Summer Jobs

Are you looking for a summer job but don’t quite know where to start or are getting frustrated?

Ferguson’s Career Guidance has some great advice for finding the right job, writing a resume that gets results, interviewing, finding a mentor and getting great references so you can ace that interview.

Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center is available from the Clayton County Library System home page -
www.claytonpl.org – All you need is to ut in your library card number for access. Once you’re in Ferguson’s click the “Internships and Summer Jobs” link.

Good luck!

Read the Pictures

Do you remember reading picture books as a kid? Big pictures, few words? Would you think to read a picture book as a teen or even as an adult? Probably not-I know I sure didn’t. But then a co-worker showed me The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.

This is an absolute beautiful masterpiece of a book! The pictures do not describe the text, instead the pictures further the story by becoming the story itself. You read the words, then you ‘read’ the pictures. The artwork is stunning (and even earned a Caldecott Medal in 2008).

Hugo is an orphan and lives in the walls at the train station repairing and winding the clocks. He makes a discovery that changes his entire life, and the lives of people around him. Don’t be fooled by the 525 pages, this book is a fast read what with the words and black and white drawings.

Next up we have The Arrival by Shaun Tan. In this book, a man leaves his home and goes to a new country to build a new life for his family. (I am not going to go in to too much detail for it would more than likely give away all of the book.) The Arrival differs from Hugo drastically. Where Hugo blends words and pictures to tell the story, The Arrival is completely wordless.

You, the reader, must decide for yourself the story and what takes place based on the pictures. What I gather from it may be slightly different from you. The details bring out subtle ideas-a bent and slightly crumpled drawing of a family says to me it is well loved; someone else may see it as discarded or not cared for.

Give both books a try-you won’t be disappointed!

Till next time, keep flipping those pages!

Graceling

Holy crap this book was amazing! I was so hooked and hated to put it down. Graceling has done what only one or two other books have achieved this past year: worked its way to my Top 10 List!

Katsa is born with one green eye and one blue eye. In this world of seven kingdoms, when a child is born with two different colored eyes they are Graced. The Grace is different for each person. For Katsa, she is Graced with being an expert killer (not a well received Grace eh?) Her uncle, the king, uses her to kill and torture those who’ve wronged or angered him, or just to make an example of people.

While out on a mission, Katsa meets Po, a Graced prince from a far kingdom. She never expected her life to change from meeting him, nor does she expect to learn truths about her Grace.

A horrible secret is discovered about a King of another kingdom. This secret could destroy all seven kingdoms. Katsa must do everything in her Grace to make sure it doesn’t happen.

Along the way, everything she knows about herself changes.

If you liked Hunger Games, I think you’ll like this book, and vice versa.

Visit the author’s blog at www.kristincashore.blogspot.com for more information!

The 641 Project: Jeff Henderson

At age twenty, the only cooking Jeff Henderson knew was to make crack cocaine.  Some 10 years later, he had learned to cook dishes worthy of fine dining restaurants with a skillset that rivaled any culinary school grad’s.

Henderson tells his story in his autobiography Cooked.  Henderson was one of many at-risk kids growing up in South Central Los Angeles in the 1970s.  He came into a life of petty crime at a young age; in his teens, he was taken under the wing of a drug dealer, who mentored him in the world of drug trafficking.  Henderson quickly rose from peddler to cocaine dealer, making a name for himself in the trade and making hundreds of thousands of dollars per week.

It all came to a crashing end when, at twenty-four, Henderson was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to twenty years in federal prison.  He spent his time in lockdown in reflection and self-discovery, and discovered a passion for cooking.  Using his penchant for learning and perfection that made him a success in drug dealing, Henderson learned how to cook and rose through the ranks of prison kitchens, eventually heading a kitchen in a Las Vegas penitentiary.  After his release, Henderson again worked his way up through the kitchens, this time in gourmet restaurants and five star hotels under the tutelage of some of southern California’s best chefs, acquiring skills and knowledge often learned only in culinary schools.  The ex-con cook eventually landed the executive chef position at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas – the first for an African-American – and later at the Bellagio.

Cooked is an entertaining and engaging read.  The intriguing rise-and-fall-and-redemption story also gives perspective into the personality of a working chef.  Henderson shows – at least for the non-schooled chef – the kind of drive and dedication needed to succeed in the culinary world.  In doing so, he gives a glimpse into what goes on in the kitchens of fine dining restaurants: The competition, politics and reasons for the high turnover.

