Sunshine Week and your 1st Amendment
A reminder about Sunday on KGOU …
First Amendment Congress
Sunday, March 21, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
In recognition of Sunshine Week 2010, KGOU presents 2 hours of excerpts from the 2009 First Amendment Congress hosted by FOI (Freedom of Information) Oklahoma and recorded on October 29, 2009. This broadcast includes remarks from keynote speaker Marvin Kalb of The Kalb Report, a panel discussion on the Future of Journalism, and a presentation by Government Documents Librarian Barbara Miller on Watchdog Websites.
You can listen:
106.3 Norman 105.7 Oklahoma City/Spencer
103.1 Seminole 97.9 Ada
Karen Holp
General Manager, KGOU Radio
Just the facts: Letters About Literature
The Daily Oklahoman in the Metro/State News this morning got a few of the facts wrong concerning Letters About Literature and the ceremony to honor our winners, so to set things straight for the Center for the Books folks, here’s the actual press release:
2009-2010 Letters About Literature
Oklahoma Winners Announced
Have you ever read a book that really made an impact on your life? Perhaps you have strongly related to a particular character in a book. Students from across the state were invited to participate in Letters About Literature (LAL), a national writing contest requiring students to write a personal letter to an author describing how a book or character had made a difference in his or her life. Recently, nine Oklahoma students received notification that they had been selected as state winners in the competition.
The national competition is sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and Target. The state level competition also is sponsored by the Oklahoma Center for the Book and the Oklahoma Department of Libraries.
“This year over 65,000 students competed in the national competition,” said Oklahoma Center for the Book Executive Director Connie Armstrong. “Oklahoma once again had students from public, private, and home schools participating. It’s amazing how honest these young people are in expressing their own personal circumstances.”
Judges for the Oklahoma Center for the Book selected the top three essayists in the state on each of the three levels of competition: Level I for children in grades fourth through sixth; Level II for grades seventh and eighth; and Level III for grades ninth through twelfth.
Level I winners are: First-place, Grace Barrett, Owasso 6th Grade Center Literature Department, Owasso, OK, for Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren; Second-place, Caleb Kirk, Owasso 6th Grade Center Literature Department, Owasso, OK, for Airman by Eoin Colfer; and Third-place, Hannah Cook, Rush Springs Middle School, Rush Springs, OK, for A Rose for Melinda by Lurlene McDaniel.
Level II winners are: First-place, Daniel Flores, homeschooled, Cushing, OK, for Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac; Second-place, Blake Graham, Duncan Middle School, Duncan, OK, for A War Torn Sky by L.M. Elliott; and Third-place, Connor Webb, Cyril Public School, Cyril, OK, for Beastly by Alex Flinn.
Level III winners are: First-place, Melissa J. Frye, Oklahoma Union High School, South Coffeyville, OK, for A Child Called It by David Pelzer; Second-place, Victoria Jones, Southmoore High School, Moore, OK, for Equus by Peter Shaffer; and Third-place, Sara Panther, Oklahoma Union High School, South Coffeyville, OK, for The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.
State winners will receive cash prizes and a $50 gift card from Target. The awards ceremony will be held in the Blue Room of the State Capitol on March 31, 2010, at 10:30 am to noon. Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins will serve as the event’s emcee.
“We are also inviting members of the state legislature from the winner’s home district, as well as their family members, friends, educators, and local home town news media,” said Armstrong. “This is a wonderful program, and a great opportunity to highlight some of Oklahoma’s best students.”
Moreover, state winners will advance to the national level judging. Judges for The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress will select six National Winners (two per level of competition), and twelve National Honorable Mention Winners (four per level of competition). The National Winners will receive a $500 Target gift card, plus each will win a $10,000 LAL Reading Promotion Grant for their community or school library so that others can experience personal relationships with authors and the stories they tell. Additionally, the National Honorable Mention Winners will each receive a $100 Target GiftCard and a $1,000 LAL Reading Promotion Grant for the community or school library of their choice.
