Have you been languishing waiting for Ireland to produce a chef as healthy and good-looking as Jaime Oliver? FINALLY that wait is over! Let me introduce you to the young, Irish chef/blogger Donal Skehan, aka “Ireland’s answer to Jaime Oliver” (as stated on the cookbook’s cover), who appears to be an expert at creating simple and cozy recipes that make me want to curl up in a country cottage and watch him cook for me. Just kidding! Actually, Good Mood Food is one of the few cookbooks that actually made me want to cook. I do not usually enjoy cooking, and probably only checked out this cookbook because I liked the rhyming words in the title, but within a few days of having the book on my kitchen table I discovered I had made Perfect Parmesan Parsnips! What happened?! I just don’t do things like that! Soon afterwards I found a Bacon Avocado and Sundried Tomato Sandwich in my hands. The recipes are so easy and the photographs so lovely that I couldn’t resist. Yup, this Donal Skehan guy is good. Check out his blog at: www.donalskehan.com.
Category: Reference
1040 Fever
Have you caught it yet?
We finally received the 1040 Instructions at the Davenport Public libraries, for which the phone has been ringing nearly continuously.
Due to 11th-hour filibustering at the end of the legislative session, the IRS had to edit/print paper tax publications and reprogram the computer processing systems. Do not expect leniency on getting your return in, however. E-filing will begin in mid to late February and the deadline stands at April 18th.
If you didn’t receive a print publication in the mail this year, it may be because you didn’t paper file last year. The cost-cutting measure saved millions of dollars in postage and paper stock, albeit with some confusion.
Outside of the IRS office, libraries are the only place where you can get forms if for some reason you still haven’t attempted filing online. Though a slower and typically less-accurate process, some people prefer the paper method.
DVDs for February
February 1
Conviction – Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell
Betty Anne Waters is a young woman whose world is shattered when her beloved brother Kenny is convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Steadfastly convinced of his innocence, Betty Anne embarks on an 18-year journey to set Kenny free, using state-of-the-art forensic technology. The unshakable bond between a brother and sister at the heart of this real-life drama will stir your emotions and inspire you.
Never Let Me Go – Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightly
Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy are best friends who grow up together at an English boarding school with a chilling secret. When they learn the shocking truth that they are genetically engineered clones raised to be organ donors, they embrace their fleeting chance to live and love.
February 8
You Again – Signourny Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis
For Marnie, high school was a horror movie, and her brother’s wedding is the sequel when her archrival comes back to haunt her as his bride. It’s nice girl versus mean girl in this hysterical reunion with the one person Marnie would really like to forget. And if that weren’t enough, Marnie’s mom reunites with her own high school nemesis.
Life As We Know It – Josh Durhamel, Katherine Heigl
Holly is an up-and-coming caterer and Messer is a promising network sports director. After a disastrous first date, all they have in common is their dislike for each other and their love for their goddaughter Sophie. But when they suddenly become all Sophie has in this world, Holly and Messer must set their differences aside. Juggling career ambitions and competing social calendars, they’ll have to find common ground while living under the same roof.
For Colored Girls – Janet Jackson, Thandie Newton
A vibrant world where friends and strangers dream, fear, cry, love, and laugh out loud in an attempt to find their true selves. Adapted by writer/director Tyler Perry from Ntozake Shange’s acclaimed choreopoem, this gripping film paints an unforgettable portrait of what it means to be a woman of color in the modern world.
February 15
Waiting for Superman An engaging and inspiring look at public education in the United States. This documentary has helped launch a movement to achieve a real and lasting change through the compelling stories of five unforgettable students such as Emily, a Silicon Valley eighth grader who is afraid of being labeled as unfit for college, and Francisco, a Bronx first grader whose mom will do anything to give him a shot at a better life.
Unstoppable – Denzel Washington, Chris Pine
A runaway train, transporting deadly, toxic chemicals, is barreling down on Scranton, Pennsylvania, and only two men can stop it: a veteran engineer and a young conductor. Thousands of lives hang in the balance as these ordinary heroes attempt to chase down one million tons of hurtling steel and prevent an epic disaster.
