User Posts : The Southwest Voice

Barnes & Noble's Breaking Dawn Release Party: A "Thriller" of an Event!

"Darkness falls across the land; the midnight hour is close at hand. Demons crawl in search of blood to terrorize ya'lls neighborhood!" These immortal words were spoken by legendary horror flick king Vincent Price as he "rapped" the lyrics on Michael Jackson's Thriller, the title track, and one of the number one singles from the best selling solo album of all time. Those same words were heard all over Barnes & Noble the evening of August 1st, as fans of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling Twilight saga gathered to await the release of the fourth book, Breaking Dawn. Lead by bookseller and local thespian Brian Brown, and local actress and dancer, Heather Witcher, about ten would-be "Rockettes" joined the two in the Barnes & Noble Cafe to recreate the famous choreography created by Michael Jackson and Michael Peters for his best-selling video.

But that's not all. There were Edwards and Bellas, Esmes and Alices. Even a Rosalie and one very tall Jacob! Who are these people you wonder? Well, if you have to ask then you've been living under a literary rock for about three years as the rest of us have watched this first-time writer from Utah became a household name with books like, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, The Host and now Breaking Dawn. Stephenie Meyer has struck teen book gold! She's done what only Harry Potter and soon Eragon have and will do. Convince book stores across the country to stay open past midnight to "sell"- ibrate the release of their latest works. On a hot August night, we did just that.

We created our own little "prom" in our cafe and invited our guests (of which we had over 500!) to join us in some old town activities you may find in Forks, Washington. We were "bobbing" for apples, answering trivia, creating a toilet paper wedding dress in 45 seconds, painting our nails black and sticking fake tribal tattoos on our arms. We dressed in costume and dressed for the prom. We even had contestants who brought cheers and whistles when a very tall "Jacob Black" and a very demure "Alice" competed for first place. (Jacob won.) Prizes included specially made Twilight chocolate bars by Godiva, Breaking Dawn t-shirts, wrist bands, buttons and stickers, too! The most prized possession of the evening, though, went to the winner of the dance contest who received a brand new hardcover copy of the book itself.

The release party was a blast! We had a great time hosting and participating in all of the evening's events. Now with talk of Stephenie Meyer's new book, Midnight Sun (a return to the original Twilight story, but from Edward's point of view), coming out, we may just do this again next year!

The open past midnight formula is not new... as I mentioned earlier, we've had several midnight release parties for the Harry Potter series, all of which were extremely successfull. It's rare when we do this, because a lot of planning needs to be done in order to get something like this off the ground. Not only that, but one has to ensure that there's a crowd out there for a particular book. We will do this again in September for the release of the much anticipated Brisingr, the third book in the Eragon Trilogy by Christopher Paolini.

It is nice, however, to see people get this excited about words in a book... and you don't even have to plug it in!

Librarian Quietly Leaving? (Shh! I Think Not!)

It can often be said that the epitome of the "Shhh!" is usually attributed to the classic perception of the School Librarian. You knew her or him... Mild mannered, conservatively dressed, horn-rimmed glasses with shirt or blouse neatly buttoned all the way to the top. Their power of perception was legendary. When the Librarian at my high school (in Paso Robles) came into the room, feet were planted firmly on the ground, mouths stopped chewing gum in mid-chew and rolled up paper stopped flying across the room in mid-flight - frozen in time, afraid to hit its impending target! When you think of the librarians of today it doesn't quite seem right. It's no longer about what the kids do, it's how they do it. Most librarians today have to struggle with kids going to the library for internet use, instead of actually opening a nice comfortable book. Times have changed.

Such is the way of the lady I'm writing about today. Mary Sikola began her career at East High School in 1968, and recently retired as the Instructional Material Coordinator for the Kern High School District in 2008. That's 40 years of service to the education community. I thought it weird that I, who probably knew her the shortest amount of time in relation to her coworkers and friends, should write this "quiet ode". So, I am going to quote a tribute to her from Mark Britton, the Librarian from Stockdale High School, who knows her like no other.

"A Quiet Celebration by Mark Britton

I learned last month that Mary Louise Sikola is retiring. Ms. Sikola is the Kern High School District Librarian. Her wish is to retire quietly. This is my quiet tribute to her.

