Music for a Sunday Afternoon – Noel Lorica and The Treebo Band

Hello again!

Do you love to relax and listen to great live music?  For free?  (Don’t we all?)  Sunday, August 29, 2010 from 2:00 PM-3:00 PM will be  a special time here at the West Palm Beach Public Library.  Our “Music for a Sunday Afternoon” program will feature Noel Lorica and The Treebo Band.  These Brazilian jazz performers are no strangers to our library.  Their past performances here have elicited rave reviews from audience members.  Mark your calendar, and come and join us for another fabulous experience in our library’s state-of-the-art Auditorium equipped with theatrical lighting and an excellent sound system. 

The Library is privileged to host numerous outstanding programs.  For the complete list of the Library’s events, please go to:  http://millie.wpbpl.com/iii/calendar/month or from the Library’s home page (www.mycitylibrary.org) just click on “events.”  Entertaining music and dance programs in a wonderfully comfortable environment can really help to alleviate the summertime blahs.  And for additional entertainment, be sure to check out the Library’s fantastic assortment of music CDs, librettos, books, and DVDs. 

See you there!

Esther Fawn Van Allen, Reference Librarian

Get What You Want Right Out of the Box!

The library is constantly ordering new materials.  We want to make sure we have the items in most demand, and also that we have a wide variety of topics. 

Did you know that you can take a look at what’s been ordered and place holds for those items?  Go to the library catalog and click on “Featured item lists” on the right-hand side.  Choose the type of material you’re interested in, and off you go!

Here are some of the newest items the library has ordered.  (Not all items may be available at this time.)

Books:

• Blind Rage: a Novel by Terri Persons
• Blogging for Fame and Fortune by Jason R. Rich
• Cheever: a Life by Blake Bailey
• A Dangerous Affair by Caro Peacock
• E-mail in an Instant: 60 Ways to Communicate with Style and Impact by Karen Leland
• Earth Magic: Ancient Shamanic Wisdom for Healing Yourself, Others, and the Planet by Steven D. Farmer
• Even Buffett Isn’t Perfect: What You Can — And Can’t — Learn from the World’s Greatest Investor by Vahan Janjigian
• The Five Healing Tibetans: Simple Exercises for Rejuvanation and Health by Jason Gyre
• Get the Job You Want, Even When No One’s Hiring : Take Charge of Your Career, Find a Job You Love, and Earn What You Deserve! by Ford R. Myers
• House of Cards : a Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street by William D. Cohan
• The Laws of Harmony: a Novel by Judith Ryan Hendricks

CDs:

• Don’t Feed Da Animals by Gorilla Zoe
• Guilt by Mims
• Quantum of Solace Score by David Arnold
• Ragga Ragga Ragga 2009 by Various
• Shari Addison by Shari Addison

DVDs:

• Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile
• Another Man’s Garden
• Bride Wars
• Confessions of a Shopaholic
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Doctor Who: the Complete 4th Series
• Gran Torino
• The International
• New in Town
• Paul Blart, Mall Cop
• The Riches, Season 2
• Slumdog Millionaire
• Valkyrie
• Wendy and Lucy
• The Wrestler

 

**Britta**

Album of the Year?!

The next CD I will check out from the library also falls into the category of “I’m not sure I want to commit to purchasing it.”  It’s Raising Sand, a surprisingly successful collaboration between Alison Krauss, of bluegrass fame, and Robert Plant, of Led Zeppelin.  The unlikely duo just won 5 grammy awards on Sunday!  Including the big one – Album of the Year. 

Their other awards came under three different genres of music: pop, country, and folk/Americana, so I really don’t know what to expect.  As a big Alison Krauss fan, I am bracing myself for shock and disappointment.

Other grammy winners that we have in the library include:

 

 

 Viva la Vida by Coldplay (Song of the Year, Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals, Best Rock Album)

 

Jennifer Hudson by Jennifer Hudson (Best R&B Album)

 

Tha Carter III by Lil Wayne (Best Rap Album

 

Down in New Orleans by The Blind Boys of Alabama (Best Traditional Gospel Album) 

 

La Vida…Es Un Ratico by Juanes (Best Latin Pop Album)

 

One Kind Favor by B.B. King (Best Traditional Blues Album)

 

~Tara

Calling all Hootie fans!

I came across a new CD in the library the other day that I just had to check out.  It’s Darius Rucker’s new country music CD, Learn To Live.  That’s right – the singer from Hootie and the Blowfish has gone country!  And quite successfully, too.  He has 2 hit singles already.  He is also, by the way, only the third African American singer to have a #1 hit on the country music charts, the first ones being Charley Pride and Ray Charles, decades ago.

