December's Lunch & Learn Program

Here's what's planned for December's Lunch & Learn: 

Adrienne Birchler

Coordinator

Friends of the Folsom Library 

 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time for remembering and appreciating the special people in our lives—not only our family and friends, but also our Friends.  Thank you, Friends of the Folsom Library, for your continued support over the years.  You play an important part in sustaining the liveliness of the Folsom Library through the funding of various academic and artistic endeavors. The library is grateful for your generosity.

Wishing you and the special people in your lives a

Happy Thanksgiving!

Adrienne Birchler

Coordinator 

Friends of the Folsom Library                       

Russell Banks: Books and DVDs

Russell Banks is a New York State author who has been churning out best sellers for years. Thanks to the Friends of Folsom Library, his brand new novel Lost Memory of Skin is available in the Class of ’96 Reading Room as are two DVDs of feature films which were adapted from his books and received widespread critical acclaim: James Coburn won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Nick Nolte was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for their roles in “Affliction;” “The Sweet Hereafter” won three awards, including the Grand Prix and the International Critics Award.  (See Affliction (the book), Affliction (the movie), The Sweet Hereafter (the book), and The Sweet Hereafter (the movie).)

Banks was on campus several years ago as the featured novelist for the McKinney Contest event (which The Friends have been co-sponsoring for years). I was fortunate to meet Russell and he is a fabulous guy. I strongly recommend you try him out.  I’ve listed my five favorite Banks books below.

Bob Mayo

Director, Rensselaer Libraries

Affliction

Cloudsplitter

The Sweet Hereafter

Rule of the Bone
Trailerpark

Read More

New York Times Book Reviews:

Affliction (1989)

Cloudsplitter (1998)

Lost Memory of Skin (2011)

Rule of the Bone (1995)

The Sweet Hereafter (1991)
Trailerpark (1981)

Russell Banks' Facebook Page
Russell Banks (Wikipedia)

What is that Thing?

The above photo was taken in Folsom Library's Open Study Room 142C on the bottom floor. Do you know what the gray box is?

Retiree Irv Stephens, our Rensselaer Libraries Historian, explained it to me: from 1976 to about 1990 there were a number of these devices connected to electric typewriters. Twenty-five cents got you 1/2 hour of typewriter time! Somehow this one survived (sans typewriter).

Bob Mayo
Director, Rensselaer Libraries

Student Activism at RPI During the Protest Era

As you probably recall, last month I informed you that there was going to be a Protest Era Alumni Panel Discussion taking place during Reunion & Homecoming 2011.  As it turned out, the panel consisted of nine RPI alumni and one former dean (Friends Board member Carl Westerdahl, who came to Rensselaer in 1969 as an assistant dean of students).  The group discussed student activism at RPI in the mid-to-late 60s and early 70s and took turns ruminating on this challenging time in the Institute’s history and their involvement.

The discussion was well-attended by alumni, staff, students, and Friends, and the accounts related were interesting and thought-provoking.  The two hours allotted zipped by.  I would gladly have stayed longer to hear more anecdotes.

Friends Board members had been hoping for quite a while to have this topic touched on in a Lunch & Learn or other program.  We just had to wait for Rick Hartt '70, former director of the Rensselaer Union, to retire and clear some time on his still-busy schedule!  The wait was worth it, though; not only was the presentation excellent, but the topic was timely in light of the spread of Occupy Wall Street encampments across othe nation. 

A big thank you to Rick for assembling the panel and acting as moderator! He also gave me copies of student-produced documents from the era to duplicate and make available to attendees.  Friends Board member Meg Gallien, who's the Alumni News Editor, also gave me reprints of the article, "The Class of '70: Voices of a Generation," that she wrote for the March 1995 issue of Rensselaer.  I still have some copies of Rick's documents and Meg's article, so let me know if you'd like me to send copies to you. My e-mail address is bircha@rpi.edu.

If you'd like to view the two-hour video of the event filmed by RPI TV, Rensselaer's student-run television station, here's the link:
http://www.rpitv.org/productions/413-student-activism-at-rpi-during-the-protest-era .

Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator
Friends of the Folsom Library

Upcoming Luncheon and Discussion with Author and International Educator Kris Holloway

 

Last Friday, Rensselaer held its annual benefits fair for employees. During my shift at the library’s table in the Armory, I spoke to J. Louis Trzepacz, Class Dean for the class of 2014.  After telling Louis about this week’s Lunch & Learn program with local author Edward Chevrette, he asked if I could let Friends know about another author’s appearance that’s coming up. I said, "Absolutely!"

In celebration of International Week (November 13-18), author and international educator Kris Holloway will be on campus for a luncheon and book discussion on Monday, November 14th.  Her memoir, Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali, explores her experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, West Africa.