For more information, contact Connie Armstrong at 405/522-3383 or carmstrong at oltn.odl.state.ok.us.
This is a great program, sponsored by Target, and supported through the Oklahoma Center for the Book. So if you want to see some very cool kids get awards for their reading and writing skills come by the State Capitol Blue Room on March 31st at 10:30 and applaud their accomplishments.
Ten Reasons to Love the Girl
Young Bill Young here. I cut my adult reading teeth in junior high on Agatha Christie mysteries. With a few exceptions, I left the genre behind once I entered high school and college. My sister, however, remains a big mystery fan, and when she told me she had just finished one of the best mystery novels she’s ever read, I was intrigued. Especially since the book was The Girl with the Dragon Tatto. This book had already been on my radar screen because it has sold like hotcakes and received excellent reviews. The story of author Stieg Larsson, who submitted the first three of ten planned “girl” novels before his untimely death, has only added to the mystique of the book.
Well, I just finished reading it. And, yes, I loved it. Here are my top ten reasons for loving the girl:
1. Protagonist Lisbeth Salander has to be the strangest heroine to ever grace the pages of a whodunit.
2. Protagonist Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist with principles. This is especially refreshing in an age where talking heads and dueling propaganda masquerade as news.
3. It’s a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma. (I was never really sure what that saying meant, but I think I have a better understanding since reading this book.)
4. It’s not just a “murder” mystery, it’s also a financial thriller. And a good one.
5. It’s a parable for our times. Every Wall Street speculator who fueled the Great Recession should have to read this book and then give a “class report” to the nation about what they learned.
6. It gives new meaning to the term “dysfunctional family.”
7. It takes us to far off places. Not only will you get to knock around Sweden with Lisbeth and Mikael, you will also travel to Australia and Switzerland.
8. It takes you into the underground world of hackers.
9. It reveals that misogyny is alive and well in progressive Sweden.
10. It’s a love story.
The popularity of the book has led to a movie in Sweden. It will probably be making the foreign film circles in America soon, and I suspect it’s just a matter of time before an English or American movie is made. But don’t wait for the cinematic adaptation. We all know the book is always better than the movie. And this is a good book, indeed!
Mish Wins Wrangler Award
Oklahoma Poet Jeanetta Calhoun Mish Wins Wrangler Award
ALBUQUERQUE: —West End Press author Jeanetta Calhoun Mish has won the 50th annual Western Heritage Award for her book of poetry Work Is Love Made Visible. Mish will be honored at a gala event April 17 at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
Work Is Love Made Visible is a book of poems and family photographs that explores the realities of Plains life. An Oklahoma native, Mish returned home after twenty years of traveling to revisit her working class roots. The result was a collection of heartfelt, determined poems that make up Work Is Love Made Visible.
“I am honored that Work Is Love Made Visible was awarded the Wrangler, and I think it may have appealed to the judges because it tells the western stories not often heard, of sharecroppers and truck drivers, Native Americans and poor Scots Irish, women and men whose personal histories are too complex to romanticize.” Mish, a resident of Norman, Oklahoma, holds a Ph.D. in American literature from the University of Oklahoma. She is a founding member of the Woody Guthrie Poets at the Woody Guthrie Free Folk Festival in Okemah, Oklahoma, and she has been a featured reader at events across the country. Recently, she has published in Labor: Studies in Working Class History of the Americas, Oklahoma Today, Crosstimbers, and World Literature Today.
The Western Heritage Awards honor the “legacy of those whose works in literature, music, film and television reflect the significant stories of the American West.” Awardees receive “The Wrangler,” which is an impressive bronze statue by famed Western artist John D. Free of Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Along with the category winners, inductees into the Hall of Great Western Performers and the Hall of Great Westerners will be honored at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, one of the world’s largest museums of western heritage and art. Past Wrangler winners include John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, John Ford, and Louis L’Amour. Work Is Love Made Visible is Volume 3 in the New Series from West End Press and is available from booksellers or from UNM Press, distributor for West End press. To order, please call 800-249-7737.
