National Hamburger Day!

Here we are at the start of the Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial start of summer.  What could be more appropriate at this time of year than to celebrate National Hamburger Day?  Break out your grill, and fire it up.  While you are waiting for those coals to get ready, you might want to read a little bit about the history of the hamburger.  According to several sites I looked at, the invention of the hamburger is clouded in some confusion, and, of course, controversy. Most of the information in this article can be found on About.com’s  Barbeques and Grilling site hosted by Derrick Riches.  Here is the link to the site if you want to read more:http://bbq.about.com/cs/hamburgers/a/aa070597.htm

The origin of the hamburger goes all the way back to Medieval times, when the Tartars used to put beef slabs under their saddle which would tenderize it while they rode, and then they would eat this meat raw.

In the 19th century, German immigrants brought a dish they called Hamburg style beef to the U. S. This may be the origin of the name hamburger.  The modern hamburger is thought to go back  to the late 19th century.  Who made the first  hamburger as we know it is where the controversy comes in. One story says that a Louis Lassen made the first hamburger somewhere around 1895 for a hurried customer at his restaurant.  Others claim it was Charles Nagreen or the Menches brothers who made the first hamburger around 1885 at local fairs.  Who knows? Fast food distribution of hamburgers started in 1921 with White Castle burgers. In 1934, WimpyBurgers appeared.  Then in the late 30’s Bob’s Big Boy introduced the double burger. Hamburgers became more popular with the introduction of the drive-in reataurant.

Hamburgers have become an American obsession, right along with Mom and apple pie.   According to the article in About.com,  most Americans eat 3 hamburgers per week.  And McDonalds has sold an amazing 12 hamburgers for every person in the world!

So no matter how you like them: with relish or mayonaise, mustard or cheese or ketchup, broiled or grilled, with or without the bun, enjoy that hamburger this weekend!

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Book review: The curry club

When  I  was  about  14  years  old I  read a  book I  really  liked.I  don’t  remember  anything  about  the book , except  that  my mom  read  the  same book  and  said  that  I had  to  reread  it  as  an adult ,  because I  would  see  it  in  a  whole different  light.  I  feel  that  way  about The  Curry  Club  by  Risha  Krishna.  The  story is  a  series  of  vignettes  about an  Indian  girl and  a  Latina  girl  growing  up  in  southern  California  in  the  80s.  Both girls  are  struggling with  being  proud  of  their culture,  but also  with the  knowledge  that they  don’t want to  be  trapped  by  their  culture. While  I  didn’t  have  the  same  cultural  issues  that  the  girls  had , I  found that  each chapter  reminded me of feelings  and  a  lot of  the confusion  I  felt  growing up.   It  was also a very  clear  reflection of how I might  look to a  teenager/child. 

Ms  Krishna  spoke  to  a  full house yesterday afternoon  at the  library.She  gave us insights  in to  the  origins of  her book .  She  teased  the  audience  with  snippets  from  her book and hinted at how  much  of  the story  might be  true.

There is a  recent  article  in the Tri City Voice interviewing Ms. Krishna, which will tell you more about the book and give you a hint of her voice. ( plus it mentions her next speaking engagement at Half Price books)

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Read to Succeed (and get ahead. . . this summer)

GREAT PROGRAM AT FREMONT MAIN LIBRARY THIS SUMMER

Wednesday June 8^th at noon                Sign-Ups Begin for Read to Succeed!

Sign-ups begin for Read to Succeed!, a free summer program staffed by high school students who will be helping children in grades 1 – 7 improve their reading skills. Classes are Mondays and Thursdays and students are expected to attend all sessions. Sign-ups begin on Wednesday June 8 by either coming to the Children’s Desk or  calling our desk at  510-745-1421. Parents are required to attend an orientation meeting or your child could be dropped from the program.
Thursday June 23^rd   MANDATORY Parent Orientation for Read to Succeed!

Orientation for Read to Succeed!, Parents are required to attend an orientation meeting. If your last name begins with A – L, please attend the 1:30 pm parent orientation. If your last name begins with M – Z, please attend the 2:30 pm parent orientation. Children are not required to attend this meeting.

The Read to Succeed program will begin on Monday,  June 27^th and will run every Monday and Thursday until August 18^th.

 

Contact: Children’s Information Desk (510) 745-1421
Location: FREMONT BRANCH – Get Directions

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Book Club

Attention 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders! Our Tween Page Turners Book Group is going to be meeting on the 4^th Wednesday of the month, beginning today! If you love to read and discuss books you’ve read with other tweens, this is the group for you. We meet once a month in Conference Room A, from 4-5 pm. You must register in advance for the group at the Children’s Desk, where you will receive a copy of this month’s book and some questions to consider for our discussion. If you have any questions about the group, please contact Mary Ayers at:  mcayers@aclibrary.org or call (510) 745-1408.

This month we read a variety of advanced reader’s copies. Stop by the meeting to sign up for next month’s book, or stop by the Children’s Desk after today (5/25/11).

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A New Way to Garden?

I recently read about an innovation in container gardening.  Container gardening is totally new to me, let alone the innovation.  However, it sure sounds very intriguing and certainly worth exploring.  I can grow my own fruits and vegetables in pots and planters and not worry about yard space. 

The innovations are in self-watering containers.  Innovative self-watering systems use capillary action to pull water up from the bottom of a container to a plant’s roots, vis-à-vis typical container gardening where water moves down into the soil to a plant’s roots before draining out holes in the bottom of the container.  There are books in the library to help me learn more:

 

Incredible vegetables from self-watering containers / Edward C. Smith

Smith, Edward C. (Edward Clarke), 1941- North Adams, MA : Storey Pub., c2006

Fremont Main – 635.986 SMITH –

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Rocking the Market !

Are you an active investor but do not have enough expert market analysis that you can rely on?

Just stop by the Fremont Main Library and go the 2^nd Floor Reference Desk and ask for Value Line. We have both the Blue Chip stocks and the Mid-Cap and Small Cap stocks volumes. You will get an industry outlook and a handy analysis for each company including a forecast of the company’s performance for the next two to five years.

In addition, you can access Morningstar online for mutual fund analysis and portfolio tools. Just go  www.aclibrary.org and use the drop down menu under Research. Choose A-Z Resources, then click on the M and you will see Morningstar on the bottom of the page. You will need an Alameda County Library card to access the data from home.

 Are you an investor? Great! Just come to the 2^nd Floor of the Fremont Main Library and ask for these newsletters:

 The Elliott Wave has a monthly financial forecast and analysis of the market.

 Hulbert’s Financial Digest gives you a market sentiment index, a fund scoreboard, and a monthly analysis of the market.

 No Load FundX  Newsletter – lists all kinds of no load funds and their performance.

 The Prudent Speculator has a portfolio builder, recommends stocks, and provides market performance on investments.

 See you soon!

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Children’s New Addition

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Thanks to Natasha Nema, Raymond Acosta and Christina Ho in Mrs. Miller’s English class at Thornton Junior High School.  They came to the library and donated their “dragon”, the by-product of their book report on one of the classic historical fictions and a 1976 Newbery Honor book Dragonwings by Laurence Yep.

The Dragon is well made and loved by the librarians, and many of the young children and their families.  Just come and visit and say “Hello” to the Dragon.

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