Author: Sue

Welcome back, concert violinist Joshua Peckins!

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Listen online to a special offering from award-winning concert violinist Joshua Peckins, on Wednesday evening, December 2nd, starting at 7 pm! In intimate settings, Josh usually presents a series of lecture recitals featuring solo violin music by Bach and other composers, with warm and personal stories about the composers and their music-his appearance here last winter was widely attended and loved. Due to the pandemic, Joshua is not able to perform in person, but has made a short concert film that registrants can listen to online, on one special evening!

“It is a 45-minute film, recorded in high-quality audio and video, with Joshua performing solo violin selections by Bach and Ravel, and a beautiful piece by rising star classical composer Jessie Montgomery.

In “Songs of Loss and Hope”, Joshua is both speaker and musician, sharing historical perspectives about the composers and their times, as well as their connections to each other as an introduction to each piece he then performs. 

This film is much more too – created both in and for this difficult time of social isolation, it’s a personal statement by the artist about the meaning of music in our lives, and importance of the connection between performer and audience.”

Joshua has been among the most active recitalists in New England, performing solo concerts of “particular brilliance” (Worcester Telegram) and with “a gift for capturing audiences’ attention” (Backyard News). He has presented solo recitals nationally and internationally in over 30 venues, including the renowned Figaro Hall of Palace Pálffy (where Mozart himself presented his “The Marriage of Figaro”), Crystal Hall in Japan, the Haydn and Mendelssohn Halls in Austria, as well on the Artist Series of the Bled Festival in Slovenia, the Salzburg Festival at the Mozarteum, the Orford Festival in Canada, and the Cervo Festival in Italy.

This is a free event. Registration is required to get the link, and the film will be available to view between the hours of 7 and 9 p.m., on that evening only. You can register online at falmouthpubliclibrary.org/events.  We thank the Trustees of the Falmouth Public Library for sponsoring this concert!

 

Visiting the Beyond-a Zoom presentation!

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Have you ever wondered what the inside of a REAL haunted house looks like?  Join paranormal researcher Curt Strutz, on an interactive Zoom presentation for Falmouth Public Library, on Saturday, October 24th at 4 p.m.

“Visiting the Beyond “is an historical journey to several locations around the U.S. Curt has personally visited haunted homes, asylums, prisons, hospitals, public places, and other locations, and taken photographs. The audience will be able to select specific haunted properties off of a “menu”. It may even bring chills down your spine- just in time for Halloween!

Curt has nearly 10 years of experience in giving these presentations, at hundreds of libraries and museums, and has been a past guest speaker at Troy Taylor’s Haunted America Conference.He was a keynote headline speaker for the Illinois Paranormal Conference a few years back. He also was on a nationally televised cable access TV program known as Paranormal Generation that aired for two seasons in 12 states.  His episodes at Paranormal Generation can be found on YouTube.

This event is free and appropriate for adults and teens, and is sponsored by the generosity of the Trustees of the Falmouth Public Library.   It is a Zoom event, and registration is required by noon on the day of the event. Click here to register. If you would like to register after it has closed, please call the Reference Desk!at 508-457-2555 x 7!

Zoom presentation: Successful Selling through Online Yard Sales

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We are pleased to welcome Deb Colameta Saturday morning, October 3rd, at 10 a.m., for a Zoom presentation! Deb is an expert seller, and has made thousands of dollars (and created extra space in her home) by using the power of online yard sales.

Are you moving? Minimizing? Tidying and de-cluttering have become  timely topics, and this workshop will teach you Deb’s best tips for making money while purging your home!  

Also, by upcycling, freecycling, and selling your extra things, you can avoid contributing to landfills. Deb Colameta is the author of “Best Offer, Best Life! Deb’s Quick-Start Guide to Creating Wealth through Online Yard Sales“, which will be available for purchase during the presentation.

Besides using virtual yard sales to create space and earn cash, Deb is an adjunct professor at Northeastern University and runs a consulting practice.

This event is free and appropriate for adults, and is sponsored by the generosity of the Trustees of the Falmouth Public Library.  Registration is required, by 5 p.m. on the day before he event. Please register online by clicking here,  or contact the reference department at 508-457-2555 x 7.

Zoom talk: Whaling in New England

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We are pleased to welcome Dr. Michael Pregot on Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m., for a Zoom presentation by the Falmouth Public Library!