MORE INFO @:
· Wrangler Award Press Release: http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/info/MediaRelease.aspx?ID=266
· Jeanetta Calhoun Mish: —http://www.tonguetiedwoman.com/
Yum, what’s to read about food
This weekend husband and I watched Julie and Julia. I loved Meryl Streep as Julia Child. I still remember the clip from some forgotten tv show where she and Dick Butkus carved a turkey. If anyone finds it on the internet let me know. It was one of the funniest TV cooking moments ever.
I agree with my boss and thought Amy Adams (as Julie Powell) was a little too whiney. In real life she had to be more awesome. I was so envious though that her blog took off. Food is a great comment motivator. Everyone has an opinion about it.
I thought I’d point out some references to the cookbooks and people. (I’m a librarian it’s what I do.)
First, Julia’s famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Covers have changed throughout the years. To the right is the First edition cover . 
Did Simone Beck peak your interest, in that you’ve never heard her name before? Read the interesting article in gourmet.com by David Tamarkin.
For another discussion on the collaboration between the three and a taste testing of the recipes, go to Slashfood.
So how about Julia herself. Here’s a great summary of her books from Eat me Daily. This site is worth a second or third look in the Yum department.
Nora Ephron wrote the screenplay for Julie & Julia.
Almost forgot the Joy of Cooking, not complemented by the characters but remember it was the competition. I think it’s another must have for your cookbook collection along with Julia, of course.
Julie Powell wrote Julie & Julia. Here’s the Julie/Julia project, http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/2002/08/25.html
Visit Julie at her blog, http://juliepowell.blogspot.com/
And support this innovative writer and blogger by buying a copy of her book, (don’t just see the movie) , you can do both.
Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen 
Richard Russo wants to spend an evening with you.
The Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers cordially invites you to An Evening with Pulitzer Winner Richard Russo, Tuesday, April 13, 7 p.m., in the OSU-Tulsa auditorium. Reading from his work. Answering your questions. Autographing your books.
“There is a big, wry heart beating at the center of Russo’s fiction” — The New Yorker
Ticket Information:
Tickets are $10 and may be purchased in person at Steve’s Books, 2612 S. Harvard in Tulsa. You can also order tickets by mailing a check, payable to Poets and Writers, to the address below:
Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers
OSU-Tulsa
700 N. Greenwood
Tulsa, OK 74106
Patron Members of the Center receive two free tickets as part of their membership.
For more information call (918) 594-8215
What’s the deal with this?
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Why should Barnes & Noble only sell books they publish in a specific category? It’s like libraries only buying books the librarians want to read. I get it they want to sell their “brand”. OK, sell it, put it in front of the other books, market it, etc. but don’t eliminate the competition.
Sometimes I fear they just don’t think we’re smart enough to know.
The Yard Dog by Sheldon Russell
I like reading about places I’ve visited. I’ve been to the railroad depot in Waynoka, had a nice lunch at the Mexican restaurant (the Harvey House no longer exists) but hospitality is still prevalent in Waynoka. Historically Waynoka is very interesting. Home to Okahoma’s largest rail yard, Santa Fe’s Railway Ice Company, the Transcontinental Air Transport, and branch camp for Camp Alva Prisoner of War facility. According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture, “ Clothed in surplus military fatigues conspicuously stenciled with “PW,” German soldiers picked row crops and cotton, harvested wheat and broom corn, manned the Santa Fe Railroad’s ice plant at Waynoka, cut underbrush and timber in the basin of Lake Texoma, served as hospital orderlies, and worked on ranches.” The rail yard and the POW’s are the basis for Russell’s engaging mystery, The Yard Dog. (link to James A. Moore review)
Spark Dugan, living on the outskirts of town, on the outskirts of life, a little slow but well meaning ends his life under a reefer train. Reefer trains haul perishable products; fruits and vegetables, stopping for ice at the Waynoka yards.
