Happy Halloween

Mini Fenway to Open 2008

For an A to Z glossary of Fenway Park (everything you wanted to know and more!) go the official Red Sox site.

The Mini Fenway Park in Quincy will open as early as 2008. The major components include:

1. Fenway Park Replica, a kid size Fenway Park with a regulation youth baseball and softball field including all of the present day features of the real Fenway Park: the Green Monster, the Fisk and Pesky Poles, dugout, bull pens, red box seats, light towers, Citgo Sign, practice batting and pitching cages, the exact foot print of the historic field and 1912 Façade.
2. Legends Museum, a museum with both stationary and interactive exhibits that will feature baseball legends such as Carl Yastrzemski, the first graduate of the Little League System to make it to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
3. Major League Baseball Fan Fest Area including interactive exhibits that replicate the actual MLB Fan Fest held annually at the All Star Game.
4. Theater shaped like a baseball diamond that features indoor clinics, lectures, baseball games and movies.
5. Food & Beverage consisting of a full service Restaurant with Function Rooms, Food Court & Concessions.
6. Souvenir and Pro Shop with the latest baseball and softball apparel, equipment and memorabilia.
7. Clubhouse for players and coaches traveling a long distance.

Find a Haunted Library

At I Love Libraries you can search Massachusetts and the country for a haunted library. From this week's American Libraries Direct.

How Sweet It Is!

Today's Killer Sudoku was classified as 'moderate'. I find the sum calculator and check functions to really help me hone my skills at the game.

Reading, No Pressure

Take a literature course for fun from LitLovers.

Be Warned! Addictive Killer Sudoku

Okay, so I'm addicted to Killer Sudoku and Kakuro, two very difficult versions of the Sudoku puzzles. (Sudoku is actually a 'child' of the more difficult Kakuro.) Now please know that I make a lot of mistakes and only complete the 'easy' ones (without cheating.)

Try these online versions for free: Killer Sudoku (with daily and weekly puzzles) and my favorite Kakuro, PuzzleMix and Sudoko sites. You can purchase inexpensive copies for your desktop as well but the online versions work well.

Reuter's Surprise!

Reuters.com reports in the article "Surprise! Internet Actually a Boon for Books!"

Penguin publishers said this week that the explosion in online and second-hand retailing has not caused the damage they were expecting and that the Internet has in many ways been a boon for booksellers as a tool for marketing, experimentation and reaching out to the next generation of readers.

See the Colors Change

Yankee Magazine's Interactive Foliage Map brings you all over New England for peak color. Finally, we are really seeing some beauty out of our windows. If you are stuck in an office with no view it's a pity!

Do We Check?

Here's a Dewey Quiz from Carnegie Mellon University Libraries. It's fun and can be difficult if you aren't looking!

Sedona, Arizona

I'm back from the honeymoon and thank goodness for public libraries and free Internet access. It surely made me feel at home in the desert. The Sedona Public Library is actually a privately-run library for members in the Sedona area. Library cards are free and membership is much the same as publicly-funded libraries everywhere.

May 14, 1994 a parade of Sedona citizens carried "Books Across Sedona" to symbolize the move to the new library building at 3250 White Bear Road. This move took place over the next three weeks, and the new building opened its doors to the public June 6, 1994. The Sedona Schnebly statue, located near the entrance of the library, was Sedona's first Art in Public Places project. The Sedona monument was commissioned and donated to the City of Sedona by the Red Rock Arts Council in August 1994. The unveiling of the monument was part of the dedication ceremony of the Sedona Public Library, held on October 1, 1994.

The town was named Sedona after Sedona Schnebly...

By the turn of the century, about 15 homesteading families called the area home. In 1899, Theodore Carlton (Carl or "T.C.") Schnebly, and his wife, Sedona Miller Schnebly, joined T.C.'s brother, Ellsworth (D.E.), in the Oak Creek Area. T. C. Schnebly was an enterprising young man. He had 80 acres with a general store and hotel (in his house), where Tlaquepaque and the Los Abrigados resort are now located. Mr. Schnebly saw the need for regular mail service in the little community and organized its first post office. He first suggested the names "Oak Creek Crossing" and "Schnebly Station" to the Postmaster General in Washington. They were considered too long by the Postmaster, so both were rejected. Ellsworth then suggested to Theodore to submit Sedona's name for the honor. Theodore submitted it, and on June 26, 1902, the Postmaster approved the name 'Sedona'.

Banned Books Week

The "10 Most Challenged Books of 2006" reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:

"And Tango Makes Three," by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, for homosexuality, anti-family, and unsuited to age group;
"Alice" series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor for sexual content and offensive language;
"Athletic Shorts," by Chris Crutcher for homosexuality and offensive language;
"Beloved," by Toni Morrison for offensive language, sexual content, and unsuited to age group;
"The Bluest Eye," by Toni Morrison for sexual content, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
"The Chocolate War," by Robert Cormier for sexual content, offensive language, and violence;
"The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things," by Carolyn Mackler for sexual content, anti-family, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
"Gossip Girls," series by Cecily Von Ziegesar for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to age group, and offensive language;
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower," by Stephen Chbosky for homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group; and
"Scary Stories" series, by Alvin Schwartz for occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, violence, and insensitivity.

For more information on Banned Books Week, check out the ALA.org web site.

Get the Skinny on the Zip

I'm not sure about the validity of this site and there are some interesting percentages when you really look around and compare zip codes. (South Harwich, MA comes up top in many areas so go figure.) That aside, the information supposedly is from the 2000 Census and it does have some interesting demographics and is worth the visit. Visit ZipSkinny.com