February 22
Due Date – Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis
Expectant first-time father Peter Highman looks forward to his new child’s due date five days away. As Peter hurries to catch a flight home from Atlanta to be at his wife’s side for the birth, his best intentions go completely awry. An encounter with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay forces Peter to hitch a ride with Ethan on a cross-country trip that will ultimately destroy several cars, many friendships, and Peter’s last nerve.
Weeds Season 6 – Mary Louise Parker
Season 6 of this highly acclaimed series turns over a new leaf when pot-selling soccer mom Nancy Botwin tries to leave behind her illegal operations. Includes the complete Season 6 with all 13 episodes.
February 25
Megamind – Will Ferrell, Tina Fey
Over the years, Megamind has tried to conquer Metro City in every imaginable way. Each attempt is a colossal failure thanks to the caped superhero known as ‘Metro Man,’ until the day Megamind actually defeats him in the throes of one of his botched evil plans. Suddenly, the fate of Metro City is threatened when a new villain arrives and chaos runs rampant, leaving everyone to wonder if the world’s biggest ‘mind’ can actually be the one to save the day.
Bear Down
Whether or not you think it’s a big deal, it kind of is. Halas versus Lombardi.
For 180 minutes this weekend, typical genteel Midwestern politeness will be suspended and (gasp!) unpleasantries may be exchanged as the Bears host the Packers for the NFC championship.
The last time these two storied rivals tussled for the big one? One week after Pearl Harbor on a frosty day back in ’41. Chicago won and though they are 3.5pt underdogs heading into Sunday, they’ll find a way to extend that tradition an additional 70 years.
Be sure to stop in to the downtown reference desk during the game and feed Bill scores.
Séraphine
The French film Séraphine stars Yolande Moreau as the 20th century artist Séraphine Louis–a poor housekeeper/painter who was discovered in 1912 by the German art collector Wilhelm Uhde. Uhde was only able to give Séraphine minor support before he had to flee France due to the war, but he eventually came back to France and happily found that Séraphine was not only alive, but had continued her painting. He immediately became her lead patron, giving her an allowance and finding exhibitors and buyers for her work, until the world economic woes hit the art world and Séraphine’s mental instabilities paralyzed her painting.
I absolutely love to watch people paint–from Bob Ross to Jackson Pollock to craftsters on Martha Stewart–and so I also love films about painters since they often include a variety of short and long scenes where the artists fervidly creates their famous masterpieces. However, the greatest part of this film is not watching Séraphine’s actual painting (although that is fantastic), but seeing her gather pigments and create her own paints (for example: stealing hot wax from the church’s prayer candles). The artist never revealed her methods of creating her vibrant colors, but the film’s version of her ingenuity is, nonetheless, absolutely fascinating!
Fire by Kristin Cashore
After reading Graceling, one of my favorite books of the year, I was excited to read Kristin Cashore’s companion/prequel titled Fire. In the Dells, an area beyond the mountains of the seven kingdoms, there live creatures called monsters who look like regular animals but are brightly and irregularly colorful. The monsters are capable of not only sensing human thoughts and emotions, but controlling them as well. There still exists one human monster in the Dells, a 17 year old girl named Fire (after her flame-colored hair). She gets caught up in an impending war because of her unique mental skills and, through her service to the king, gets to know the initially distrustful military commander Brigan. The book is filled with suspense, romance, action, and surprising twists.
Cashore has a gift for creating new and unique worlds. I expected to be reading more about the seven kingdoms but was pleased to have a whole new place to envision and learn about. Her descriptions are so rich that the Dells easily come alive in your mind, and her characters and complex and interesting (even the minor ones). And even though I’m a little bummed that I didn’t get to learn more about what happened to Katsa and Po after the end of Graceling, I found Fire and Brigan’s story just as compelling, if not more. Don’t be turned off by the fact that this book is found in the YA section of the library; it’s one of those great YA books that adults can easily enjoy. I know I did!
