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Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: Iowa, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 24 of 24
1. Review: Some Luck by Jane Smiley

I missed this book last year and picked it up after a customer raved about how this and it’s sequel were among the best books they had ever read. And after finishing this she may well be right! This is the first book in The Last Hundred Years trilogy. Book two, Early Warning, is already […]

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2. WW ’15: Des Moines: A Good Time Was Had By All, See You Next Year!

wizard-world-comic-con-des-moines-3-day-admissions-sell-out-weeks-before-the-show-2Having spent my youth in the Midlands of the United States (including summers in a small town of 1200), I understand the desire to experience the world just over the horizon,. With Broadway tours and rock concerts somewhat repulsed by the local venues, we had to actively invite geek celebrities to visit.

So I was intrigued when Wizard World announced a show in Des Moines, Iowa for June 2015. C2E2 draws a wide regional audience of cosplayers and comics fans, but I wasn’t sure DM and Iowa would draw enough interest. (Of course, it’s only two hours from Omaha, but for some, the Missouri is an ocean.)

How well did Wizard World do at the Iowa Events Center (Des Moines’ convention center) last weekend?  The Des Moines Register reports:

Thousands of con-goers — most donning an article or two that displayed their geekery, but some dressed completely as their favorite comic characters — flooded the inaugural Wizard World held over the weekend at the Iowa Events Center. Three-day passes for the popular event sold out weeks before Wizard World arrived, while Saturday admission sold out in the days leading up to the convention.

(Note: this hasn’t happened for this weekend’s Sacramento show.  VIP tickets are still available.)

There was also some geek royalty there (who is also a superhero in real life!):

Miss Iowa Autumn Weaver-Nigro, 24, posed for endless pictures and played with young comic fans while dressed as Wonder Woman. Deaf since birth, Weaver-Nigro said going to cons and participating in cosplay (a term for the hobby of making and wearing your own costumes) helped her gain self-confidence and come to terms with the bullying she endured in school.

She also visits children’s hospitals in costume!

And what I said about Nebraska…

[Jeff] Schipman, who drove in from Omaha, said he has heard a bit of jealousy in Nebraska that Des Moines got Wizard World and Omaha didn’t. “I don’t mind,” he said. “I drove here, I’m fine.”

(Hey, Lance, Omaha’s got a nice new convention center downtown, lots of great food and drink nearby, plus the College World Series just blocks away…)

How happy were the vendors?

Many exhibitors and vendors said business was good throughout the weekend.

“It’s been phenomenal, way better than I expected,” said Cam Adams, 28, an artist selling prints and on-demand drawings. “I am selling a lot more than I anticipated. I’ve sold about a dozen original drawings, which is great. I never sell that many originals.”

“The foot traffic has just been amazing,” said Andrew Smith, 31, who was working the Iowa Ghostbusters booth. (The Iowa Ghostbusters are a “Ghostbusters” fan group.) “We brought a ton of promotional materials and fliers, and we were wiped out a day and a half into the convention.”

The final word, from the WW CEO:

“We had very high expectations for Wizard World Comic Con Des Moines, but somehow the fans exceeded those,” said Wizard World CEO John Macaluso. “Attendees, exhibitors, artists and celebrities agree that this was a fabulous first show, and we’re excited about coming back next May.”


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3. Special Valentine Giveaway

I would like to start a new tradition around here, and I want it to be something special given at least once a year.
I want to give away a painting, and I think Valentine's Day is the perfect time.


Title: "Love Floats"
Image Size: approx. 6.5 x 11 inches
Paper Size: 9x12

I created this piece just for the giveaway, and it's particularly special because of how I went about the process. In my previous post I mentioned I was going to take a watercolor class and I found many awesome videos/tutorials on youtube. 

I applied much of what I learned, and something clicked last night as I completed "Love Floats". I am VERY excited to see the new discovery in my later work. (discovery will be revealed in next blog post)

Why the original giveaway? I truly believe my artwork goes to those it was intended for, and I know in these times it can be difficult to obtain something extra that isn't a necessity. 


So, is this intended for you? 
Here's how you can find out...

Mandatory Entry: Post below about one of the biggest blessings you've ever received. What truly touched you and made you stand up straight knowing you were/are loved?

