January 26th, 2012
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January 26th, 2012
BOSTON (CBS) – State Transportation Secretary Richard Davey wants answers after the Rose Kennedy Greenway Executive Director fended off questions from reporters earlier this week asking that its financial records be made public.
Davey wrote a letter to Nancy Brennan Wednesday after she refused to talk about her reported $225,000 a year salary and how the organization handles its $4.7 million budget – half of which comes from the state.
Read: Davey’s Letter (.pdf)
“We asked for their most recent financial statements,” Davey told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Thursday.
“We want to make sure that those quarterly reports have been filed and are up to date and then we also asked for any other items, employment contracts or other items, to make sure, again, that we have a full understanding of what the potential financial liabilities are of the organization.”
“We’ve given the Greenway until the close of business today to get us the information and I expect they’ll fully comply.”
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January 23rd, 2012
I’ve always found James Fennell’s photo of disheveled books at Huntington Castle beautiful but I’m guessing Isabelle de Conihout, Curator of Rare Books at the Bibliothèque Mazarine in Paris and a specialist in bookbinding history and book collecting, would tell us this arrangement is kind of rough on the volume’s softly colored spines.
She’ll be in New York tomorrow night, January 24, at The Bard Graduate Center for a talk: Cardinal Mazarin: A Great Collector of Art and Books in Seventeenth-Century France. In addition to his serious passion for art, Mazarin had a thirst for books. His personal library was ultimately opened to the public, overseen by librarian/scholar Gabriel Naudé (1600-1653), and grew to become the Bibliothèque Mazarine. Details on the 6 p.m. lecture here.
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January 23rd, 2012
The title of the Wall Street Journal‘s recent article on enhanced e-books—”Blowing Up the Book”—strikes me as an appropriate blend of the exciting and the ominous. (See also: “Kindle Fire.”) The format is a wide-open field of creative possibilities with or one two landmines waiting underneath.
There are whole categories of books for which multimedia extras would be an obvious advantage. You can cite, or imagine, examples as easily as I can: cookbooks with instructional videos, geometry textbooks with interactive 3-D diagrams, and so on. In principle, the enhanced book is as old as the illustrated book, and the rich sensory universe of children’s books in particular—remember scratch-and-sniff? pop-ups? Pat the Bunny?—speaks to the concept’s deep-rooted appeal. Digital technology is simply taking it a logical step forward.
For example, the “Waste Land app” described in the Journal makes perfect sense, up to a point. As an updated version of the scholarly apparatus that often surrounds literary texts, it promises to “enhance” as long as it privileges the text itself and keeps the special features in the background. That said, this sentence worries me a little:
The app, priced at $13.99, hit No. 1 on Apple’s list of best-selling book apps, prompting hope among publishers that literature can hold its own in the app world.
What about hoping apps can hold their own in the literary world? Does T.S. Eliot really have to plead for his legacy at the feet of Steve Jobs?
Fortunately not all publishers share this inferiority complex. Open Road Media CEO Jane Friedman tells the Journal: “The consumer is not asking for this. It takes it from being a reading experience to something else, and we are publishers.” I think she draws too bright a line, but her general point is well taken. Rushing to turn all books—or even all e-books—into multimedia experiences would not only be a kind of cultural capitulation (“Americans no longer have the patience for plain old novels”), it would be a losing marketing strategy. It would reek of desperation and risk insulting readers’ intelligence. And yes, it would play to the strengths of other media rather than those unique to books. Few movies try to boost their entertainment value by interspersing segments of static text; why assume, then, that any text can be improved by a video?
A few years ago, while blogging for art book publisher Abbeville Press, I wrote the following:
Is [the enhanced e-book] a concept worth celebrating? Absolutely. No medium is inherently good or bad to begin with—it’s content that counts; and in the case of this medium, there really are whole new worlds to be explored. But the question arises: must all e-books follow this pattern? Is every text best served by this kind of multimedia piling-on?…
Our industry seems increasingly to feel embarrassed about traditional books, as though they were stodgy and outmoded and better disguised as newer, more popular media…[But] while the e-book presents formal possibilities that are well worth exploring, not every e-book has to reinvent the wheel—and not every publisher should scramble to produce the kind that do, or even to produce e-books at all. Right now it’s at least as important for publishers to recognize what writing and illustration can do that other media cannot; to cultivate excellence in those areas; and to share that excellence with readers as part of a marketing strategy based not on insecurity but legitimate pride.
