Hikaru no Go at Highland ALL MONTH LONG

Some serious Go players today at Highland... Teens read the manga of Hikaru no Go for the our July book discussion and we are watching the anime later this week! 

A video posted by @lcplibrary on Jul 6, 2016 at 2:28pm PDT

Giant Games at the Library!

If you miss our Giant Games library program, don't worry, we are having another one at the end of Wednesday 7/27 at 3:45 PM. Next month we will be playing Live Action Angry Birds.

Sadly, you did miss the chance to play life size foosball. (This was a one time only kind of program, those cinder blocks were HEAVY!)

Life size foosball from today's #giantgames #libraryprogram #lifesizefoosball #librarylife

A video posted by @lcplibrary on Jun 29, 2016 at 4:54pm PDT

We also had GIANT Jenga! Check out this epic play:

This #giantjenga move was so good, I had to slow it down. #epicwin #jenga #librarylife

A video posted by @lcplibrary on Jun 29, 2016 at 5:06pm PDT

Library? There’s an App for That by Lily

Hey everybody I have a different kind of review for you guys. Today I am going to review some apps that the library offers for us for free! And we all know that free is good right? So I’ll be talking about Mango as well as Hoopla. I've been dying to write this review so here it goes!

 So I’ll start with Hoopla because it is honestly great! I'm able to check out up to five books, movies, or music (I guess albums I haven't checked that out yet). It's really cool because they have a really nice selection and I can bring it on the go. I don't know what else to say other than this app truly rocks! I think it is perfect for people on the go!

Now onto the amazing app and website Mango! Mango is probably the app I use most, it is this lovely way to learn conversational languages (and a LOT of languages). I am learning Japanese and German in classes at school and this app helps me practice my speaking skills and changes up my usual curriculum by teaching me new grammar that isn't always covered in the textbooks. It focuses on conversational stuff like greetings, asking directions, and other really important materials. It's helpful to review and really great to learn some new tricks! I'm also practicing French (it's not offered at school so I wanted to try it out) and it is just as great for starting a language having no practice in as it is for helping me practice ones I study at school! I love practicing languages with this app! They have a lot of interesting languages I would love to look into and the only other language app that even comes close (free that is I'm broke so free=good) is duolingo. It's not that great in comparison though and only has a few western languages (that is ones that mainly use the English alphabet) and its audio is very robotic and doesn't give you a proper sense of the actual language but it still helps. Also Mango offers lessons in English as a second language in a LOT of languages! It's pretty awesome! One thing is that I wish Mango would also offer is sign language. I feel as if it would be a wonderful language to add because it's focus is on spoken languages and by adding sign languages they could really expand their customers (is it called customers for an app payed for by the library?). There are some good free online resources online and one or two free sign language apps too but I feel like Mango is so awesome and could be even cooler but that's just me fishing to find anything negative about the app!

 So overall I believe these are great programs and I am so happy to see the library offering these to the public! I love this because the library already does so much for the community by offering so much. I mean where else can you borrow the latest movies, music, books, and educational tools? There's a room you can use to tutor as well! I used to tutor some kids with disabilities that had trouble focusing with even small distractions and by using the tutoring room (don't know what it is actually called sorry) they really improved in school! Not to mention all the programs offered to kids, teens, and adults! The library has been a great place for my family to go throughout the years and I am extremely happy to be a volunteer there (and not just for the free snacks though those are a big incentive). It's great to see that apps are being integrated into the programs they offer to everybody because technology is a big part of our everyday lives. So thank you Highland library and everyone in it for being so gosh darn awesome for everybody!

(Librarian note: Mango is working on offering classes in American Sign Language (it is in beta right now)! For people with Full Access or Digital Access Cards at Lake County Public Library in Indiana, you will need to know your card number and your PIN to access Mango and Hoopla. If you live somewhere else, check your local library's website!)

Teen Lip Sync battle video

Here is a sampling from our Lip Sync battle program:

Here are some of the performers from the Highland #library #lipsync battle last week. 🎤👍

A video posted by @lcplibrary on May 16, 2016 at 1:29pm PDT

GadgetJax's Lightspeed Analysis: 'Homestar Runner' by Mike and Matt Chapman

Today we're going to review a cartoon, and boy, have I wanted to write about this for a while. If we're going to tackle any cartoon, it's gotta be a special one, and I'm not talking about the world-renowned mascots like Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny... no, we're talking about the pioneer of the Flash Cartoon revolution: Homestar Runner!

"If I had to pick one word to describe myself, it would probably be... Fluffy Puff Marshmallows. Or Homestar. Either one, really. They both fit."