Books that Start in January
I’m a sucker for this nice linear, chronological sort of organization. What caught my attention is Living Oprah: My One-Year Experiment to Walk the Walk of the Queen of Talk by Robyn Okrant. Doing something (anything!) for one year is really A Thing. Everything from working (The One-Week Job Project: One Man, One Year, 52 Jobs, as well as Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore’s Eastern District) to eating (Eat My Globe:One Year to Go Everywhere and Eat Everything) to spending time in prisons and other institutions (Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Woman’s Prison and Voluntary Madness: My Year Lost and Found in the Loony Bin).
Hobbies such as knitting and dog training can be mined for in-depth personal reporting (Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously and Dogged Pursuit: My Year of Competing Dusty, the World’s Least Likely Agility Dog).
There is a long tradition of both lengthy titles and documenting a significant year (see Woodstock, or the Cavalier. A Tale of the Year Sixteen Hundred and Fifty-one by Sir Walter Scott).
There’s something so seductive about making a plan that starts at a logical place and ends in finite time. What do you want to do in just one year? Maybe you can write a book about it (or start a profitable career blogging about it).
Frugal Librarian #33: Heat Miser
Courtesy of savvy shortcut website for modern living, Lifehacker, here are the top ways to stay warm this winter for less dough. Some involve constructing genius DIY doohickeys, others tweaks on classics.
I like the machine that cycles absorbed solar heat through 180 empty cans of your favorite beverage. Well, I’d let someone else actually “make” the device.
And powered longjohns? Interesting and doable, but I’ll leave that one to the experts.
Did you receive an eBook reader this holiday season? The Davenport Library has eBooks!
With the popularity of eBook readers this season (just judging from the influx of commercials alone), I imagine many of our library patrons have received them as holiday gifts! Davenport Public Library has two different resources that provide free eBooks and eAudiobooks for our patrons, NetLibrary and Wilbor. To get started, visit our homepage. On the left hand margin, click on “Download eAudiobooks, eBooks and Music,” which will link you to our resources.
To access Wilbor, you will need to have your library card number handy. After you install their software you can download your favorite books by your favorite authors and transfer your selection to your mobile device.
NetLibrary requires a visit to your nearest Davenport Public Library location to sign up for a free account. After you sign up, you are able to log on from home to download and transfer eBooks.
Each website lists compatible devices in an easy to read list.
Contact the Reference Department with any questions!
Jolly Holidays in the Forties!
Lately, my mother and I have been on 1940’s holiday movie binge and they are all FANTASTIC! Of course we watch Miracle on 34th Street and It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) every year, but here is a list of some of the films that we have just discovered:
It Happened on 5th Avenue
(1947)
Starring: Don DeFore, Ann Harding and Charles Ruggles
A homeless man and ex-GI secretly move into a millionaire’s empty mansion during the holidays and are soon joined by a young woman after they catch her robbing the mansion of its fur coats. Unbeknownst to the gentlemen, the young woman is actually the millionaire’s runaway daughter and soon she invites her cranky father, the millionaire, to move in with her as an undercover vagrant.
Christmas in Connecticut
(1945)
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan and Sydney Greenstreet
A Martha-Stewartish journalist becomes frantic when her publisher insists she treats an injured GI to a real family-oriented Christmas at her Connecticut home–what will happen when they find out she has no cooking skills, no husband, no baby, and no home in Connecticut?!
The Shop Around the Corner
(1940)
Starring: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart and Frank Morgan
Two workers in a Budapest gift-shop absolutely loathe each other, but are unaware that they are each other’s beloved anonymous pen-pal. Who will be the first to discover the truth? This is the original movie that inspired You’ve Got Mail starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks!
Holiday Affair
(1949)
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh and Wendell Corey
Classic romance where a single mother struggles to choose between a comfortable fiancé and an unexpected romantic stranger on Christmas.