Many different forms of whaling have been seen in Cape Cod. Drift, shore, herding, deep sea and arctic whaling have all been practiced at one time or another. Each specific form of whaling has a small history connected with it. In the early 1800’s, whaling was among the most profitable enterprises in United States, second only textiles. It remained strong for four decades. Michael will explain why whale products are so valuable, and discuss the historic rationales as to why the whaling center moved from Nantucket, to New Bedford and eventually to Providence. The storied lives of a few extremely successful Cape Cod whaling captains make the session come alive.   

Dr. Pregot has spent over a half of a century in the field of education. He has served as a high school principal, a district-wide school superintendent, a professor of education and as a University Director of an Educational Leadership Department. He has published several articles and a textbook on the dispositions needed to be a respected school official. He has lived on the Cape for several years with his wife, Judith.  He is still an on-line professor and author. The maritime history of the Cape has caught his attention for the past few years.  He is currently studying the contributions that each Cape Cod town has made to the overall richness of maritime life.  

This event is free, and geared for adults, although all are welcome. It is a Zoom event, and registration is required by 5 pm on the day of the program. To register, please click here-the link will be sent to you before the event. 

NOTE:  Downloading the Zoom application previous to the start of the event is required to participate. If you need assistance with this, please contact the reference department at 508-457-2555 x. 7.

Zoom event: Liz O’Donnell, author of Working Daughter

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We are pleased to welcome Liz O’Donnell, author of Working Daughter: A Guide to Caring for Your Aging Parents While Earning a Living, on Wednesday evening, September 16th, at 7 p.m. at the Falmouth Public Library. Liz will share her own experiences, both darkly humorous and heart-breaking, and pass on her lessons learned. Rescheduled from spring, and even more timely now!

Working Daughter is a revealing look at adults caring for their aging parents, and how these unpaid family caregivers are trying to manage eldercare along with raising their children, maintaining relationships, and pursuing their careers. It shares Liz’s story- she was enjoying a fast-paced career in marketing and raising two children when both of her parents were diagnosed with terminal illnesses on the same day. The book will be available for sale by Eight Cousins, online or in the store.

Liz is the founder of Working Daughter, a community for women balancing eldercare, career, and more. An award-winning writer, Working Daughter is her second book, which Library Journal named one of the Best Books of 2019.

A former family caregiver, she is a recognized expert on working while caregiving and has written on the topic for many outlets including The Atlantic, Forbes, TIME, WBUR and PBS’ Next Avenue and has delivered keynotes on the topic to many audiences including Harvard University, MIT, the Marketing to Moms Conference, and the Women Leading Government Conference.

This event is free and appropriate for adults, and is sponsored by the generosity of the Trustees of the Falmouth Public Library.

This is a Zoom event, and registration is required by 5 pm on the day of the program. To register, please click here-the link will be emailed to you before the event! 

NOTE:  Downloading the Zoom application previous to the start of the event is required to participate. If you need assistance with this or with registering, please contact the Reference departnment at 508-457-2555 x 7.

Review: Transformers Vs. G.I. Joe, Vol. 1-6 by Tom Scioli

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One line review: If Jack Kirby and David Lynch teamed up to make a 1980s afternoon cartoon, it would look a lot like this.   
 
Writer/artist Tom Scioli has been a darling of the underground comics scene for years. He’s won multiple awards and huzzahs from his peers, and was personally sought-out by pop star Gerard Way when Way launched his own line of comics with DC in 2016.
 
The reason for this is that Scioli’s comics have a very unique tone to them. There is a playful austerity to them, a po-faced silliness. He blends the dynamic art of 1960s Marvel superhero comics with an almost Cormac McCarthy approach to scripting. The mix is both heady and a headtrip. And kinda goofy.
 
With the comic book series, ‘Transformers vs. G.I. Joe’, Sciloi was given free reign to do whatever he wanted with two of Hasbro’s best-selling toy lines. He could change their backstories, rewrite their futures, and kill off as many characters as he saw fit. Nothing was off-limits. No one was worried about how it would effect toy sales. The result is one of the most imaginative and unpredictable comics I’ve ever read. At times, it feels like a ‘men on a mission’ movie. At other times it feels like Lovecraftian mythology. Then there are the times it just feels like you’re watching some scarily-smart kid smash their toys together on the floor of their bedroom.
 
Some stand-out moments include issue 0, a brief intro to many of the leads and a pretty good litmus test as to whether or not you’ve going to want to stick around, and the majorly meta issue 7, wherein the evil Doctor Mindbender makes Scarlett, “a crossbow-toting southern belle with a history in martial arts”, believe her entire existence is a lie and that she and everything else are actually — gasp! — toys.
 
I read this series 3 years ago, and imagery and ideas from it still pop into my head every week or so. That’s gotta be a good thing, right?
 