Everyone is ready to dismiss his death as a little too much drink, except the Yard Dog, Hook Runyon. So we have our detective, well he is law enforcement, well sorta. He’s hired to keep out bums, rail jumpers and pick pockets. But instead he feels everyone is turning a blind eye to what has been happening at the Waynoka railyard and how some people want to keep the POWs from answering his questions about Dugan’s death. Why does everyone seem to have something to hide?
Then of course there is the arrival of Dr. Reina Kaplan, suddening in charge of re-educating the “Nazi” prisoners at Camp Alva pending America’s winning the war. She’s been banquished to Oklahoma as surely as Hook has been banquished to the rail yards. But Hook is a surprising character. Honest, feisty, self deprecating but a survivor, fond of a little too much moonshine from his friend and confidant, Runt. He is determined to solve the mystery of Spark’s murder.
The plot twists and turns, we look at obsession and greed. Why one man’s desire for possessions proves his salvation and the same desire leads to another man’s destruction. I like the characters, the setting, the plot and obviously two thumbs up for this mystery.
There are a few historical anachronisms that even a history dolt like myself can identify. It takes a little away from the story and I’m surprised they exist with such a strong showing by Russell. But don’t hesitate to give this book a read, I loved it, passing it along to colleagues, it’s an Oklahoma author and story you won’t want to miss.
WritersReminder from Carolyn Leonard
Thanks to Carolyn Leonard for keeping Oklahoma writers updated on recent events. I wish I could have heard Sheldon Russell myself.
Go to Writers Reminder, http://www.carolynbleonard.com/CarolynBLeonard/WritersReminder/Entries/2010/2/19_Reminder_-_Feb_2010.html
or just visit Carolyn’s website for all kinds of good information.
Procrastination seems to be working but everything has to come to an end.
I’ll bet Young Bill Young wishes I would quit procrastinating and get back to blogging. I’ve used working at Valentine’s Day for as long as I can. I even watched a segment on Sunday Morning this very morning about procrastination and it got me thinking about the error of my ways.
Why do I start so many books, get de-railed, start more, finish even fewer and the cycle continues… And I’m not talking about books that aren’t good, I’m talking books I really want to finish. Some I’m within pages of finishing (I realize this is a disease, and I’m the only one who can cure myself).
What titles are lingering on bedside tables, sofas, kitchen counters, book bags,etc….
Yard Dog by Sheldon Russell. His writing just keeps on getting better. If you like Oklahoma settings, cleverly constructed characters, and plot. Well, it’s got it all. 
Then there’s the Sound of Honor by Jim Stovall I like the possibility of a blind detective. Very clever, and Stovall uses his own life experiences to bring believable detail to the story. Reminds me of the Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay, with his narcoleptic detective. And look I’ve gone to his website and now I have to read his new one, No Sleep till Wonderland.
I’ve also picked up Jeff VanderMeer’s City of Saints and Madmen in the meantime and I need to give it undivided attention or I’m not going to understand it. It’s not for bedside falling asleep reading, but I think it would be worth the effort if I’ll only give it some.
Two others that I’m so close to finishing it’s shameful are Confessions of a Former Rock Queen by Kirk Bjornsgaard and Donis Casey’s The Sky Took Him.
I intend to review both of those so that’s all I’m going to say about them right now.
I realize part of my problem is job related. I walk by the new book display (oops, Doppelgangster just fell into my hands on the way to an appointment).
I read book reviews for my job, I do Interlibrary Loan for my job, all furthering my book addiction. Stop the madness. I’m going to try finishing books before starting new ones. I’m going to try to be more disciplined. (I didn’t go to the Metropolitan Library System’s Book Sale this year and I’m having withdrawal already.) Next year watch out I’m going to be at the head of the line and push people away from the titles I want.
So wish me luck, I’m working on a better me. Need to stop and finish my book……