Tributes are usually resumes of achievement and accolades. My experience is that most tributes tell more about the author than the subject. Count the personal pronouns. I don't expect to achieve more than that here.

Ms. Sikola was my 9th grade English Teacher at Foothill High School. She told us up front that she was a UC Berkeley graduate. In the 70s that meant left wing radicals and student demonstrators. She didn't seem the type.

Instead, she laughed a great deal. I believe she was the most pleasant teacher I ever encountered. Her laughter wasn't the tight, cynical, controlled laughter of most teachers. When Ms. Sikola laughed her whole face folded into it with complete sincerity. She was nice.

I can't remember learning anything in her class, but then I can't remember learning anything in high school. Apparently my memory is at fault. Since I am here I must have learned something.

I do remember getting a paper back from her; an essay. It was a silly, freshman type composition concerning injustice. Ms. Sikola had written comments on it that were supportive and complimentary. At the bottom she wrote a note telling me to submit it to the Aeolian: the school's publication of student writing. I did, and they published it.

Years later I met Ms. Sikola again at CSUB. I was taking classes to complete my teaching credential. To my amazement, she remembered me. She asked, without pause, "Are you still a writer?" I made some excuse.

Later I worked with her in my current position as School Librarian

I am sure that Ms. Sikola is deserving of much applause and credit for a resume of achievement. I know of only one. She was my 9th grade English teacher. She made a difference in my life.

I am still a writer. I celebrate the fact of it, quietly."

I will not pretend to write about Mary Sikola as though I know her as well as Mr. Britton. In fact, I've only known her for about 3 and a half years. But there is no rule against how much someone can mean to you in a short period of time.

I met Mary through our business as buyer and vendor of instructional materials. Throughout the last few years, I've grown very fond of her and have made excuses to visit her even when I had nothing to deliver to her! We'd talk about our mutual love of live theatre or what's going on in her life or mine. Usually ending our visit with a quick embrace, as good friends often do.

I am going to miss Mary Louise Sikola, former Librarian and Teacher, former Kern High School District Representative... but, she will never be a former friend. Unlike her long-time friends and co-workers, I'll probably see her more often than they will during her retirement years. Mary's love of books and magazines is legendary, and will not end with her career. You can usually find her at Barnes & Noble Booksellers - where you can usually find me! We'll be the ones in the corner talking about eachother's lives and our mutual love of live theatre...

If I had Ms. Sikola as my English teacher or Librarian, I'm sure I could have gotten away with maybe one or two flying balls of paper. Maybe not.

Dangerous Boys Claim, "It's A Pirate's Life for Me!"

Whenever I hear the phrase, "A pirate's life for me!", I automatically become a little boy of about 10 years old! You know... wide-eyed, floating in a boat while anamatronic drunken pirates chase "scurvy wenches" and sit atop cannons while singing a merry "yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!" To my right, in the cool, yet clear darkness, is a deserted island with an open treasure chest glistening with diamonds, rubies and gold pieces o' eight. Just below the treasure chest is a skeleton of some unfortunate scallywag lying on the sand, just out of reach of the much sought-after treasure. Just beyond that, fireflies dance within the trees as diners enjoy the wonderful New Orleans styled dishes at the Blue Bayou restaurant. Following that is a host of funny and sometimes questionable scenes that have become somewhat controversial in this politically correct day and age on a children's ride at none other than "The Happiest Place on Earth"... yup, Disneyland! Nevermind that this ride has been around since 1967!

Why the fond memories of pirate rides and songs? I was at Barnes & Noble Booksellers last Saturday (April 5th) at our pirate themed Dangerous Boys Club. We learned what it takes to become a real pirate - from tying knots to creating treasure maps and reading pirate poems! The club members were encouraged to practice real pirate words and phrases like, "Shiver me timbers!" and "Walk the plank". They even got a chance to yell into the microphone held by our host, Ryan Young, and give us their best piratey "Arrrgh!" We had bags of pirate booty to hand out and even gave away a nice treasury laced book called, Pirateology.