Additional ways to enter (get your name in multiple times):

1 entry - Share the giveaway on Facebook and Twitter and mention below
2 entries - Visit my shop and share your favorite art print below 
3 entries - Write a blog post about this giveaway and share the post here 

Please be sure to post all comments here so that nothing gets lost. If it's not below it won't count. 
I will use Random.org to determine a winner.

There's More?!
Yuppers! There will be a second and third place winner too!

Second Place Prize: *Two (2) 8x10 prints of your choice from my shop and one (1) Print of "Love Floats"

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4. Go Hawks!

I can't resist this post, even though it has nothing to do with literature or the library.  But, I did take the pictures, so it can count as an AV/tech post!
We were honored by a visit from Iowa Hawkeye Football Coach Kirk Ferentz today!  He spoke to us about character and teamwork.  Very inspiring!


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5. I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It

I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked ItI Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It Adam Selzer

Zombies of Des Moines!

Alley is known as the Ice Queen of the viscous circle-- the cynical sarcastic kids who write the school paper and will actually leave their Des Moines suburb once they're done with high school.

It all changes when she goes to review a band for the paper. The band itself is awful, but they guy they get to sing a few songs? Alley's immediately smitten and her Ice Queen heart melts all over her laptop.

What she doesn't realize is that Doug is one of the zombies that Megamart created a few years ago to cut labor costs. Once the world discovered the zombies, the vampires also "came out of the coffin" and it's now a post-human world. Only Alley's guidance counselor (vampire) doesn't like the living dating the dead and demands Alley convert on her birthday or dump Doug. Doug can't leave Des Moines-- can Alley leave him? Or should she stay? And what's with all these new zombies roaming around demanding brains?

A few minor points made me really like this--

1. It takes place in Des Moines. While all Alley wants is to leave it, the Des Moines she lives in is not a stupid caractature of "small midwestern hicksville." Des Moines has surburbs, and is very much... Des Moines. Selzer grew up there and it shows.

2. Alley (and her best friend Sadie) are Jewish, but it's not a major part of the book (except that matzoh balls are things zombies can eat. Also, Des Moines has more zombies than Jews, which is just funny.)

Selzer captures well the heady feeling of first love and the willingness the change everything for a relationship before you start to actually think things through. While Alley was this really strong character who was willing to change EVERYTHING for a guy, the way Selzer wrote it made it totally believable and not weak and insipid. I think it's because she thought through her decisions and her parents and friends kept trying to drum some sense into her.

Either way, a light fun book about dating the undead.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

2 Comments on I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It, last added: 6/16/2010
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6. leaving des moines

Des Moines Public Library

I had a great time at the Iowa Library Association conference. I gave two talks and actually scheduled my time such that I could actually attend a few presentations as well as give some. My notes for two talks — Tiny Tech and On-the-Fly Tech Support — are online here. I saw a presentation by the new ALA OIF director about privacy in the age of social software as well as a gadgets talk where I learned more about ebooks.

I also had some time to go to the local public library. I’m often surprised that the local libraries don’t do much to acknowledge that there is a huge library conference in town. Most of the time when I go to the local public library when I’m visiting a new city, there isn’t even a “welcome librarians!” sign out. Karen Schneider [who gave a great keynote in the morning and a talk about open source later in the day] and I actually had a sort of weird experience there. We went in to the library, snapping photos as we do, and were met as we walked in by a library worker who basically asked “Are you taking pictures?” When we said that we were, she said that we weren’t allowed to take photos in the library and if we wanted to get permission to take photos we’d have to go talk to the marketing people up on the third floor.

We were just on a fly-by so we (mostly) put our cameras away. However, I was curious about the policy. I had an email exchange with the marketing director that I am reprinting here with permission. I’m not sure what to think about the whole situation. You’ll note I took a photograph or two anyhow, and I appreciated the very nice email, but it was in stark contrast to both a weird-seeming policy and a weird-seeming policy enforcement mechanism.

My note

Hi — I’m visiting Des Moines from central Vermont and stopped by the library because I’d heard some neat things about your new building. I took a few photos and walked inside. There I was met by a librarian (or someone at the desk) who said “Were you taking photos? You can’t take pictures in here. You have to talk to the lady in marketing if you want to take pictures in here.”