I stand by that sentiment, and I hope that publishers, even as they diversify, will stand by their core product as well.
[Image courtesy iTunes Store.]
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January 20th, 2012
by Jonathan Blaustein
For all the controversial, opinionated, and edgy things I’ve written in the last couple of years, I think I’m about to put it all to shame. Here, now, I’m writing my first ever “book not reviewed.” Huh? What does that even mean?
By way of explanation, I should say that I’ve been sitting on a pristine, unopened copy of the new Robert Adams trilogy “The Place We Live,” recently released by Yale University Press. Much as it is akin to career suicide to criticize, let alone mention the Yale Photo Mafia, I’m committed to the path of honesty. Rob encouraged me to speak my truth, and here it goes.
I love Robert Adams’ best work. It’s transcendent. I even drove 700 miles to see the prints on the wall in the reconstructed “New Topographics” exhibition in 2010. Leaving the gorgeous galleries, I announced Adams’ work to be the best, and my three cohorts disagreed. (They voted for Baltz. Who’s now a Facebook friend of mine. What is the world coming to?) Anyway, I think Mr. Adams’ Colorado landscape images from the 1970′s are as important as any group of photographs we have.
The best images manage to walk the line between cerebral and emotional, subjective and objective, wistful and angry, optimistic and pessimistic. One can truly sense the presence of a man, standing on a spot of earth, perusing patiently through glass. And of course, anyone who grew up in a suburb, and then watched the subsequent residents slowly absorb the nature they craved…the work hits home. It was as prescient as it was picturesque.
So why have I been unable to cut the seal on these three books, sitting on my stack for two months now? That’s the question I’m asking myself, now, watching the ravens float through the sky in front of the purple, snow-covered mountains. For some reason, my inability to puncture the plastic seems more interesting here than the books would inevitably be. I feel a bit like Cameron guarding his Dad’s Ferrari. Best not to even touch it.
First of all, there’s the cost, I suppose. $250. For collectors only. Then, there’s the sense of grandiosity. Three books at once? From an artist who’s already had so many books published through the years? Thirdly, there’s the fact that I’ve already been scooped by Alec Soth and Fraction Magazine, both of whom published Mr. Adams’ work in the last month. Finally, I must admit that the sense of rebellion at not opening them is just too great for me to overcome.
That’s why I’m going with the “not review” here. Then, photo-eye can sell them to someone who will cherish them forever. Just like I cherish the memory of that art exhibition in Tucson. I’m certain the books would be great, so let’s not assume that I’m being critical here, I’m just going with the moment.
The reality is, this package in front of me is just too precious. It’s intimidating, like the Torah that I had to carry during my Bar Mitzvah in 1987. There I was, in the midst of becoming a man, rocking the hair gel, and all I could think about was what would happen to me if I dropped that f-cking gilded scroll. I think you have to fast for 40 days if it hits the ground, but I could be wrong. The Hebrew School training is finally starting to wear off.
Maybe I’m just afraid to write anything negative about one of the photography world’s true gods. I saw a small exhibition of his work at the Nevada Art Museum in the Fall, and felt like everything after 1990 was just not up to snuff. So if I don’t open the books, I won’t see the failures, and then I won’t have to write about them.
Or maybe I just like the idea of doing the absolutely unexpected, and not opening the books on general principle? (Like I don’t root for Tom Brady on GP. He’s just a pretty robot.) Regardless, I suppose this is a first for “This Week in Photography Books.” Come back next week, and I promise to talk about the images inside a book, instead of just the box. And if I wake up with a horse head in my bed on Saturday, I suppose that will confirm that the YPM is alive and well. Any contributions, in memoriam of my career, can be sent to the World Food Programme, courtesy of the UN.
Bottom Line: I chickened out of opening the damn thing, but it’s probably awesome
To Purchase The Place We Live visit Photo-Eye.
Full Disclosure: Books and scans were provided by Photo-Eye in exchange for links back for purchase. Please support Photo-Eye if you find this feature useful.
by Jonathan Blaustein on January 20, 2012
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January 20th, 2012
Turns out that while sticks and stones can break your bones, words, too, can really hurt you. In honor of proving that out-of-date childhood adage incorrect, the week of Jan. 23-27 has been set aside as No Name-Calling Week in schools across the country. Check out these great children’s book titles that can help you reinforce this important message at home:
Bullies Never Win by Margery Cuyler
This easy-to-relate-to children’s book tells the tale of Brenda Bailey, a bully who persistently and relentlessly taunts and teases her classmate, Jessica. Cuyler creates an accurate portrayal of how targets like Jessica typically respond to bullying, including experiencing anxiety, losing sleep, quitting sports, changing their style of dress, and fearing asking for help. She also uses Jessica to show young readers that the best way to handle bullies is to stand up to them in assertive ways. Jessica’s bold “Toothpicks may be thin, but bullies never win,” is a triumphant moment of self-defense that can inspire and embolden elementary school-aged readers.