Prior to the event, the Rensselaer Union bookstore will have a limited supply of Holloway's book for sale. Any remaining copies will be available (cash sale only) on the day of the event. Following her talk, Holloway will be available to sign copies of her book.

The free luncheon and discussion will be held in the Heffner Alumni House dining room at noon and is being sponsored by the Office of International Programs at Rensselaer. I would love to go, but I’ll be attending a workshop in Albany that afternoon.  For more information, see http://www.lib.rpi.edu/documents/ies.pdf

Adrienne Birchler

Coordinator

Friends of the Folsom Library

Some DVD Reviews

Information Technology Librarian Matt Benzing has offered brief reviews of four DVDs he's recently seen:

Animal Kingdom

Gut wrenching crime drama from Australia that earned a best supporting actress nomination for Jacki Weaver. Well written, well acted movie with a cohesive thematic structure and a dark view of crime and punishment. Reminded me a lot of Sean Penn's At Close Range, but even grittier. One of those movies that you think about for days. 

Electric Shadows

Nostalgic, sweet, yet tragic story about how a woman, her daughter, and the boys and men in their lives are comforted by movies and buffeted by fate. Not exactly a Chinese Cinema Paradisio, but similar in its love for film and its yearning for a lost innocence. Many reviewers have pointed out that the story rests upon a number of incredible coincidences; I think that this is intentional and is meant to echo the contrivances of the old movies the characters embrace. Well acted (especially the kids), well directed, and beautifully photographed.

                                                   


 Never Let Me Go

I can't say too much without creating a "spolier," although it’s not really that kind of film; it plays its hand early on. A  group of young people at an exclusive school learn that they are being raised for an unpleasant purpose. Not a suspense film like you might think; it's not about trying to escape or outrage at their plight but rather a parable about the way in which people can be conditioned to accept anything, a society wants the benefits of technology but closes its eyes to the costs, and the fact that we all are in a desperate situation but go on about our lives like we have all the time in the world. Beautifully shot, too.

 

Baraka

 

Tremendous movie with no dialogue, no narration, just gorgeous evocative images from around the world, demonstrating the fragility and beauty of our planet and the highs and lows of human existence. The title translates to "Blessing," and that's just what it is.

All of these DVDs are available at the Folsom Library, thanks to the generosity of Friends.

Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator
Friends of the Folsom Library

2011 Toys for Tots Campaign

The Folsom Library is a designated drop off site for this year’s

United States Marine Corps’ Annual Toys for Tots

campaign for the 2011 holiday season.

For over 44 years, this wonderful program has helped distribute new toys to less fortunate children in the Capital Region so they too could experience the joy of Christmas.

Please consider donating a new, unwrapped toy and depositing it in the box on the Folsom Library’s main floor between now and December 15th.  You will help make this a merrier Christmas for an area youngster.

Thanks!

Adrienne Birchler

Coordinator

Rensselaer Libraries

Still Bill

I recently watched the Still Bill  DVD (like most Folsom Library DVDs, a gift from the Friends of Folsom Library) a documentary about Bill Withers that I strongly recommend. I don't think this film got wide distribution, but I thought it was fabulous -- one of the best documentaries I've ever seen.

If you're old enough, you may remember Bill Withers as the singer/songwriter of hits like Lean on Me and Ain't No Sunshine. Don't expect to see Bill a la Keith Richards at the Super Bowl concert. This DVD's about how to be yourself as you grow older gracefully and how Bill Withers is still himself at 70-something.

Bob Mayo, Director - Rensselaer Libraries

Click here for the Still Bill trailer.

Ain't No Sunshine

Bill Withers

November's Lunch & Learn ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ Come Fly with Us!

Time of departure:  12 noon, Friday, November 11th

Terminal:  Folsom Library

Gate:   Fischbach Room

Your captain:  Edward Chevrette

Meals:  None (but you can purchase one at the Library Cafe and the flight attendant will provide dessert)

Alumnus Paul Miller (class of 1970) inquired earlier this year if his first flight instructor, Edward Chevrette, could come to talk about his recently published book that recounts his career as an instructor and corporate jet pilot and how things have changed over the years with regard to teaching and commercial flying.  While Paul was at RPI on a navy scholarship, he was given the opportunity to pursue a private pilot’s license at the Rensselaer County Airport in Postenkill, where he met Ed.  Besides talking about his book, Wings of Fortune, Ed will also speak a little about how he got his book self-published by Troy Book Makers, a firm located downtown.

Paul went on to have a career as a naval aviator in the US Navy, and, after retirement, had a second career as an international airline captain. I’m sure Paul has interesting tales to tell, too.  :)

Hope you can join us.

Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator
Friends of the Folsom Library