Cooked is not just the story of the rise of a great culinary talent, but a redemption story.  As Henderson sees his true potential and realizes the harm he has brought to his community, he aspires to become himself a better man.  It’s not an easy journey, as he often falls back on his “street” habits to earn respect in competitive kitchens.  But Henderson transforms from a man in pursuit of ill-gotten gain to a man who earns respect – despite his past – through a pursuit of excellence in the kitchen. 

*****

Cooked: From the Streets to the Stove, From Cocaine to Foie Gras and the cookbook Chef Jeff Cooks are available through PINES.  Ask a librarian for assistance.

Learn more about Chef Jeff Henderson and his activities at his website.

Read or view an interview from the Tavis Smiley talk show.

Try some of Chef Jeff’s recipes from the Good Morning, America website.

What I Saw and How I Lied

When Evie’s father returns from WW2 their family is looking forward to getting back to their normal routine. But when Joe starts receiving mysterious phone calls, he gets tense and takes the family to Florida for a vacation.

While there, Evie meets Peter, who served with her father in the military. The two of them start to spend a lot of time together. Even though Joe does not approve of Peter, Evie falls in love.

Secrets and lies start to reveal themselves and Evie is suddenly caught in the middle. A boating trip one hurricane-y afternoon leaves the family in the middle of tragedy and scandal.

In those few weeks, Evie grows up, no longer the innocent fifteen-year old girl who came to Florida. Instead she is now a woman with difficult decisions to make. She must choose  to be loyal to the man she loves, or to her family, but not to both. The decision she makes will change the course of her life forever.

I thought this was a fantastic book! Truth be told, I started reading it based on the title. The inside jacket gave no indication as to what she saw and I wanted to know what she saw and how she lied. WOW! What a shocker it was…I can honestly say I didn’t see it coming.

So yeah, if you’re looking for a bit of intrigue with your romance, grab this book, find a quiet place, get a drink and snack and knock it out!

Till next time…

Name Our Bears Contest

Can you help us find a name?

Our two cute and cuddly brown bears are in need of a name.  They were donated to the Headquarters Library and we were glad to give them a home.  However, they arrived nameless.  Come by the children’s department of the Clayton County Headquarters Library and visit these lovable, library friends and suggest a name for each of them.  Take some time to think about the best name that fits each of them.  Turn in your suggestion at the Youth Services desk.  All entries will be judged by library staff.  The winning names will be displayed with the bears all summer long!  Name suggestions must be submitted by Saturday, May 16, 2009 and the winner will be announced on Monday, May 18, 2009.  Only one submission per child.  Everyone needs a name, right?

AFF 2009 – Three Days of Movies Left!

There are three more days in the Atlanta Film Festival.  Hopefully, you’ve been able to or are making plans to take in a film or four.  While I’m not able to attend personally, I was able to review a few of the films for CinemATL Magazine.  Two films remain on the schedule as of this writing that I recommend:

Mississippi Damned – Three black kids witness the abuse, violence and addictions of their impoverished family; destructive behaviors that are now being visited upon them.  Though the kids desire to escape their small, rural town, they find themselves beginning to repeat the same behaviors that have dogged their family for generations, and doom them to the town forever.  Mississippi Damned is frank in its depiction of poverty and its influence on people, but equally uncompromising in showing the bonds of family and hope.

I posted an abbreviated interview with the film’s director Tina Mabry earlier this week; click here for the complete interview.  So popular was the screening on Sunday, the festival has added a third screening.

Screens Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 1:30 pm and 10:00 pm.

Neshoba – In the summer of 1964, three civil rights workers were stopped in Neshoba County by police.  Shortly after, a group of whites associated with the Ku Klux Klan arrived and beat and shot the three.  Their bodies were found several months later in an earthen dam.  Though the several of the perpetrators openly bragged about it, no one was ever convicted of the murders.

Neshoba is a documentary that looks at a citizen’s group’s efforts to pressure the State Attorney to prosecute the surviving murderers in the so-called “Mississippi Burning” case, and the trial of Edgar Ray Killen, who was indicted for his role in the murders.   Through interviews with Killen, the victims’ families, and a diverse group of black and white Neshoba County citizens, the film explores whether the prosecution of Killen is enough to erase the stain of the past and promote racial healing.

Screens Saturday, April 24, 2009 at 3:00 pm.

Visit the Atlanta Film Festival website for the festival’s remaining schedule and ticket information.

Jane Whitefield

When you’re in trouble, and hunted by people who can harm you, find Jane Whitefield: She can help you disappear.