(reviewed by Josh)
 
All six volumes of this series are currently available to read — FOR FREE! — via the Hoopla app, if you’re a Falmouth Public Library, West Falmouth and Woods Hole cardholder! Click here.
 
For information on how to get a Hoopla account, click here! 

An Australian Celebration with Didgeridoo Down Under!

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The Falmouth Public Library is pleased to host 3 online Zoom events on Tuesday, July 28th! Events will be available on our YouTube for all to view for the next week!

3 pm- Didgeridoo Down Under (variety show for all ages!)

Didgeridoo Down Under is an energetic fusion of Australian music, culture, puppetry, comedy, character building, storytelling and audience participation. The didgeridoo has been played by Aboriginal Australians for at least 1,500 years, and is known for its otherworldly sound. But DDU is more than music. It’s interactive, educational, motivational and super fun for all ages!

4 pm Aussie Funk Jam (workshop for tweens and teens)

Aussie Funk Jam is a one-of-a-kind musical experience. In this hands-on workshop, participants learn how to play the didgeridoo — including vocalizing, creating simple rhythms and more — with homemade beginner instruments. The Funk Jam is cool, funky and unique … ideal for teens and tweens, but OK for ages 8 and up (even adults). Interested participants will either need to have a couple paper towel tubes available and tape, or pick up some from at the Main Library. Watch social media for more details.

6:30 pm Music & More from the Land Down Under (concert for adults)Music & More from the Land Down Under takes the audience on a musical journey to Australia and beyond, as the performer plays an assortment of didgeridoos and percussion instruments … mixed with colorful stories and humor. Our performers play a modern style, mixing fast-paced rhythms with relaxing soundscapes and organic sound effects. This program is best for adults, but is OK for kids with parental accompaniment.  

These events are free.  Participation by Zoom, must register (separately for each).  Downloading the Zoom application previous to the start of the event is required to participate. To register, please go to falmouthpubliclibrary.org/events. If you need assistance, please contact the children’s department at 508-457-2555 x 6.

Sister Novelists: Emily and Anne Bronte

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After listening to Jill on the Point with Mindy Todd discussing Books about Sisters (03/27/20) and jotting down their recommendations of books about sisters, I thought about books by sisters. Although sisters usually share a similar background and familial history, they can become quite different individuals. The Bronte sisters shared an insular and somewhat dark and violent family life. Much of this is echoed in Wuthering Heights and the Tenant of Wildfell Hall- the former I read when snowed in and the latter while sheltering in place. However, in my casual, non-academic reading of these novels, I found two very different heroines with equally different fates. Perhaps, the differences between Cathy Earnshaw and Helen Graham speaks of that of the sisters, Emily and Anne?

(by staff member Rebekah)

 

Honoring Falmouth Veterans

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In honor of our local heroes this Memorial Day, we are requesting photos of Falmouth residents who died in the military for our Digital Collections page (click here).  Please email them to fpldigital@falmouthpubliclibrary.org, and make your subject “Honoring Falmouth Veterans.” Please include the veteran’s name, branch of service, and the war in which they served.   

 

Hoopla Music Review: Dizzy Gillespie ‘Jambo Caribe’ (1964)

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You know how they always told you never to judge a book by its cover? Well, in this case, they’re wrong. Just look at that thing. Is it a child’s sugar-fueled scribblings, a Ralph Steadman/Hunter S. Thompson ‘Fantasia’ sequence, or Harry Belafonte’s worst experience on acid? It’s hella bizarre whatever it is, and it pretty much sums up the eclectic and eccentric music contained within.

Alternating between cool, catchy, Caribbean-influenced instrumentals like ‘Hello, Trinidad’ and ‘And Then She Stopped’ and the frenetic, infectious insanity of Dizzy’s vocals on songs like ‘Poor Joe’ and ‘Don’t Try To Keep Up With The Joneses’, this is one of the most exciting and unusual jazz/world albums you’re ever going to hear.
 
Future stars Kenny Barron (piano) and James Moody (flute) accompany throughout, but ‘Jambo Caribe’ is truly the personality and sound of just one man, bebop’s most famous extended cheeks, Mr John Birks ‘Dizzy’ Gillespie. It may be his experimental, unpredictable trumpet playing that has kept this album relevant with critics and jazzopiles over the years, but it’s his playful sense of humor and obvious affection for the calypso music of the West Indies that will keep you laughing, singing, and jumping around your house every time you play it.

Falmouth Public Library, West Falmouth and Woods Hole cardholders can stream the album FREE on Hoopla here. For information on how to get a Hoopla account, click here! (reviewed by Josh)