about what it’s like to have the police escort a nine-year-old to school every day, to have friends no longer want to be around her for fear (or in response to their parents’ fear) of putting themselves in harm’s way, and to lose overnight the sense of freedom she has taken for granted. And that’s not all she has lost.

 

The town tires of covering the escalating costs of police protection for the Busbys, and the shooter is still on the loose. Fearing for their safety, the Busbys pack up their things and disappear. For good. Have you ever wanted to reinvent yourself, like when you leave middle school and begin high school? Well the Busbys are forced to do that just to remain alive — new names, a new (and undisclosed) state, new jobs and schools, and made-up pasts. Given the stories that Cylin is forced to invent, it really isn’t surprising that she grows up to become a storyteller. This is a riveting page-turner about fear, secrets, a search for truth, identity, loneliness, and healing. Recommended for older teens. (Christie, The Loft)

Biografias — Check out a biography from the Loft July 29, 2009

Biografias by Alicia Martìn, using 5,000 books, all biographies, recently on display in Córdoba, Spain. 

 

 5,000 + stories spilling like a fountain out of a building in the sculpture to the left. It’s mind-boggling, really, to imagine all of those individual stories “glued together” into this sculpture, with some loose pages flapping in the wind, beckoning the next chapter in someone’s life.

 

Visit the Loft’s collection of biographies, such as The Year We Disappeared by Cylin & John Busby, Tree Shaker, The Story of Nelson Mandela, by Bill Keller, Give Me My Father’s Body by Kenn Harper,  or Ella Fitzgerald: A Twentieth Century Life by Tanya Lee Stone.

Friday Falcon Report July 25, 2009

Hello this is Detective Percival Falcon reporting in, with my friend The Doorman. The Doorman is starring in this week’s production of I Am the Messenger based on the award winning book by Marcus Zusak.  The play will be Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 3:00. It’s recommended for everyone ages 12 and up because of intense content. And it’s FREE so you have no excuse not to come. Click here to register and if you check in with Loft staff you can get an extra prize. 

The Doorman

 

Now for your weekly quest: On the Virtual Loft page go to the Summer Programs link. Your clue: Chic and recyclable.  Which program am I talking about?

First Teaser Trailer Released for The Lightning Thief July 24, 2009

They have finished casting, too. An actor named Ray Winstone will be playing Ares. Winstone is a British actor whose recent American film work includes roles in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Martin Scorsese’s The Departed.

Champion Diver Beats Bullying July 23, 2009

Winning  the world diving championships is an amazing feat, no questions. But  imagine you’re only 15 years old! That’s exactly what happened to British diver Tom Daley on Tuesday night in Rome.

It wasn’t a smooth road to victory for Daley. At last year’s Beijing Olympic games, he had a falling out with his sychronized diving partner Blake Aldridge  who took a cell phone call right before they were supposed to complete their final dive.  They finished in last place; the  tension afterwards eventually led to the pair going their separate ways.

As if the pressure of being a world class athlete was not enough, in school Daley was mercilessly bullied. Kids would throw pencils at him and threaten to break his legs.  The threats were where Daley’s parents drew the line. He has since changed to a school that understands an athlete’s schedule, seeing as they already have an Olympic swimmer enrolled.

Daley has taken his win in stride. He calls it “insane.” He’s already looking to the future, planning more difficult dives.

Imagine what all those kids who threw pencils must have been thinking, as Tom Daley stood in the Italian sunlight with a gold medal around his neck.

Friday Falcon Report July 21, 2009

Watch out for this ocelot, she is dangerously villainous.

It is I, Detective Percival Falcon, and yes I am aware it is Tuesday rather than Friday. I apologize profusely to all of you young crime fighters, but on Friday and this weekend I was rather preoccupied as my archnemesis the villainous Dr. Octavia Ocelot, was attempting to take over the library so that the only books people could check out would be about cats and related species. I challenged her to a game of Scrabble, it lasted for four days, finally I won, and we are safe from her devious schemes…for now.  This week is a very exciting one in the Loft, as it is the last Teen Advisory Board (TAB) meeting of the year and we are saying goodbye to our graduated seniors.  Also, there will be two performances of the stage adaptation of I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak on Saturday and Sunday of this week.

Now for a little mystery: On the Virtual Loft site go to reading recommendations, find the list that is directly below the Mystery list. I really like books about the human brain, especially ones with slightly creepy covers, find a book I’d enjoy. Detective Percival Falcon over and out.

