Credits

State Budget Forum in Waltham 12/1

A couple of days before Thanksgiving, the Governor’s office called to reserve the library’s lecture hall for a public forum on the Fiscal Year 2011 state budget:

from 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Moderated by Secretary of Administration & Finance Jay Gonzalez

Anyone who would like to be part of a conversation about state budget strategies and priorities is invited to attend. A series of hearings and forums are scheduled throughout the state “to ensure that all feedback can be taken into account in developing the Governor’s budget recommendations, which are due in late January.”

For more information and a schedule of all 19 events, see www.mass.gov/governor/forum.

Glad vs. Sad

I recently checked in at the rear circ desk.

The Power of Nice and The Pessimist’s Handbook.

The titles intrigued me; the subjects suggest opposite attitudes.

The Power of Nice (How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness) by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval
Some of the Chapter titles included:
The Power of Nice
Bake a Bigger Pie
Sweeten the Deal
Help your Enemies
Tell the Truth
Shut up and Listen
Create a Nicer Universe

The book was 127 pages long and published in 2006.

and

The Pessimist’s Handbook (A Collection of Popular Essays)
by Arthur Schopenhauer

Some of the Chapter titles included:

On the Suffering of the World
On Education
Of Women
On Noise
On Books and Reading
Human Nature
Government
Worldly Fortune
The Ages of Life

The book was 798 pages long and published in 1964.

Wow! I wonder how much longer an updated version would be?

Kind of sad I think, we need to SMILE more, a little positive thinking couldn’t hurt either!!

posted by Jeannette

Frightfully fun

On Friday evening , October 30th, over 150 guests filled the library after hours.  They enjoyed performances by actors from the Hovey Players based on Poe’s writings, were treated to food and wine, and entered raffles for prizes from over 50 merchants, individuals and organizations.

The Cask of Amantillado

The Cask of Amontillado

Thanks to all who attended and made the event so successful.  Special thanks to Ronni Marshak and everyone from the Hovey Players, who donated their time and talented energies;  Karen and Tom Condor, who conceived the idea for the evening and donated countless hours to ensuring everything ran smoothly; the culinary program at Waltham High School who received high praise for the catering; Vanessa Hargrove and Lela Chiavaras for organizing the raffle; the Waltham Garden Club for the flower arrangements; and the dozens of Friends and staff who donated their time (and desserts).

Click here to see more photos of An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe

Click here to see the program, including cast and donor listings

A guest

A guest

Mr. Poe

Mr. Poe

BBC’s Memory Share & NPR’s StoryCorps

Everyday people enter the Waltham Room, looking to learn about an ancestor, a friend, and various aspects about the history of Waltham. We are lucky to have so many great resources for our patrons, including old yearbooks, annual listings, newspapers,  pamphlets (this list can go on forever).

One item that I am particularly excited that we own is the oral histories that were recorded for Waltham Rediscovered. I really enjoy listening to people tell their own stories.

For those of you who also enjoy this, I want to recommend two websites.  One is NPR’s  StoryCorps – If you listen to NPR, you might already be familiar with this one.  The other is the BBC’s Memory Share. Since anyone can post on Memory Share, finding good content might take  a bit of digging, but when you find a good one, it is worth it.

posted by Todd