I was a little surprised, both that you have such a policy [which I didn't see any signs about] and that the person who was your front desk staffer was so rude about it. I checked the website and found this notice: “Your attendance at Des Moines Public Library programs
may be digitally recorded through photographs or video recordings.” I assume this is staff photography?

I was curious if you could let me know a few things

1. If this is, in fact, the policy and if so, I’m curious why do you have such a policy?
2. Where is this policy spelled out either in your library or on the web site? I went to the policy page but after downloading a few policies I couldn’t find this one.
3. Do you mind if I publish your comments in part or in whole on my website? Okay to say no, but I’d like to open up a conversation about this.

I did enjoy my trip to the library but this was a strange event unlike any I’ve experienced in a major metro public library. Just curious what your side of the whole story is. Thanks for your time.

Jessamyn

Reply of Jan Kaiser Marketing Manager (spacing was in the original. She also attached the meeting room policy which I didn’t find online but is similar to the information contained on their website here)

Jessamyn–Thanks so much for writing to us about your experience here at the Des Moines Public Library and please accept my apology for the bad impression you may have taken away.

We will certainly look into how the staff member approached you and we do apologize for any rudeness.

Our photo policy is part of our meeting room policy which I will attach. This meeting room policy was rewritten just prior to our opening of the building in April of 2006. At that time, the architect was very sensitive to photos being taken and the possibility of them being used for commercial purposes, so we added the following:

“Permission to photograph the library reading rooms and other public areas of the building may be granted by the library director or her designee. Photographs and videos may not include library signage or the library logo, and photographing may not disrupt library customers’ use of the library. Library employees on duty may not be photographed for political campaigns. Fees for commercial photographs of the library may be established by the library director, subject to the approval of the Board of the Trustees.”

I agree that this policy should be on our web site and thank you for alerting us to the problem. Whether or not this policy is still appropriate is something that the management team can certainly re-examine.

As to publishing the comments, that would be fine as I would be interested in responses.

I hope the rest of your time in Des Moines is enjoyable. Thanks.

Jan Kaiser
Marketing Manager

515-283-4103 VM
515-237-1654 FX

P BE GREEN Please don’t print this e-mail unless necessary!

21 Comments on leaving des moines, last added: 10/24/2009
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7. Book Banners

Check out these cool book banners that were in a school library in Iowa City.





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8. Iowa City Part 9

(I'll get back to Writing Tip Tuesday when I finish posting about my amazing Iowa trip.)

I started the day with the great kids at Penn:



They made terrific signs for me that lined the halls:





Once again, I got the royal treatment.

Me (left) and librarian Debra (my Iowa "sister")



And anyone who knows me knows what I LOVED at this school....a dog!!! This is Sidda, a therapy dog - one of the SWEETEST dogs I've ever seen (besides my own, of course). I wanted to steal her! (But, of course, I would NEVER do that!)

Woof Woof

2 Comments on Iowa City Part 9, last added: 11/4/2008
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9. Iowa Part 10

The gang at Van Allen!


It was hat day.



Librarian Bev (left) and me


The folks who helped organize a great lunch for me: Gina (left) and Luanne (right)

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10. Iowa City Part 6

I started my day by being greeted by the Amazing Ambassadors from Shimek School.

(left to right) me, Lexi, Alec, Kaleb, Lucas, Addison, Griffin


Librarians Salina (left) and Sheryl



The gang from Shimek and Lincoln:




Then it was off to Mann.

Librarian Brenda (left) and me


The gang from Mann:


Thanks for a great day, everyone!

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11. Iowa City Part 5

Look what Lemme School made for me!

A chair!!!!



I love it so much!
They are going to put it in their library.







Thank you so much, Lemme!

2 Comments on Iowa City Part 5, last added: 11/1/2008
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12. Iowa City Part 2

Iowa City totally rocks!

(Thanks for the posters Horn!)


I met the kids at Horn and Roosevelt:


The kids from Roosevelt made these great posters of my book covers:




(l to r) Joan, me, Anne Marie

Me with Iowa City students

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13. Iowa City

I know, I know...it's Tuesday.
But I'm not posting my Writing Tip Tuesday today because:

I'm in Iowa City participating in their 21st annual Community Reads event.

Talk about hospitality!