Here's the cool part... the kids were learning about history (Shhh! They didn't even know it!). Yes, there's history in pirate tales. There's knowledge in creating star maps and writing pirate poems using techniques such as onomatopoeia! There's even history in learning that "the golden age" of piracy began in the seventeenth century and continued into the early eighteenth. The discovery of the New World and vast wealth there for the taking caused an explosion of privateers - some, like Francis Drake, with the complete authority and knowledge of Queen Elizabeth I. *

We taught the boys about the five knots that every boy should know: The Reef Knot, The Figure Eight, The Bow-Lin, The Sheet Bend and a Clove Hitch (for hitching two things together very quickly). The boys (and a few girls) remained interested throughout the hour long club meeting (ask any teacher, that's quite a feat!) as they demonstrated their secret hand shake and mentioned their club's secret password that changes every month.

With 42 children and 25 parents in attendance, you can rest assured that this, The Dangerous Boys Club, will be around for as long as you'll have us! Join Ryan Young at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 4001 California Ave. (near Highway 99) on the first Saturday of every month at 2:00 PM. Next club meeting: May 3, 2008 with a special guest from the Kern Astronomical Society. In May, it's all about the "Camping Adventure!" Appreciating astonomy and the great outdoors are the goals of this meeting as boys create their own "star" maps and learn intrinsic skills for camping. Questions? Call us at 631.2575.

* (Pirate information from The Dangerous Book for Boys provided with permission by Hal and Conn Iggulden)

Dangerous Boys Club... Dangerously Fun!

When I was a kid, I remember getting up early on a Saturday morning before my parents were out of bed, making a quick bowl of cereal, then hitting the door to play! And play I did! You see, I was 10 years old in 1975... that was when you could do that. All the kids did. We ran to the park that was just down the street, played ball, played pirates, and even ran a successful business (lemonade stand). We'd make up games or catch frogs... we check in with Mom sometime during the day (no, we didn't call her on our cell phones... uh, there were no cell phones!). We had to run home in the middle of our fun, or call her from a friends house we were playing in, just to let her know we were still alive. Small price to pay, 'cause after that call, we were good till the sun went down. Yeah, that's right... when the streetlights came on, we'd better head on home and prepare for the same tomorrow. Ah yes, those were the good ol' days.

Cut to now. On any given weekend you might find a few kids who are allowed to roam free and play anywhere... but, not in my house. My kids pretty much stay indoors playing PlayStation 3, or PSP, or ________________ (enter latest gadget here). Not to say that it isn't controlled, we do monitor the time spent on these computer games and we do get together to play a board game or two on occasion, but it's certainly a different kind of playground they play on, or should I say "in". Shooting lasers at the villian, conquering the latest racing game, or rockin' out with the virtual band they've assembled... it's amazing. Heck, they can even box a guy that's half way around the world when they enter the online mode of their games! Oh we have our park time, but it's usually a family outing... do people even let their kids go anywhere alone anymore? It's a shame that the reality of predators roaming the streets makes you think twice before letting them go anywhere alone anymore.

But the good times like we used to have in those old memories are back... kinda. You see, I am the Community Relations Manager at Barnes & Noble Booksellers on California Avenue, and we have a wonderful new event that allows us to take that nostalgic trip back to our youths! And we get to bring our kids! Well, actually, it's the kids that get to take the "trip", we get the joy of watching them take something innocent, like deciphering a secret code or learning a new coin trick, while making new friends at our latest children's event!

The Dangerous Book for Boys is a book written by two brothers, Conn and Hal Iggulden. They take a stab at introducing our children to things we forgot to teach them ouselves... such as how to make a coin disappear, how to tie a fancy knot, how to train your dog to sit and roll over or even how to create a treasure map!

We had our first meeting Saturday, February 2nd at 2:00 PM, hosted by Bookseller and CSUB student Ryan Young, and had over 90 kids (almost all boys!) show up! They learned the "secret hand-shake" you should know and the "secret password" that you should mention when greeting a fellow "Dangerous Boy". They won stickers and pencils and one kid even won a copy of the book!

I urge all parents of boys (between the ages of 8 and 12) to attend these meetings! They will always be on the first Saturday of the month at 2:00 PM, and will always feature something cool from the book (the Navajo Windtalkers, pirate knots and treasure maps, indentifying insects and learning camping skills - just to name a few!) If you have any questions about this wonderful new event, please call Barnes & Noble at 631.2575.