Jane is a tall, raven haired, blue-eyed “guide” of Seneca Indian heritage.  Extremely intelligent, highly resourceful and very tough, Jane helps people hide from dangerous people and circumstances, guiding them out of their old life into a new, complete with a new identity and history, and making it as difficult as possible for the pursuer to find them.  When Jane runs into her clients’ pursuers, she does whatever necessary to keep the client safe until they’ve disappeared.

Jane Whitefield is the creation of Edgar Award winning author Thomas Perry. He introduced Jane in his novel Vanishing Act, a taunt thriller in which she helps a friend of a previous client disappear, only to find that doing so has put the first client in danger.  Perry creates more page-turning situations and exploits for Jane in four more novels: Dance for the Dead finds Jane protecting two clients from the same ruthless pursuer; One of Jane’s clients is found and pursued by two assassins in Shadow Woman; in The Face Changers, Jane tries to hide a plastic surgeon from pursuers who know all of Jane’s tricks and techniques.

The fifth of the series, Blood Money, doesn’t live up to others in the series.  Jane’s efforts to aid a young woman and an aging mafia account are reduced to her staying ahead of the mafia as she transports computer hard drives cross country.  Reviewers on Amazon.com point out that her opponents this time are the focus of the novel instead of Jane and her clients and not as interesting as antagonists in Perry’s other novels.  When no new Jane Whitefield novels were published in the following years, I believed that perhaps Perry had run his course with Jane and decided to retire her.  Turns out that I was partially right:  Perry says in his website that writing should be a learning and growth experience, and after five novels he had learned all that he could with Jane.

But Perry didn’t give up on Jane completely.  This past January, after a 10 year absence, Perry published the sixth Jane Whitefield novel, Runner.  Jane, no longer a guide and living a comfortable married life, is compelled back into the business when a pregnant woman comes to her for help.  The woman is pursued by ruthless henchmen, hired by the child’s father to bring her back to him.  But they are no match for Jane’s fearlessness and wit, and Jane manages to hide her.  When the henchmen find and kidnap the woman from her hiding place, Jane must find up her trail and rescue her before the mother and child are harmed.

Runner returns the thrills that were absent in Blood Money, though it’s not the page-turner like the previous novels.  About the second third of the book takes a long departure from Jane to look at her client and the antagonist:  A domestic drama with a dastardly edge.  But Perry comes back to Jane to explore new aspects of Jane’s character and new challenges she faces in hiding a person in the digital age.

Runner is a good return to the Jane Whitefield series, and, if Perry intends to continue the series, a promise of more thrills to come.

*****

All six of the Jane Whitefield novels are available at various CCLS libraries.

Other books by Thomas Perry are available at CCLS libraries, including his prize winners Butcher’s Boy and Metzger’s Dog.

AFF 2009 – Tina Mabry on “Mississippi Damned”

Kari and Sammy witness an incident that will impact their adult lives in "Mississippi Damned"

 Mississippi Damned is a family drama of three black kids struggling to escape a cycle of abuse, addiction and violence within their family as they grow up in poor, rural Mississippi.  Their only choice is to escape their circumstances, or succumb to the same fate of previous generations.  The film is based on the childhood experiences of writer/director Tina Mabry.  Tina has received numerous awards and recognition for her previous works, and is poised to gain more with Mississippi Damned.

Tina gave my magazine CinemATL an interview as part of our AFF 2009 coverage.  Following is an abbreviated version of that interview:

Please tell us a little about yourself.

I was born and raised in Tupelo, MS.  When I graduated from high school my mother became ill so I decided to stay nearby and attend the University of Mississippi in order to help care for her.  After four years I earned Bachelor degrees in Psychology and Political Science with plans to go to law school, but I had no passion for law.  I figured if I was going to go into debt, it should at least be for a career I was passionate about.  I always had a love for film and writing, so I chose to follow my dream of filmmaking.  I entered the graduate film program at the University of Southern California and upon graduating in 2005 I used my thesis short film, Brooklyn’s Bridge to Jordan, as my calling card.  Soon after I got a chance to co-write a feature film entitled Itty Bitty Titty Committee.  Since then Morgan Stiff, Lee Stiff, and I started an independent production company called Morgan’s Mark.  Mississippi Damned is our company’s first feature.

Mississippi Damned is based on your childhood experiences.  What motivated you to share such a personal experience through this film?

I came from a family that had been haunted by the lack of possibilities offered in a still somewhat impoverished state.  I wanted to explore my family’s struggles in the South and how community, landscape and politics shaped and defined our lives.  We made this film because we wanted to take a truthful look at a prevalent lifestyle that is often overlooked in mainstream films.

