CGHS Library

Vampire Party

Isabel O. drew this picture of the Vampire Party last week, and I think it is the cutest thing EVER!  -mh

Reformation

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther began a firestorm by nailing his 95 Theses (objecting to many Roman Catholic church teachings) to the Door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.  The Pope was understandably upset and hauled him before a church Council and asked him if he stood by his words. Luther asked for an extension to pray and consult with friends, but when asked the same question the next day, he said, "Unless I am convinced by proofs from Scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments, I can and will not retract, for it is neither safe nor wise to do anything against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen."

By May 25, Martin Luther was an outlaw.

The Reformation, a true War of Ideas, and not simple ones, had begun in earnest.

Sunshine

"Maybe the fact that the vampire slash on my breast hurt all the time and wouldn't heal was a good sign.  Maybe it meant I was still human."

"Imagine this: you’ve just parked your car next to a quiet lake a few miles out of town to get some peace from your hectic job as the local whiz-kid baker supreme. Like, your cinnamon rolls are out of this world, man. But they don’t care about your baking skills. They don’t care, because they don’t eat. They only drink. And you don’t want to dwell too long on what it is that they drink. They surround you so quietly you never even hear them. And just as soundlessly, they take you away to a decrepit old mansion in the middle of nowhere, chain you to a wall, and leave one of their own chained opposite you. And now, it’s growing dark. And your fellow prisoner is slowly waking up. And he’s very, very thirsty…and if you think you know how SUNSHINE ends, let Robin McKinley prove you wrong in this very dense, very surprising vampire tale."  (Taken from Reading Rants.)

Halloween

Halloween as a holiday has a complex past steeped in legend and folklore.  One of the tales about the origin of the jack-o'-lantern is a favorite of mine.  

"Jack sold his soul to the devil up front, properly, at the crossroads at midnight and for a seven year grace period could do anything he wanted.  At the end of seven years, Satan came for him.  Jack--always the trickster--had put the sole of an old shoe above his door, and he asked the Devil to get it for him.  The Devil reached up, Jack nailed his hand to the wall and left him hanging.  After extracting the traditional promise, Jack let the Devil go.  Jack eventually died and was denied entrance to Heaven and Hell.  The Devil threw a chunk of fire at him and told Jack he was too smart for him.  Jack was forced to wander eternally.  His only entertainment was leading people into swamps and mud holes at night."  (Taken from HALLOWEEN:  An American Holiday, An American History by Bannatyne.)

Of course, Halloween is also steeped in controversy, even now.  It always has been. - mh

Horrified Fascination

Despite whatever King James II may or may not have done during his reign as King of England, I have always thought that he was the snottiest-looking of men.  Please note the smile/sneer and the long nose just made to look down.  As an American with decided Anti-Monarchist views, I find Parliament's objection to this king's high-handedness perfectly understandable, but not everyone agrees. -mh

The Mountain Goats

Several years ago while listening to (surprisingly enough) Pandora,I heard a song called "Going to Georgia".  This was my first taste of The Mountain Goats, who are now one of my favorite artists.  I'd like to add that any live version of "Going to Georgia" you may look up (ya right) probably won't have this effect on you.  The live versions of the song don't hold the same magic that the original album cut from Zopilote Machine held with an iron fist.  The fact is that their lead singer, John Darnielle's voice is somewhat an acquired taste.      

Recently I traveled to far off Omaha to attend a show for this very band, at a bar/concert hall called The Slowdown.  This was my second Mountain Goats concert and while I found it immensely enjoyable, it didn't quite meet the expectations I had after seeing them at The Jackpot in Lawrence, KS.  The reason?  John indulged himself by playing several new songs, covers, and songs I just wasn't familiar with.  The Mountain Goats played a two hour set that extended beyond their original set list, partially because they couldn't allow themselves to be outshone by the opening band Khaki King, who played an hour and a half.  While I felt that Khaki King was a talented band, I wasn't happy to stand for an hour and a half waiting to hear the act I came to hear.  Learn your place Khaki King, the opening band should NOT play an hour and a half set.

  When Johnny D finally made it on stage, he opened his show with a classic Mountain Goats tune called "Have to Explode", about the growing tension between a drug addicted couple living above their means in a Ritz Carlton hotel located in Kingston, Jamaica.  He followed this track with the very song I had hoped to hear, called "Quito".  If you're interested, check this song out sometime, but good luck finding a decent version without buying the readily available album We Shall All Be Healed.  He followed this with another great song, "Palmcorder Yanja", a song once again about drug addicts, and the tension building between them living together in a house in god knows where.  After this John played no more songs that I would have requested, and had the lead singer/guitarist from Khaki King come out to play several songs with him.  I couldn't help but think "you've already been on the stage too long, get off and let Johnny D have his rightful place as the center of my attention."  Once the original set-list was over, the band started playing from the cuff, even taking requests from the crowd, and discussing what to play next between themselves. I have much to say about the Mountain Goats, but won't continue here.  Check them out, or don't.

-sh

The Vampire Lestat

"It horrified me that this food should be alive, that delicious blood should flow through these struggling arms and fingers, and then it seemed perfect that it should.  He was what he was, and I was what I was, and I was going to feast upon him."  (From, The Vampire Lestat)

Though I think that Anne Rice's writing is, in general, too overwrought and gothic, I have to admit that THAT is a fine piece of writing.  And I love the 1994 movie INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. -mh

Tales of the Vampires

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Vampire mania has been my favorite subject for writing this year.  Instead of skewering the vamped reality of a bloodsuckers pictureless paper world, I’m going to give the vampires some credit.

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Anything written, produced, directed, or endorsed by Joss Whedon is going to be more than good.  Tales of the Vampires is no exception.  In fact, it exceeded my expectations.  Spanning several centuries and dozens of story lines, this comic reveals unknown facets of Joss’s world and includes comics taking place in 19th century London, a 1940’s gambling hall, and stories from the modern day.  With new characters and some old favorites, Joss’s team of writers weave an exceptional thread of fantastical vampire mythos.  These comics will be food for any Whedonite and only add more to the already vast world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

-sh

Blue Bloods?

BLUE BLOODS is a book series about people and their beautiful haunting dances with the entities of the night.  Schuyler Van Alen is a (Go Figure) startlingly beautiful, fair skinned, dark haired, fifteen year old girl who dresses like she’s from the 1800’s:  the perfect jail-bait for a 250 year old pervert vampire.  Except maybe SHE is the vampire.  Her best friend, “Oliver liked to play the part of disaffected youth, but he liked shopping in SoHo even more.”  That pretty much covers him.  And, the perfect Jack Force is showing an unexpected interest in her.

I hate romances in books like this.  If you want a romance, read JANE EYRE.

-Scott

Peanuts

Charles Schulz was a genius.  He was such a genius that I cannot imagine the world BEFORE Peanuts.  We have some great collections of his work in the library, and I have to say his Great Pumpkin strips are some of my favorites.

Oh, and I cannot resist making one reference to the Nerds With Kids blog (Devoted to that most rare of demographics: the geek who has procreated.)  This blog was short-lived, but the entries that are there are highly entertaining.  Maybe these guys decided they needed to spend more time with their kids! -mh