Pi Day at Southeast Regional Library

What is Pi Day you ask? Why,March 14 of course!

3/14.

Get it? It’s alright, it takes a minute sometimes.

This year, we’ll celebrate Pi Day at the Southeast Regional Library on March 14 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. We’ll indulge in lots of round food like pizza and pie of course. We’ll also have a contest to see who can remember the most digits of pi.

Teen Advisory Meetings at Southeast Regional Library

Join us at Southeast Regional Library on Tuesday, January 15 at 7 p.m. for our first 2013 Teen Advisory Meeting. You’ll earn community service hours while helping the teen librarian plan and present events for teens, and it is a great way to meet other teens in the area. I’ll provide the munchies, you provide the ideas. In the past, Teen Advisory groups have planned events such as Hunger Games parties and Zombie Zone. What we do this year is up to you!

 

Eva Perry Teens Video Contest

This coming Thursday, January 10th at 7 pm, the teens at Eva Perry Library will be attempting to create a video entry, less than 90 seconds, for the Summer Reading Collaborative Teen Video Contest.  Any teens can join us for the event.  The theme is Beneath the Surface.  We will need writers, actors, and camera people.  There is prize money involved, $275 for the teen group, and $125 in prizes for the sponsoring library.  For more information, visit the website.

Want to see the winners from last year?  Go here.

Want to Give Blood?: Wake County Blood Drives

All six regional libraries will be hosting blood drives in the month of December.  Giving blood is a great way to give back to your community. Wake County citizens ages 16 and up can give blood, although if you are age 16, you do have to have a signed parent permission form.

Last year was my first time giving blood, and it was easy to do.  I have never been able to give blood before because of low blood count, but thanks so a great multi-vitamin, my hemoglobin is up, up, up. 

Eva Perry Hunger Games Festival

Twelve teens gathered at Eva Perry Library to clean shelves and organize books in the young adult section.  They did a great job!  Our next teen event will be our Hunger Games Festival on Thursday, November 29, from 7-8:15 p.m. We will be playing games based on the popular Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.  Everyone in grades 6-12 is invited to race to the cornucopia, escape from the tracker jackers, design an appropriate dress for the television interview, escape the fire, and to try and use archery to be the champion.  In honor of the occasion, I am going to post our Hunger Games book trailer that was made long before the series was popular.  Enjoy, and May the Odds Be Ever In Your Favor!

 

Eva Perry Teen Work Project

On Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 7 p.m., teens and pre-teens in grades 6-12 will gather for a Teen Work Project at Eva Perry Library.  Here’s how it works.  Come and work for an hour at the library by doing things to make our library look shiny and new, including cleaning and making sure the books are in order.  Walk-ins are welcome.  After the event, you will get a letter stating that you worked for an hour that you can use for volunteer credit.  Easy and fun because you get to meet new people!

Eva Perry Day of the Dead Event 2012

Nine teens gathered at Eva Perry Library yesterday to learn about Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).  After sharing our previous knowledge about the event, we participated in authentic activities by making tissue paper flowers and sugar skulls.

Eva Perry Culture Club: Day of the Dead Program

On Thursday, November 8, at 7 p.m., the Eva Perry Library is hosting a Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead event.  After discussing what the purpose of the holiday is, we will observe the holiday by making tissue paper flowers and sugar skulls.

The event is a time to remember deceased loved ones.  The people make altars usually near the actual tombs.  The pile items on the altars, including flowers, photos, and favorite foods of the loved one.  Sugar skulls are consumed.  The name of the deceased is written on the skull before it is eaten.  Many times, people share stories.  The stories can be serious or humorous.  It is not a time necessarily of sadness, but of remembrance.

One Wake County teen wrote this post in the past, just check out what she had to say.  Hope to see some of you on Thursday night.  Anyone in grades 6-12 is welcome.

Eva Perry Writer’s Workshop with David Gill

Author David Gill be visiting the Eva Perry Library on Thursday, October 25, 2012, to do a writing workshop for teens in grades 6-12 at 7 p.m.  David Gill is the author of Soul Enchilada,  Black Hole Sun, and his most recent title, Invisible Sun.  If you are interested in participating in National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo) or just like to write and want some great practical tips on bringing your ideas to life, David Gill is a great resource.  He has done writing workshops for the library system before, and there are always well thought out.  Teen writers leave with very practical tips on how to move ideas from your mind onto paper.

Eva Perry Teen Library Work Project

On Thursday, any teens in grades 6-12 are welcome to work for an hour of community service credit.  Be library minions for an hour and help us make our library look even better than usual!

This Thursday, we will keep shelf reading the library, as well as clean up some of the dust.  We promise that it won’t be like this famous clip from the classic sci-fi film, Metropolis.

Eva Perry Culture Club: Rock the Vote

Are you ready to Rock the Vote?  The Presidential Election Day is fast approaching, and with it, the deadline to register to vote.  In order to vote this year, you first be registered to vote, and the deadline to register is Friday, October 12, 2012.

To facilitate this, Eva Perry Library is hosting a Rock the Vote Culture Club on Thursday, October 11th, from 7-8 p.m.  This program is sure to get you ready to vote this year or anxiously awaiting your turn once you turn 18!

A special guest speaker will explain the history of voting.  Afterwards,we will have a mock debate and election with two surprise candidates.

Eva Perry Library Teen Advisory Group

This week, Eva Perry Library’s Teen Advisory Group (TAG) is meeting on Thursday, October 4, 2012 at 7 p.m. to plan some awesome events for the library and community teens.

The three big events on the agenda are the Rock the Vote program on October 11, 2012, the Super Smash Video Game Tournament on November 3, 2012, and the Hunger Games Festival on November 29, 2012.  Teens meet, help plan events, and earn volunteer credit.    Here’s how one library did the Hunger Games event.  What events would you like to see?

