Enjoy this film about time travel “In Between Times” written and directed by my middle son. Michelle Reasso, the fabulous teen librarian at the Highland Park Public Library, put this up last night (and she will be putting up the other films that were part of the Library’s teen film festival, too). Michelle has a major role in the movie as Miss Puffin the librarian. The main character is played by two different teenage girls, because the first one had midterms and couldn’t continue to show up on Sunday afternoons.
Rose of Sharon, dried out buds in the January sky The sky really was this white on this day in mid-January. Today, in early February, we are having a thaw, and I looked outside for signs of crocuses. Maybe my neighbor’s snowdrops will come up soon? The ground is still too hard to plant peas, but I should order some new ones and some inoculant to plant with the pea seeds.
I am greatly enjoying the work I do for the Highland Park Public Library, especially the page for 2009 Teen Film Festival. I must admit some bias in this project; I have a talented filmmaking son whose film will be one of those screened on Sunday, February 8 at 2 pm. I understand he has some cameo roles in some of the other films. A beaming mom!
This is where I was for about two hours this morning, at the Friends of the Highland Park Library Book Sale. I volunteered for a little over an hour taking the money from the sales, and then I came back with my daughter to buy some books. Despite the pouring rain, patrons were coming in and buying books. Those running the sale told me that the sale has been a success (they have made over $3000). In the middle of the photo is Mort, who spent a lot of his time this past week putting together the sale, and on the right is George, another sale organizer.
So, what did we buy? I bought a biography of the Rema, the story of Rabbi Moshe Isserles. It says in the introduction that certain liberties where made with re-creating his life, but I think I will get a feel for what life was like in 16th century Cracow. My daughter selected a Mother Goose book (we already own one, but this one has different illustrations), a Berenstains Bears book, and Meet Samantha, an American Girl book. I also threw in a copy of the Princess and the Goblin, thinking at some point my daughter will enjoy this classic.
I’m currently reading Mary Poppins, the original book by P.L. Travers. It is delightful, and one can see how it inspired the producers of the more famous movie. I hope to post excerpts from the book in the next week. But now I need to get back to my holiday preparations.
Setting up an art show is not as easy as it looks.
Jill pulls the wire to hook up a painting.
Or maybe you are thinking, who says I ever thought this was easy?
My daughter and I helped Jill with the set up on Wednesday afternoon. My daughter took this photo of me holding a portrait of her.
My daughter is so proud of her ballerina painting.
Jill was at the library setting up on Thursday night and for several hours on Friday. I’ve gotten emails on the progress; and I will gladly be supplying the lemonade in memory of Kiersten.
My Middle Son and I are going to be in an art show at the Highland Park Public Library in September 2008. You are all most cordially invited to attend the opening on Sunday, September 7 from 2-5 pm (did I just invite way too many people, Jill?).
Here’s a piece I chose to be in the show; not one I did with Jill, but it is my favorite oil painting:
I’m afraid this image doesn’t do the painting justice; it’s much nicer to view in person, especially when the subject himself is sitting right under the painting, buried in one of his books.
In between working on intriguing posts for your enjoyment and taking care of my family, I do website work for a number of Central New Jersey businesses and organizations. Sometimes it takes a while before my work becomes public, but recently I edited a number of web pages that I can share with you:
Yesterday, I put the Rutgers Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life’s Fall 2008 Public Events. Note that in December Dara Horn, author of The World to Come, a book recommended by Mother in Israel, will be speaking at Rutgers.
The Highland Park Public Library has a bug poster to advertise summer programming for children. The bug poster, by children’s book illustrator Harry Bliss, is part of a national program called Collaborative Summer Library Program, so you may see a similar one on another library site. I just added some text to make it unique to our library.
New Jersey School of Dental Assisting had me add their newest schedule, information about tuition and financing, and a new field on their contact form.
I did some edits for Wilkin & Guttenplan, an accounting firm in East Brunswick, New Jersey, including an animated gif of Best Places to Work award logos that you can see on the bottom right of the Careers page.
I will soon be working on a new online course for the Rutgers Bildner Center. The courses are free; so if you have some time to do a course, go to the Jewish Studies Online Studies page to take the Bible & History or the Israeli Political System. Also, I’ve been working a site for a local firm that is not yet public.
I like to read. But I don’t care for much of the fiction written these days. So I am looking for recommendations; please leave some in the comments. Or else I will read yet another health book.
Some blogger recommendations that sound good:
The Physician by Noah Gordon (Ilana-Davita’s recommendation)
Update: I was at the library this morning for a meeting (because of budget cuts in Highland Park, the library is now having a part-time consultant–me–update their website instead of a full-time employee). The Highland Park Public Library owns the top three recommended books on this post, as well as three copies of The Lost by Daniel Mendelsohn. It turns out The Lost is a biography, and I was looking for it in fiction! I took out Dara Horn’s book and Nancy Geary’s book. Noah Gordon’s books will have to wait; they were the fattest.
My intention had been to write about every day anger and how various people handle it. However, a horrific tragedy gave me pause to focusing at present on the every day. I feel fortunate to have wonderful neighbors here in Highland Park of many different backgrounds. But the close neighbors of Sderot, Israel, where people have been under daily rocket threats, celebrated yesterday’s massacre. CELEBRATED! How could one not get angry?
What I would call a “rabbinic” approach by Therapydoc. Listen up, kids, she seems to say. Consider this as another school killing. Let me tell you a story about angels singing at the death of the Egyptians…
A great way to deal with anger… tell a joke. Maybe then someone out there will get it?!!
Finally, getting back to Highland Park, as I originally meant this to be a blog about Highland Park, I just want to mention with sadness and some anger that Michelle Reasso will be leaving the Highland Park Public Library. At whom do I direct the anger? It can’t be at Mayor Meryl Frank; she gave the library a large donation recently. And not at the other librarians. And not at the taxpayers of Highland Park, we pay too much already. So I’ll direct it at the ridiculous politicians of Trenton who messed up the State budget. Michelle deserves her own post, so I’ll write one soon.
Yesterday, I started posting about