Rock Band To Feature New Tracks Written By…You July 19, 2009

Are you a rock musician? Are you in a band? You’ve already created a Myspace page, you’ve got a few shows lined up, you’re recording an EP, and you’ve sent your demo out to labels.  But what else can you do to get your music out there? Check out this exciting news from BoingBoing about a new, potentially massive network through which you’ll soon be able to share your songs:

Developers Harmonix have just announced The Rock Band Network, a new initiative to let home users and indie bands create and sell their own Rock Band tracks through the game itself, in partnership with Microsoft’s XNA Creators Club.

This could be huge for indie musicians.  According to the Rock Band website, songs reviewed and accepted by the Rock Band Creators community will become available for purchase in their store (and the Xbox LIVE marketplace) and bands get a cut of the take every time their songs are purchased. And for players this means more songs to choose from and the possibility of discovering new great music For more of the nitty gritty on just how this is going to work and how much bands will make when their songs sell, check out this link to an article on Offworld. For PS3 players out there, they’re saying that “select songs” will become available for PS3, but, as it now stands, this is Xbox 360’s deal. Now get your tunes out there – your interactive audience awaits.

Did you know? The Loft offers two hours of video gaming on Fridays from 3:30 – 5:30. We have games for Xbox (including Rock Band), PS3 and more. Open to everyone who uses the Loft. Come on out.

Today, July 18, is Mandela Day July 17, 2009

“Mr. Mandela has spent 67 years making the world a better place. We’re asking you for 67 minutes.”

Celebrate the legacy of South Africa’s former President Nelson Mandela  today on Mandela day and do something for your community! Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela turns 91 on Saturday, July 18, and he continues to inspire hope and belief in justice against all odds. The focus of celebrations, which have been planned around the world, is community service.  Mandela said in a videotaped message:

“We are humbled by the call for an annual Mandela Day in our honour. It is our hope that people will dedicate their time and effort to improve the conditions within their own communities…”

You can make a big difference in small ways. You can help out at home, take an hour to clean up your neighborhood, read to someone younger or read to your elders — the list is endless! Add your imprint to the interactive handwall.  And stop by the Loft and check out this book on Nelson Mandela by Bill Keller, a New York Times journalist in South Africa in the early 1990s and currently the NY Times’ executive editor.

Did you know: 

• Both his mother and his son died while Nelson Mandela was in prison. He was denied permission to attend their funerals. 
• Mandela was 44 years old when he entered prison; he was 71 when he was released.
• Mandela opened the first black-owned legal firm in South Africa with fellow lawyer Oliver Tambo in 1952.
• The exiled Oliver Tambo launched an international campaign for the release of his friend in 1980.
• Mandela was elected President in South Africa’s first multiracial elections in 1994.

Happy Birthday, Madiba.

Wired Contest: Make Your Own Art Out of Starbucks Junk July 16, 2009

Have you ever pitched your cup at Starbucks and stood horrified by the sheer volume of trash produced by coffee-to-go consumers?  Stirring sticks, cups, lids, java jackets, sugar packets, straws, napkins - all of it tossed into the teeming g-can twenty minutes after a drink is drank.  I wonder how many pounds of garbage just one Starbucks location produces each day?  How can we recycle these materials to cut down on all that waste?  Dan Winters has found a solution: turn your coffee trash into an art supply.  Winters, a contributing photographer at Wired magazine, used Starbucks cups, lids, drink holders, coffee boxes, and stirring sticks to create the Star Wars TIE Fighter sculpture pictured here.  Inspired by Winters’s awesome resourcefulness, Wired is hosting a “Make Your Own Art Out of Starbucks Junk” contest.  Take a photo of your creation (glue, tape, and string are allowed) and send it in.  They’ll feature their favorites in an online slideshow.  (Read more about the contest, including instructions on submitting your work here).      

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Speaking of creative uses for trash, on Tuesday July 28, Thursday July 30,  and Tuesday August 4 from 6-8 pm. the LOFT invites middle and high school students (parents are welcome too!) to turn “garbage” into great-looking runway outfits.  Fashions will be modeled at the 3^rd annual Trashy Fashion Show, sponsored by SWANCC (Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County) on November 15, 2009 and held at Park Center in Glenview. Over the course of 3 sessions, fashions and accessories will be made from materials usually thrown away or recycled — like newspapers, plastic bottle caps, and broken jewelry.  The FREE workshop sessions will be held at the Evanston Public Library.  Register here.