Library2Play--Thing #10, AISDCL20 #12

Image Generators

I tried Image Chef, first, but I'm not pleased. While it's easy to use, there's not a lot of stuff to play with (prefab stuff) and everytime I tried to add the image over here in Blogger, it was broken. Oh well.

I did find the Glitterizer. Cheezy (and yes that word has a 'z' in it.). But cute.

What you don't see here is that the text has an animated glitter effect. But, there wasn't any way to get the HTML code to plug in.

I don't know, this one just seems like a fun way to burn some time. Really didn't do much for me today. I can see where it could be fun to make some different signs or cartoons or whatever.

Library2Play--Thing #9, AISDCL20 #8 & #9

Useful Library-Related Blogs and News Feeds


I played with several of the sites provided in this discovery activity.

Of course, the Edublog Awards are a wonderful place to start. I enjoy finding out what others think are particularly good. That doesn't always mean they've got a large following. It just means they're particularly good and people should know about them. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I wonder what they were thinking.

I do like the blog School Libraries on SuperGlu. There's some good stuff there. And it seems to be pieced together the way my brain works. (That would be randomly). It's a little confusing if you don't already know how it's put together--try finding stuff, okay?

I've never really like searching for feeds in Bloglines. Honestly, it feels like the old versions of search engines, and honey, I'm all about the new stuff.

Still, though, my favorite way to find interesting blogs and feeds is to "shop" others. I liken it to when I'd visit my grandmother's house and go "shopping" in her pantry for a snack. We might have some of the same things at my house, but there's was always something different and WAAAAY cooler at hers.

That's how I found this blog today.

Students 2.0

I love this. What a great insite into what kids are thinking--without having too worry too much that you don't want to know that particular thought!!!

Library2Play--Thing #8

RSS Feeds, and Feedreaders

I have to tell you, I love RSS feeds. Just the advent of them means I don't have to troll through my bookmark list for new things..and get increasingly disappointed to find that my favorite bloggers post about as often as I do on my personal blogs. (I'm averaging 3 posts every couple of months, all at once. Very bad.) I'm not a very patient person (could be that undiagnosed ADD), so I don't like to go looking for something and come up with nothing--like new posts and news. So, RSS feeds and newsreaders are a miraculous thing for me.

I use my feeds constantly, for school and home. Okay, so the school one is relatively new, but I do enjoy it, a great deal. Everything I'm looking for on one page? It's great, saves me time. At home, I keep up with my friends blogs..makes it easy for me to point someone to a blog, and see when my friends have posted updates.

Libraries could do a lot with this. Providing a feed for users of your library's blog would be a good PR tool--let patrons know of new developments and events in your library, even if they aren't faithful visitors to your blog/site. I keep the Amazon blog in my personal feeds so I can see what's up with new books or whatever that I might be interested in, so it becomes something of a collection development tool. Fun stuff!

Before I Die, by Jenny Downham

Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with excruciating side-effects, Tessa compiles a list. It’s her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is Sex. Released from the constraints of ‘normal’ life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up. Tessa’s feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, and her new boyfriend, all are painfully crystallised in the precious weeks before Tessa’s time finally runs out.

With the movie "Bucket List" opening over the weekend, reading this book was a good way to kick off my weekend of self-reflection. Talk about making you think and consider relationships as well as how you live your life. Do you just give up, or do you go out fighting?

Oh, I cried. Wonderfully written, and so touching and real. Tessa is fabulous, Zoey is what you expect—loyal but still caught up in her own life, just like your typical teenager. Adam is an unexpected joy, and Cal, Tessa's little brother, will just wrench your heart out.

I truly can't believe this is Downham's first novel. I can only imagine what she'll give us next, as powerful as this one is.

One Good Punch, by Rich Wallace

ASK ANYBODY AROUND East Scranton High School: Michael Kerrigan is almost too good to be true. Dedicated athlete, captain of the track team, editorial assistant (obituary writer) at the Scranton Observer, he's never been in trouble, and he doesn't associate with troublemakers. This is the most important track season of his life - and he's ready.

That is, until the police find four joints in his locker. Soon Mike's seemingly perfect world is threatened, and with pressure coming from his parents, his childhood best friend, and his sort-of girlfriend, Mike is faced with a choice - a choice that will determine the kind of athlete, friend, and man he becomes.

This is a short, quick read. Readers will relate, quickly, to the guy who "has it all together" and is on track for success.

That being said, the ending doesn’t jive with me. I honestly can’t see too many teenagers throwing away their lives to make the choices that Mike does--most in my estimation aren't ready for the concept of the "the greater good." Maybe I'm a tad jaded.