Homestar Runner is a Flash Animation series written and produced by just two fine blokes: Mike and Matt Chapman (oh, and Missy Palmer voices one character, but that's not important). The series first started as a children's picture book titled 'Homestar Runner enters the Strongest Man in the World Contest', and soon spawned off a mini-series of cartoons. There are currently over 300 different shorts on the official website, all of which are free to watch. Yeah, who needs a monthly subscription to Netflix when the creators just throw out their show for all to enjoy?
     Our cartoon stars 'Homestar', a lovable athlete with no arms and no clue, and his many companions. The most popular of Homestar's companions is Strong Bad; this guy is ruff, gruff, tuff - and actually spends all his free time pranking others and checking fan eMails. Homestar and Strong Bad share the spotlight, but the rest of the cast includes:

• The Cheat; Strong Bad's clever pet henchman. He's always there to help him check an eMail, plot his next big shenanigan, or throw a light-switch rave.
• Marzipan; Homestar's on-again and off-again significant other, and self-proclaimed 'girl character'.
• Strong Mad; Strong Bad's older brother, known for having gigantic muscles and miniscule intelligence levels.
• Strong Sad; Strong Bad's younger brother, revered for his vast knowledge and etiquette... but is usually too busy being bullied by Strong Bad to be noticed.
• Coach Z; the captain of the local sports teams, though his personal hygiene and vocabulary are much under par.
• Bubs; the only friend of Coach Z and the owner of the local concession stand. He's a smooth-talker and shrewd businessman, though his store's inventory is of questionable taste.
• Pom Pom; Homestar's best friend. He's round like a beachball, cool as a bag of grapes, and somehow only able to communicate through a gurble of bubble noises.
• The King of Town; the gluttonous, self-proclaimed king of the land. He would and will eat just about anything, including full mountains of salt.
• The Poopsmith; his job is obvious.
• Homsar; a strange little man indeed. His identity stems from a typo of Homestar's name - I'm not kidding.

The Homestar Runner series is split into many segments: The main cartoons, Strong Bad eMails, holiday-themed cartoons, Marzipan's Answering Machine, puppet cartoons, Strong Bad's Teen Girl Squad comics, and The Cheat's personal Flash Animations. The most popular of these are the Strong Bad eMails, in which SB himself answers mail from the fans with chaotic results. Sometimes, a question as simple as Strong Bad's movie-going experiences can lead to Homestar getting blasted in the face from a bazooka.

...and that leads me to why I love the Homestar Runner series so dearly: The humor is always fresh.  There are two distinct styles of hilarity used by the show: reactive comedy and physical comedy. Jokes made in the first style are unexpected and play against the usual comedy medium. Homestar Runner also avoids the all-too-common stereotype of comedy that revolves solely around insults; what's the point of watching two cartoon characters just yell at each other?

      The other comedy style, physical, is also a spin on the usual comedy mechanics. Strong Bad is usually the one dishing the pain, but because the rest of the cast is rather clueless, the after-effects of his practical jokes either leave no blemishes or come back to bite him in the end. Strong Bad could send The Cheat to go pummel Homestar with a nunchuck, and Homestar wouldn't even care because he's too busy singing songs about bread.

     

That's all I really have to say about Homestar Runner; it's hilarious, it's free, and you should watch it right now. You can take this all-too-obvious link to see the cartoons right now ( www.homestarrunner.com ). Or, you can check out this cartoon to give yourself a basic impression of the cartoon's style before diving into the rest of the series:

Library Night Live: Why is that Phrase: “Tabling a Discussion”

Our first Library Night Live was so great!

The teens had 1:15 total to create this masterpiece: 

• 20 minutes to brainstorm, make an outline and cast/assign production roles
• 20 minutes to create props and set dressings out of material on hand (in our case, tape, construction paper, markers, and Legos 
• 20 minutes to rehearse and film

Cast:

$Ben Franklin$ - Lily
Announcer - Jackerax
Washington - Jayden
Adams - Zack
Hamilton - Hayden
Jefferson - Nick
Washington’s teeth’s hands - Jackerax
Table flippers - Jackerax and Ms. B
Camera operator - GadgetJax

Captions/audio description: Why is that Phrase: “Tabling a Discussion” Library Night Live: Filmed 5/11/16
Setting: Burger King George’s

Announcer: “It’s time for Revolutionary America's  favorite game…”
Everyone: “Why is that Phrase”
Announcer: “…with your host, the electrifying, Ben Franklin!”
*announcer waves kite with key behind Ben’s head*
Hamilton: “What a nice declaration, it be a shame if anything …happened to it!” *spills drink*
Washington: “Achoo!” *sneezes out teeth*
Off camera, spoken sound effect: “SPLAT”
Adams: “Balderdash!”
Jefferson: *flips table*
$Ben Franklin$: “And that’s why it’s called Tabling It!”

Superfight Tournament Rules!

Hayden, (most recently seen singing to us in April's Quote of the Month post) came up with a set of Tournament Rules for the game Superfight. A debate style card game that we play at LEAST once a month at our Game On programs here at Highland:

SUPERFIGHT TOURNAMENT RULES:

1. TOURNAMENT IS PERFORMED IN TWO SINGLE ELIMINATION STYLE BRACKETS. THE WINNERS OF EACH BRACKET COMPETE IN A HEAD TO HEAD FINALE .

2. ALL STANDARD RULES OF SUPERFIGHT APPLY TO EACH MATCHUP.

3. ALL CHARACTERS MUST BE CHOSEN BEFORE ROUND ONE BEGINS.

4. ONCE ELIMINATED, ALL CONTESTANTS JOIN THE JURY THAT WILL ADVISE THE JUDGE(s).

5. THERE MUST BE AN ODD NUMBER OF UNBIASED JUDGES WHO WILL ONLY TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHAT THE CONTESTANTS SAY.