How to Create a Character Out of Thin Air

Hello everybody. I’m back in school now, and through a series of unfortunate events (including, but not limited to being subjected to death by AP courses, slaying a dragon, a hospitalized rainbow-making buddy, and a vanishing ferret) I have found myself with very little free time. However, I recently had a brainstorming session with a friend about character design and thought that I would share what I’ve learned. Take everything I say with a grain of salt, though; I’m new at this.

The first order of business when writing a story is usually character design. If you have a vague idea of a plot and setting, the best place to sharpen them in your eyes would be by creating your protagonist. Recently, I have come to realize this is a very Rumpelstiltskin-esque experience; you have your imagination, your ideas, and your language of choice, and you must weave them into somebody who will carry on his/her shoulders the plot of your story. You, as the writer, are faced with a similarly daunting task. In between you and your completed character are several common obstacles.

Video Game Review: Legend of Zelda

I’ve been addicted to video games since my Gameboy Advance SP, and while I may not be the most dedicated gamer, I’ve definitely been playing for a while. When I was in elementary school, one of the most rewarding noises I could hear, aside from the little victory music after catching a Pokemon, was the chime of a mystery being solved in a LoZ game. LoZ is probably my favorite video game franchise to date, and I’m going to tell you guys a little about what I think of the games.

A Link to the Past

My first ever LoZ game! It was one of the first games we got for our GBA SP and it was long enough ago that I can’t remember the plot, but not so long that I’ve forgotten how much I loved it.

Handmade Blog: Poppytalk

I’ve recently really been into DIY and handmade stuff (I just cut up an old oversized sweatshirt from a school I don’t even go to anymore and am hoping to turn it into a cute fleece sweater with a pig on the front), and so I’ve been on the search for a good blog with ideas and projects for me to try out.

I found…Poppytalk!

Really, you can find just about any type of DIY/handmade project for any level of DIYer. There’s also a whole bunch of links to other DIY blogs and so I can literally spend hours on this blog, getting distracted by other blogs that they mention. A lot of different bloggers contribute to this blog, so it’s an amalgram of so many creative ideas together. If I feel bored, all I need to do is read through a few entries and my next project comes to mind.

DIY: Mussel Shell Earrings

I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t buy any more earrings…but that doesn’t mean I can’t make them. The other day we had mussels for dinner and my dad was about to throw away the shells when I grabbed the whole bowl of them and ran away. “There has to be some sort of use for them…” I thought to myself.

So I attempted to make them into mussel shell earrings. It was slightly more difficult because I didn’t have a super small drill to drill a hole into the top, but I tried to make do.

DIY Mussel Shell Earrings (No Drilling Required)

Materials

-a mussel shell: take the two parts apart and wash them thoroughly. If you wish to get rid of the fishy smell you are welcome to, but I really don’t suggest spraying perfume on them since it mixes rather badly with the fish smell.
-silver nail polish. I used Sinful Color Professional silver nail polish. It’s kind of sparkly with a silver sheen.
-earring hooks
-beads: in the end I chose this silver shiny bead:)
-earring wire: it has this sort of head at the top so you can put the bead on and it stays without falling off.
-thin silver wire
-jewelry wire pliers and wire cutters

5 Funny Words and My Thoughts On Them

Well, after a rather long absence, I’m back and ready to write. I was playing Scrabble the other day when I realized that there was a rather unusual word on the board, just played by my brother. I check the dictionary, and he gets 20-something points off of “bumf”. What exactly is a bumf? I check online, and there it is: “dull and useless documents”. After a bit of poking around the net, I felt a burning need to share these words with the world so that never again will a conversation be boring!

26 letters never looked more intimidating.

District 12 Has Awesome Hairstyles.

So…

I watched the Hunger Games!

I waited a week after the movie came out to watch it, and then I went and watched it twice. Though a bit too artsy for my liking, it didn’t disappoint. It was nothing like how I felt after Percy Jackson (ugh), and I’m looking forward to Catching Fire.

But this isn’t a movie review.

What I primarily noticed was the hairstyles, particularly the braids from District 12. So I had to come home…and try them on my sister (I have really layered hair so it never works on me D:).

Maplestory: A New Kind of RPG

Role Playing Games (RPGs), in my opinion, have a bad reputation from games like World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons, etc. Don’t get me wrong; WoW and D&D are both great games. It’s just that they tend to be a little too… realistic. Most of the players are older, and you have to pay through the nose to play. But when all hope is lost- MAPLESTORY TO THE RESCUE!

Happy Anniversary, Maplestory!

Easy on your computer

Most RPGs require supercomputers to run, just because of their great graphics and their complexity. Maplestory opted to make a simple, side-scrolling game that most computers can run to full effect. It doesn’t take long to download, either; I managed it in about half an hour with an older computer.

Spring Hair Tutorial: Braids and Sidebun

It’s practically spring, and here’s a fun hairstyle with braids and a side bun that you can wear anywhere!

Best for: Long straight hair with no layers. But I have medium length layered hair and I could pull it off–it’s just that there were some loose strands in places.

How to Wear It: Some outfit ideas.
-Wear it with: mint green skinny jeans, white/cream lace top, thick gray scarf, big sunglasses, nude pumps
-Wear it with: pretty floral dress, gladiator sandals
-Wear it with: big artsy (band) t-shirt, black skinny jeans, big statement necklace, nerd glasses, Toms
-Wear it with: white/cream flow-y top tucked into a ruffly skirt (floral or plain all work, best if darker color), thick brown belt around waist, cowboy boots

And of course these are just ideas. The possibilities are endless!