So, how’s the CD?  Well, the songwriting is genuinely country, and Darius Rucker is certainly talented, but something isn’t working for me.  I think it may be that the accent isn’t right.  In the song I heard today, for example, he doesn’t pronounce the R in “heart,” and he does pronounce the G in “listening”.  How could that be country?  And how come he doesn’t have a Southern drawl if he grew up in South Carolina?  …Or, maybe he’s just missing the cowboy hat…??? 

Anyway, you have to give the guy credit for putting himself out there, taking on a challenge, and breaking a barrier.  Maybe he’ll find his country groove by his next album, which I’ll be anxious to hear, as well. 

I see that 4 other people have checked out this CD from the library already.  If any readers have opinions on this CD, please share!

~Tara

Beef Up Your Brain

I just read an amazing book – The Brain That Changes Itself  by Norman Doidge, MD.  I must admit, I am a little addicted to cook books and brain books, but nonetheless I highly recommend this read. 

Doidge covers many important figures in the neuroscience world and reveals just how plastic the brian is.  This is good news folks!  We can change the brain for the better!  This is also bad news – we can change the brain for the worse (i.e. bad habits are hard to break).  But really,  this is mostly good news because it gives us hope to overcome ailments such as dementia, stroke, brain injury, bad habits, depression, and more!

I found it fascinating that dancing (one of my favorite things to do) is also one of the best things that you can do for your brain!  Keeping your neurons firing requires activities that require genuine concentration (such as learning a new dance).  Dancing also has the benefits of warding off balance problems and maintaing social contact which also preserves brain health.

So, here’s my plug – come out to our FREE dance classes at the library!  During the months of January and February we will have free classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. 

Here’s the breakdown:

Tuesdays, January 20, 27 and February 3, 10, 17, 24 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm we will have American tango, hustle, bolero, variations, cha cha, and salsa (in that order).

Thursdays, January 15, 22, 29 and February 5, 12, 19, 26 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm we will have the Argentine tango!

So, come out to the library and beef up your brain!

See ya at the library,

Annya

The 4th Season of Friday Night Jazz

Wow,  I can’t believe Friday Night Jazz has started again!  Last Friday marked the beginning of our 4th season for this event.  As usual, the music, food and wine was spectacular!

Kit Stewart, our featured artist, had a beautiful voice and has been singing since she was 3 years old.  The food and wine from Gourmet Galaxy was delicious. 

Next month, Lou Columbo will be here with his big band!  Come see him April 11th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

Hope to see you at Friday Night Jazz!

Annya

Hip Hop

The TeenSource is celebrating National Black History month by focusing on African-American culture. We have fabulous new program that will teach you how to write in the style of hip-hop! Hip hop is rhythmic poetry. The wonderful Joshua Sa Ra will be our guest teacher. Join us on Saturday, February 2 at 2:00. Check out these great books

Non Fiction
Extraordinary poetry writing / by Margaret Ryan
Hip-hop : a short history / Rosa Waters
Hip hop immortals / written by Bonz Malone
Rap and hip hop: the voice of a generation / Sherry Ayazi-Hashjin
The Vibe history of hip hop / edited by Alan Light

Thanks~Jenn

Free Salsa Lessons @ Your Library

Okay, last Thursday night was so much fun.  Lisa Rodriguez of Salsa Caliente did a great job of teaching us the basics of salsa dancing.  The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly and Lisa made everyone feel comfortable learning the steps. 

We even danced Rueda de Casino- that’s when you dance in a circle.  This style of dancing is highly interactive and we got to scream when Lisa called out- una bulla! 

There are three more classes- Thursday, September 27 and October 11 and 18th from 6:30 to 7:30 pm.  If you want to have some fun, meet new people, and learn how to salsa- come out to the library and bring your dancing shoes!  Check out some pictures from our last class.

Annya 

Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month began on September 15, the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico declared its independence on September 16, and Chile on September 18. Hispanic Heritage Month will continue through October 15.

To help you celebrate this month, the library has planned a number of events. Beginning Thursday, September 20 at 6:30 pm, we will be hosting Salsa Dance classes. The classes will continue on September 27 and October 11 and 18. Eddy and Lisa Rodriguez of Salsa Caliente will be teaching the classes. This class was very popular when we offered it earlier this year and should be again, so join us for a fun night of music and dance!!!

On Sunday, September 23 at 2:00 pm, El Alma Hispana, Inc. (a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving Hispanic culture) will bring us the Columbian musical group Alegro.

Also, don’t forget that we have two Spanish Conversation Groups here at the library on Monday nights. There is a group for beginners and also one for intermediate speakers of Spanish. The classes run from 6:30 – 8:00 pm and registration is required. To register, call 868-7723.

Janice