(l to r) Denise (library coordinator for Iowa City School District), me, Pat (librarian)


(l to r) Dolores, me, Carol



(l to r): Connie, Sharon, me, Jolynn

(Shout-out to Connie - thanks for dinner!)


I signed 485 T-shirts:



And met a lot of kids.

Kids at Wood:



Kids at Lucas:




Kids at Hoover and Regina:





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14. Hitting the road

I'm heading to Iowa City, Iowa on Sunday for a week.

I'll be doing a residency as a component of a Community Reading Month that is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

I'll be speaking to students from 19 Iowa City schools.

Past author residencies for this program have included Ashley Bryan, Pat Cummings, Jerry Spinelli, Brian Jacques, Gail Gibbons, Chris Crutcher, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Lynn Reiser, E. B. Lewis, and Peter Catalanotto.

Last year's author was Deborah Wiles, so I have some big shoes to follow!

No, wait a minute, that's not the right expression. You FILL big shoes, not follow them, right?

And I am certainly not implying that Deborah Wiles has big feet.

She's a Southerner. I'm sure she has lovely little feet.

It's a hard act that you follow, not big shoes.

I have a hard act to follow.

But I'll give it my best shot.

1 Comments on Hitting the road, last added: 10/25/2008
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15. Check it out

The end of October, I'll be visiting schools in the Iowa City Community School District as part of their Community Reading Month.

One of the sponsors (Hills Bank) designed a logo based on Greetings from Nowhere to be used on T-shirts and other promotional materials.

Pretty cool, huh?

4 Comments on Check it out, last added: 10/3/2008
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16. a few from the feed

As may be obvious, I’m a little behind on my feeds. The good news is that there’s a lot of good stuff there. The bad news is that you may have seen some of it. Here are a few quickie notes that I think merit some attention. My apologies if you’ve all seen them before. My personal goal is to be all caught up on feeds by the time I leave for ALA — Thursday morning — and don’t get behind again. I think it’s doable.

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17. Cedar Rapids PL flooding update/interview from Library Journal

The heartbreaking story of the Cedar Rapids public library. Information on the flooding and an address to send donations. Photos and up to date flooding information at the Cedar Rapids Library home page.

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18. Obama and Huckabee Embrace Religion, Win Iowa

9780195326413.jpgDavid Domke is Professor of Communication and Head of Journalism at the University of Washington. Kevin Coe is a doctoral candidate in Speech Communication at the University of Illinois. They are authors of the The God Strategy: How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America. To learn more about the book check out their handy website here. In the article below Domke and Coe reflect on the Iowa Caucuses.

The victories by Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee in the Iowa caucuses on Thursday make one thing clear: in America’s heartland, the God strategy works. Recent history suggests it won’t stop there. (more…)

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19. Extending the History of Words: The Case of “Ms.”

zimmer.jpg
Lost in the hubbub about the new words and disappearing hyphens in the latest edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is a more subtle type of editorial revision. The Shorter, as a dictionary built on historical principles, provides information about the age of words and their main senses. The date range of earliest known use is noted in each entry by E (early), M (mid), or L (late) plus a century number: thus “M18″ means a word was first recorded in the mid-18th century. This style of dating is admittedly approximate, but giving the exact year of a word’s first recorded use would lend a false sense of precision. We very rarely can determine the first “baptismal” usage of a word with any confidence. But even with dates given by rough century divisions, the editors of the Shorter have been able to revise the dating of nearly 4,500 words and senses based on discoveries of earlier recorded uses, known as “antedatings” in the dictionary world. Much of this new antedating information is derived from the ongoing work done for the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. Since I dabble in what my colleague Erin McKean recently called “the competitive sport of antedating,” I thought I’d share a discovery of mine that made it into the new edition of the Shorter.

(more…)

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20. Banned Books!

Ok, so instead of always talking about banned books here, I just update my list-mania lists over at Amazon and they're all nicely linked up in the side bar.

But yesterday, I read that Of Mice and Men is being challenged in Newton, IA.

This makes me incredibly sad, because I have a very warm spot in my heart reserved for Newton. Newton may be a small town in central Iowa, but, when I was in college, it was the big town. Iowa City was far enough a way that it was a preplanned excursion, but we'd go to Newton at the drop of a hat. We'd all pile in the car and drive along Highway 6 with the windows down and the radio up and check out their Super Walmart (Because nothing is more fun than buying oodles of fabric at 1 am) or the Perkins, or everyone's favorite Mexican joint with margaritas bigger than your head-- La Cabana.

