Favorite Holiday Movies

I haven't been able to watch much TV lately (I'm wrapping up my last semester for my Master's Degree in Library Science-woohoo!), but there are so many of my childhood favorites for holiday shows, that I just have to share!

• A Charlie Brown Christmas: My all time favorite. It came out in 1965, which means I've been watching this every year since I was 7! Did you ever notice that when they sing Hark the Angels Sing at the end of the show they all take a breath together?


• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer:This came out in 1964, he first mega Christmas hit from producers Rankin and Bass. They'd go on to do The Little Drummer Boy, Frosty the Snowman, and many more


• A Christmas Story: Not a favorite from my childhood, but a favorite nonetheless-this year marks the 25th anniversary of Ralphie and his Red Ryder BB Gun. It's all the more special to me and my family because I remember shopping at the Higbees in downtown Cleveland as a child!

The website, Internet Movie Database (http://www.imdb.com/) is a great way to look up your favorite movies, see the cast listing as well as lots of other neat features. and of course, you can always borrow your holiday favorites from us at the library!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to Everyone!

Lynne

Adult Services Manager

Favorite online radio station

I love to listen to music on my computer. I've discovered www.pandora.com. It is a great website! You can create genre stations or stations by artist or title. Pandora will create a station with music similiar to the title/artist and then play that music. Best feature? It's completely free! Check it out and let me know if you like it

"Why Moms Are Weird" by Pamela Ribon

I've been a fan of Pamela Ribon's writing for years, ever since I began reading her Gilmore Girls recaps on Television Without Pity in 2001 and her blog on pamie.com. Her writing style is smart, funny, and casual. Her first book Why Girls Are Weird is more laugh-out-loud funny, but I prefer the follow-up, Why Moms Are Weird. It's very funny, but has more heart than Girls. (Despite the similar titles, the books have completely unrelated characters and circumstances, so you don't have to worry that you're jumping into a series.)

The book follows the story of Belinda "Benny" Bernstein who flies home to Virginia (she currently lives in Los Angeles) to help out after her mother breaks her leg in a car accident. She deals with her sister's wild nightlife, her mother's active dating life, a house overrun with pets and clutter, and not one but two romances- the boyfriend she left in LA and the cute handyman she hires to help fix up her mother's place.

So, if you're looking for a funny, heartfelt book, I recommend Why Moms Are Weird. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and hopefully you'll thank me for turning you on to this writer.

--Miranda, Circ Assistant

New favorite browser

I recently downloaded and installed Google Chrome on both my home and library computers. What is Chrome? Google's answer to Internet Explorer. I absolutely love Chrome and will be glad when they move it from beta to full blown. Visit http://www.google.com/chrome to download it and give it a try.

I like several things about it. For one, you can search from the address bar. This eliminates opening your homepage, going to Google or whatever your favorite search engine is, and then executing your search. Just type your term in the address bar; hit enter and go right to Google's search results.

The next thing I like about is the thumbnails of most frequently visited sites. Open Chrome, click on where you want to go and you're off.

I haven't played much with the plug-ins available but I will. I still use Internet Explorer and Firefox for some things but Chrome is my first choice now.

Mary S., Library Director

Welcome

Welcome to the WPLD Staff Favorites Blog. Here the library staff will share favorite books, websites, recipes, and more. Have a favorite you'd like to share? Please post it.

Mary Soucie
Library Director