My Secret Bully by Trudi Ludwig
My Secret Bully, written for tween readers, lifts the lid off of the hidden culture of relational aggression, otherwise known as girl bullying. It tells the story of Monica and Katie — two girls who have been friends since kindergarten, but who now are facing a rift in their relationship, as Katie begins to exclude and embarrass her former friend in front of their other classmates. In tackling this painful subject of the ways in which some girls use relationships as weapons, Ludwig provides an accurate and not-often-addressed portrait of a young girl’s anguish at the hands of a ‘frenemy.’ My Secret Bully is not a light-hearted portrayal of bullying, nor does it offer pat answers. But it does address an important issue in the lives of upper elementary and middle school-aged girls, and can serve as a great springboard for discussions with parents.
One by Kathryn Otoshi
You know how sometimes a book comes along that you just know you will hold on to long after your child is done with it? Borrowing it from the library will not do — you have to own it and you are certain it will be a top gift pick for any of your Mom friends. For me, that book is this one! Part of the magic of One is the significance of its message, conveyed in the simplest of terms and illustrations. This multi-award winner is one of the best books I’ve read (and I’ve read a lot!) on the subject of the power that one child can have to change a bullying situation and to stand up for themselves in a way that garners self-respect and promotes dignity for all.
For more information about helping kids change the culture of bullying in schools and for engaging discussion ideas to use during No Name-Calling Week, please visit www.signewhitson.com or check out Friendship & Other Weapons: Group Activities to Help Young Girls Cope with Bullying. Additional resources for No-Name Calling Week can also be found on Signe’s Facebook page or @SigneWhitson on Twitter.
Follow Signe Whitson on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/SigneWhitson
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January 17th, 2012
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is, “Top Ten Books I’d Recommend To Someone Who Doesn’t Read X,” and I have chosen to write about…CLASSICS!
Now, classics have a pretty bad rap. As the common thing that many students are forced to swallow in school, to the exclusion of all other types of literature, it’s often associated by the YA audience as something boring and irrelevant and too dense for modern times. Therefore, I feel lucky to have been able to encounter a fair share of amazing classics, whether through required reading or self-discovery, and would like to share some of them with you, to see if you would be inspired to pick it up and see if you enjoy it as well!
1. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
This classic is a tome at over a thousand pages, but it might be one of the most awe-inspiring tomes about revenge you’ll ever read. The amount of detail Dumas writes into describing Dantes calculated, decade-long vengeance on a dozen high-status society members is completely amazing compared to some of the mysteries and revenge plots written today. I blazed through all 1300 pages of this in a little less than week, it was that engrossing. Get the unabridged Penguin Classics edition translated by Robin Buss and read read read.
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
What classics list of mine would be complete without this book? Austen effortlessly infuses her writing with the sort of “British parlor” humor (read: superficially pleasant but actually quite biting) that many contemporary authors don’t quite seem to pull off. This 200-year-old love story still rings as passionately today as it did then–and maybe even more so.
3. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The precursor to contemporary novels written in diary format. Also, in some ways, the precursor to the present-day YA novel, what with teenage Cassandra being the witty narrator–kind of like an early-twentieth-century British version of Jessica Darling (yes, that’s right, that Jessica Darling)–and us seeing the unfolding of this book’s events through her diary entries. There is quite a bit of giggle-inducing romance in here too.
4. The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor
Another writer with the gift of a type of humor that is not as prevalent in today’s writings. This collection of award-winning short stories is chock-full of hypocritical, ridiculous, and self-deluded characters. Now normally, I hate reading about whining and delusional characters, but O’Connor’s “distant narration” makes it so that you’re never supposed to empathize with the characters, and instead can gawk at them as specimens of the horrid potentials of humanity. My favorite story is “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” That grandmother! That ending!