There was a time senior year when we went to La Cabana pretty much every weekend. Even my Tex-Mex snobby friends (they're from Texas, so they know what they're talking about) like that place!

Plus, it's the home of Maytag blue cheese. Yummy.

But I think I liked those drives the best-- 6 is curvy and hilly and at dusk in summer, full of fireflies. And on those nights, singing along with the radio on our way to Newton (sometimes it wasn't Newton so much as the escape from campus) with the warm summer air and the smell of summer-- hay and green things, tinged with falling humidity... I fell in love with those nights. I fell in love on one of those nights.

And now they're challenging Steinbeck.

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21. Tom Sawyer Stays in School

The DesMoines Register reports that The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is back in the classroom in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Teachers are not obliged to teach the book but they are not banned from teaching it either. The school district's purchase of 750 books has been approved.

Freedom to Read Poster 1984


Freedom to Read Week in Canada begins three weeks from now on February 25th. Watch for upcoming details of the Pelham Public Library's Banned Book Challenge and start to choose the banned and challenged books you will read from February to June. Find a banned book list at many links on the right side or download the Pelham Public Library's list. You can also search Library Thing or the Pelham Public Library's collection of challenged books and information on where and why they were banned by clicking on the LibraryThing button.

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22. Gilbert Grape back in Carroll.

From the Des Moines Register:

The Carroll school board voted to overturn Superintendent Rob Cordes' decision to ban the book from the high school's literature-to-film class. He ousted the book in November after parents complained that its sexual content was not suitable for teenagers.

A special committee — comprised of eight district employees, community members and students — then reviewed the book and recommended that the school board overturn the ban.

The board voted 4-1 Monday to keep the book in the school's library and curriculum. However, students will now need a signed permission slip from their parents to read the 1991 novel.

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23. Gilbert Grape Ban Squashed For Now

In a previous post, the controversy surrounding the removal of What's Eating Gilbert Grape was aired. Last night, a committee of students, parents and staff at Carroll High School had a small majority of 5-3 pass a proposal to keep the book in the library and classrooms. However, that may not be the final say when Carroll's school board meets later in January to put the issue to rest.

It is facing a challenge due to one sexually explicit passage that a parent objects to.

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24. Who's Banning Gilbert Grape?

What's Eating Gilbert Grape has been removed from a Carroll, IL High School class, according to a story in the local news. School Board Superintendent Rob Cordes pulled the book from the literature-to-film class following parents' concerns over an oral sex scene in the book. He had not read the book. Critics of the pulling of Gilbert Grape are upset that one person was able to have the power to ban the book without a hearing in the court of public opinion. A committee will be reviewing the book. However, for now the book remains out of the classroom.

At the school board meeting, one parent held up copies of both the book and a Penthouse magazine to make a comparison. Mr. and Mrs. Huckas who object to the use of the book wrote in a letter to the school district, "We would not want to fill our minds with such garbage. It promotes immorality, adultery, fornication and self-indulgence." They had not read the book. The parents also want the district to consider removing more books from both the library and the curriculum.

Students from local high schools along with alumni have formed "Un-ban Gilbert Grape! Censorship Is Wrong," an organized group on the Web network Facebook. Several of the high school's students have created T-shirts that have free-speech quotations such as, "Censorship feeds the dirty mind more than the four-letter word" and "Think for yourself and let others do the same" and "books won't stay banned and ideas won't go to jail."

What's Eating Gilbert Grape, a novel by Peter Hedges, is about a young man's experiences with his troubled family in a small Iowa town. One of its main characters is mentally challenged. One student is quoted as saying that the characters in the book are "going through a lot of the same things our classmates are going through. They're stuck in a small environment, everyone knows them." He added that the book is the only one he can recall reading in the class written by an Iowa author. Carroll High School teacher-librarian Kelly Fischbach says the book deserves to be judged in its entirety, not for a few sentences. She calls it a 'great book' that connects with rural Iowa teens.

Apparently parents were already notified of its content before it was used in class and had to sign a permission slip for their child to read it. Students or parents who object to their child reading the book are able to be assigned alternative assignments.

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