Don't Drink That Tea, Savvy!

This week's episode of MEG-A-RAE is chock full of mystery and suspense. Maybe a little too much for our hosts, Savvy and Programma Mama.  Let's just say that Savvy should definitely NOT drink that tea!

(Miss Miranda, who played the maid, was truly terrific, by the way.)  Miss Meg and Miss Rae (to use their vlog names) scripted the video along the lines of Alfred Hitchcock's formula for suspense:  namely, let the audience know the danger, but keep the characters oblivious.  There our heroes are, doing their regular readers' advisory thing, and they have NO IDEA that the maid has spiked Savvy's tea.  But WE, the audience, are fully aware of the peril, but there is no way we can warn her!  Now that's suspenseful.

Savvy did a fabulous job doing the "collapsing scene," and Programma Mama was excellent as the "bystander facing danger."  All told, it was the perfect mystery reading vlog.

I Especially Liked the Shout-Out to Broadway Gal,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Mystery Reading News Beat

P.S.  In this video clip from a film-makers' workshop (1970), legendary motion picture director Alfred Hitchcock explains how to create suspense in a five-minute film scene--by allowing the audience to know the danger (e.g., a hidden bomb) to which the film's characters are oblivious--provided the director allows an emotional relief at the end of the scene.  In his example of a bomb hidden beneath a table, which the audience sees but the characters know nothing about, the relief comes in their last-second escape before the bomb explodes.  The suspense is created by the characters' matter-of-fact dialog, while the audience watches the timer on the bomb approach zero.  The audience is powerless to assist but must watch and wait to see if the characters escape the threat in time.

That's DOCTOR Hooticus to You

This week began our first puppet interviews to replace Sammy the Toucan.  Well, replace is a misnomer.  You simply can't replace talent like Sammy!  Somebody will fill her position as early literacy sidekick to Crafty Gal, but we will never be able to replace Sammy.

Our first candidate is Professor Hooticus Maximus, Ph.D.  I know what those letters at the end stand for.  You probably do, too.  If not, try this on for size.

When Scowl-Face interviewed for his job at MPL, it must surely have sounded like this.

Crafty Gal interviews Dr. Hooticus Maximus

for Sammy the Toucan's sidekick job

Did you catch our little joke in the early title cards?  Doctor Whoticus instead of Hooticus?  That's a shout-out to the BBC television character, the Doctor (from the series Doctor Who).  Sort of an inside joke there--several of our staff are HUGE Doctor Who fans.

Ordinarily, we post these videos on Wednesdays, but I just couldn't wait.  You deserve a sneak preview.

Naturally, Sammy wanted to have a go at interviewing her potential successor.

Sammy the Toucan interviews

Dr. Hooticus Maximus

MPL patrons get to vote on which of three candidates they like best; however, you have to wait to vote until you've watched all six video interviews.  Details?  Can do.

Next week we'll post our second candidate's video interviews, and the week thereafter we'll post the third candidate's.  Then you get to vote!

Who will be the "new Sammy the Toucan"?  Stay tuned to find out!

Why is Tigger's Behind Facing the Camera?  Just Asking,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Library Puppet News Beat

P.S.  Why not a ventriloquist dummy as your sidekick, Crafty Gal?  Pretty creepy, I'll wager.

The Downside to Voyeurism

One definite downside to voyeurism (for humans, but not for felines) is seeing more of somebody else's business than you ought.  Suppose, for instance, that you're temporarily an invalid confined to your bedroom. You're bored with sedentary activities like reading and spend your time gazing out at your neighbors' windows from your own bedroom bay window.  See what interesting lives they lead?  But what happens when murder is a neighborly occupation?  What you see could certainly be unhealthy for you, because you might become the murderer's next victim. This is the basic plot in the short story "It Had to Be Murder," by Cornell Woolrich.  First published in 1942, it was later retitled after its movie adaptation--Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954)--and republished in several short story collections, the most popular of which was Rear Window & Other Stories.  Our book trailer borrowed the 1994 edition's book cover, which is still available from booksellers.

MPL Book Trailer #161

Rear Window and Other Stories, by Cornell Woolrich

The short story published in 1942 was quite brief, but Woolrich packed it with considerable suspense and intrigue.  Woolrich's popularity as a genre mystery/suspense writer during the 1930s and 1940s was based upon his talent for keeping readers on the edge of their seats waiting for--and guessing--what would happen next.  The settings and circumstances of some of his material might seem dated today, but Woolrich's mysteries (both novels and short stories) still hold up well from the suspense standpoint.  Check our Evergreen Indiana online catalog for this (and other) Woolrich gems.

Hey, that reminds moi.  Programma Mama and Savvy are hosting the fourth annual October mystery dinners at the Library.  Ask them about it when you visit the library.

I Sit in My Rear Window for the Sunshine--Just Saying,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Mystery Stories News Beat

P.S.  Who hasn't seen Alfred Hitchcock's stupendous movie adaptation of Woolrich's short story?  Here's the movie trailer for a re-release (the announcer mentioned Psycho, which was released six years after Rear Window, so it must have been for a re-release in the 1960s).  If you haven't seen the motion picture, stop whatever you're doing and rent a copy from your nearest Evergreen Indiana library (assuming you have an E.I. library card) that has a circulating DVD or VHS.  Whatever else you were doing can certainly wait.

P.P.S.  "Look Through Any Window," by the Hollies, was the group's first American top 40 hit single (1966).  In this video clip, Frankie Avalon introduced the group's performance on the American pop music TV show, Hullabaloo! (1966).

Our Tribute Trailer to Broadway Gal

Broadway Gal's final day as head of MPL Youth Services is Monday, October 8, 2012, and we're having a farewell bigbash for her in the Library's Community Room.  Please do try to attend.  There will be n'yum-n'yums aplenty.

Yesterday, we made a tribute trailer (like a promo trailer without the library program, or a book trailer without the book) for Broadway Gal.  Want to see it?  Of course you do.

My minions will be attending Monday's bigbash with digital camera in paw ready to snap some pix and vids. If it's Scowl-Face handling the equipment, we'll need to Photoshop the results to make them blog-worthy.  Minions, make it so.

Hope There's Canned Tuna-in-Oil at the Bigbash,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Staff Farewells News Beat

P.S.  "Beautiful Day," by U2, seemed to capture the mood of a new beginning.  The song appeared on the album All That You Can't Leave Behind  (2000).

Sammy the Toucan's Final Early Literacy Vlog

Yesterday, Crafty Gal and Sammy the Toucan video-recorded Sammy's final early literacy vlog (video blog) for the Library.  Fortunately, we still have at least one Sammygrams video to watch once her three replacement candidates have been interviewed.  For now, please enjoy this week's MPL Early Literacy Vlog.

Plenty of Fun Fall Reading For Youngsters,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Early Literacy News Beat

P.S.  "Autumn Almanac" (1967), by the Kinks, is a perfect Fall tune, as this fan video reveals.  It was released as a single and has since been deemed a classic British pop song.