5. The Rebel of the Family by Eliza Lynn Linton
This strange Victorian novel may no longer be published outside of academic presses, it’s still worth checking out if you’re interested in Victorian novels, the New Woman movement in Victorian England, and the kind of odd writing that results in no characters we can connect with or really even admire, not even the protagonist. That may sound unappealing, but The Rebel of the Family is also quite amusingly sharp in its satire, in the style of Austen. There are definitely plenty of things to wonder about regarding the author’s stance on women’s rights, etc. I read this twice for two different English classes in college and found it a fascinating read each time.
6. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
Eliot may be more well known for Middlemarch, but I like this one a little more, because of its slightly more accessible narration (as opposed to Middlemarch‘s often stifling “omniscient narration”). It’s not every day that an author can make me both like a character yet want to throttle her at the same time. I also think that this novel contains one of the most romantic love letters I’ve ever read. But I won’t spoil anything else for you. 
7. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
I don’t know how to describe this novel. It’s an expose on the scary lingering effects of the Vietnam War. It’s poetry. It’s a groundbreaking exploration of the capacity of the written language. It’s so, so, so good.
8. The Complete Grimm Brothers’ Fairy Tales
Like fairy tale retellings but never read the originals? Nearly every single freaking fairy tale you can think of is in this ridiculous collection. Ridiculous because it is quite flabbergasting how morbid the Grimm Brothers were. Daughters willingly amputating themselves and villains pulled apart by horses and evil trolls stealing babies!
9. Sula by Toni Morrison
This is such an interesting take on female friendship by a stylistic powerhouse author. Morrison is a beautiful writer, and many parts of this will ring true to those who ever questioned the veracity and strength of their friendships.
10. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
I somehow managed to skip this growing up, but even reading it just a few years ago, I became utterly engrossed in the March women’s lives. I tore through this book in two nights. It has the kind of familial and sisterly charm that I feel like anyone at any age can love.
What classics do you love and would recommend to other readers, like me?
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January 17th, 2012
Apple
Apple recently revealed that it is holding an “invitation-only education event” on Jan. 19. No details were given about the event’s focus, but there was plenty of speculation suggesting that we’ll hear about Apple’s plans to dominate the world digital textbooks. Now there’s a report claiming that the company intends to announce the equivalent of “GarageBand for e-books.”
The folks at Ars Technica say that unnamed sources close to the matter have confirmed that Apple intends to “announce tools to help create interactive e-books [...] and expand its current platform to distribute them to iPhone and iPad users.”
The GarageBand metaphor means that the tools for creating a textbook would be as simple and intuitive as Apple’s music-creation software.
While — like any other report which relies heavily on anonymous sources — this one should be taken with a dash of salt, it does sound rather reasonable. After all, Apple’s got a knack and history when it comes to providing accessible content production tools, such as GarageBand and iMovie — so why shouldn’t it continue down that path?
The real question is, how can Apple add pizazz to a product that sounds as exciting as non-fat plain yogurt? Guess we’ll have to wait until Thursday to find out.
Related stories:
Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You’ll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.
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January 14th, 2012
In the U.S., childhood obesity opponents have been pressuring McDonald’s to deliver healthier Happy Meals to kids by trying to ban toys inside unhealthy meals.
In the U.K. childhood literacy advocates are manipulating McDonald’s in a different way, by partnering with them to hand out around nine million popular children’s books with its Happy Meals for a month. It is part of a new partnership with publishing house HarperCollins aimed at getting books into the hands of families and to support parents in reading with their children.
From now until early February, McDonald’s will offer its Happy Meals customers copies of the much-loved Mudpuddle Farm series of books by Michael Morpurgo, former children’s laureate and War Horse author.
The announcement follows research released by the National Literacy Trust in December which revealed that almost four million children in Britain – one in three – do not own a book.
Jonathan Douglas, Director of The National Literacy Trust, commented: “Our recent research showed that one in three children in this country don’t own a book, which is extremely concerning as there is a clear link between book ownership and children’s future success in life. We are very supportive of McDonald’s decision to give families access to popular books, as its size and scale will be a huge leap towards encouraging more families to read together.”
Families will be able to take home copies of favourite titles including ‘Mossop’s Last Chance’ and ‘Martians at Mudpuddle Farm’. Each book comes with a finger puppet to help parents bring the stories to life for their children, and to encourage children of all reading abilities to use their imagination and create their own tales.
Hey HarperCollins, how about rolling out a similar campaign in the U.S.?
Source: National Literacy Trust
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January 14th, 2012
and I created some graphic organizers to go with each.
The first 3 people to leave a comment below will get the games for FREE!
Don’t forget to leave your email!
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WolframAlpha continues to lead the Android Books & Reference App Top Ten list this week.