What were some challenges in bringing Mississippi Damned to the screen?

There were definitely challenging aspects to bringing Mississippi Damned into fruition.  We had a total of thirty-four actors, a limited budget, a period film, a hundred and nine page script, and we had to do it all in twenty-two days. So, challenging may be an understatement. However, we managed to do it with a wonderful cast and an exceptional crew.  People were invested in the story and we formed a strong camaraderie that crossed crew/cast lines.

What are the plans for Mississippi Damned?

After the film finishes its run on the festival circuit, we hope to secure traditional distribution, which would include a theatrical release.  However, if we can’t go this route, we intend to get this film to audiences because we believe in the message and the universality of the film.  It’s a film about struggle, about building a road when you have no idea where to begin.  These are things everyone can relate to.

With this film, we want to rally the disenfranchised and unite those of disparate backgrounds, goals and aspirations.  Through this film, we aim to use cinema as a means to give marginalized people a voice and to shed light on issues often overlooked because they may seem too hard to tackle. We therefore will get this film in front of audiences in a theatrical setting, whether it is a traditional or non-traditional route.  The performances are too impactful, the filmmaking too strong, and the story too important to settle for less.

Who is your hero?

I have two heroes.  One of them is my mother, who passed about in 2006, and the other is my aunt.  They have always been there for me to push me along in their own unique ways.  My mother was more of a tough love type of woman, and my aunt is very nurturing.  I always had both of them in my corner encouraging me to see the fight until the end, because giving up was not an option.

*****

Read the complete interview at CinemATL Magazine.

Mississippi Damned screens Sunday, April 19 at 3:30 pm. Tina Mabry, producer/editor Morgan R. Stiff and Atlanta area actors in the film will be in attendance. A second screening is Thursday, April 23 at 1:30 pm. 

By popular demand, a third screening has been added for Thursday, April 23 at 10:00 pm.

Mississippi Damned has been awarded the AFF Special Jury Award for Narrative Breakthrough.  Congrats to Tina, the producers and cast and crew!

Visit the Atlanta Film Festival website for more films, schedule and ticket information.

AFF 2009 – The Georgia Connection

If you’re making plans to attend the Atlanta Film Festival this weekend, consider taking a look at these three films. Coincidentally, the films all have a connection to Georgia:

The chilling evidence of war in "Deadland"

Deadland – It’s five years after WWIII. Society has broken down, the U.S. is under martial law, and a pandemic has swept what’s left of the country. But Sean is determined to find his estranged wife in the post-war madness. He finds a clue to her locale in the form of a coded message to a corrupt military commander.  He takes it and seeks an expert who’ll help him decode the message. Sean soon finds himself on a collision course with the commander and his corrupt corps of soldiers.

Deadland is a post-apocalyptic action flick that was filmed in southwest Georgia and features a number of Atlanta actors as well as some well-known character actors.  Screens Saturday, April 18 at 9:30 pm, and Monday, April 20 at 1:30 pm.

Lauren (Maggie Tilly) carries her sister Jeannie (Tilly Hatcher) in "Beeswax"

Beeswax – Twin sisters Jeannie and Lauren face major challenges in their lives:  Jeannie believes she may be sued by her absent business partner, and Lauren, between jobs and relationships, contemplates a job offer in Africa. Jeannie turns to her ex-boyfriend – a law school grad – for help, while Lauren tries to make her decision on her own.

It’s described as a legal thriller and a look at a close knit group of people who care for each other like family.  I see the film more as a character study of the sisters – around whom the film is centered – and what seems to be a rivalry beneath the surface of their otherwise congenial relationship.  Atlanta resident Tilly Hatcher and her twin Maggie lead a cast of non-professional actors who give natural and honest performances; so much that it’ll feel like eavesdropping instead of watching a movie!  Screens Monday, April 20 at 9:15 pm.

We Fun – What happens when the Peter Pan Syndrome meets critical mass? For members of several Atlanta independent rock bands, they make better and more unique music. We Fun is a behind the scenes look at the indie rock scene and culture in Atlanta. From their time hanging out to concert performances, these bandsmen live like teen boys sans destructive tendencies but make music that no mainstream pop star would dare make. Laid back experts give an overview and criticism of the bands and indie rock.  Screens Saturday, April 18 at 7:00 pm, and Wednesday, April 22 at 2:05 pm.

Check the Atlanta Film Festival website for more films and schedule.