Happy Birthday, Mark Twain!

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, was born November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri (did you know there was a Florida in Missouri? I didn't until just now). He spent most of his formative years in the nearby town of Hannibal, on the Mississippi River, and took his famous nom de plume from the steamboatmen's term for two fathoms of water. Clemens had little formal education, but in my not-always-humble opinion, he has few peers among American writers, and perhaps no equal.

We have several of Twain's novels available in the library in both print and e-book formats, including (again, in my opinion) his greatest work, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This novel is a profound indictment of slavery, racial and social injustice and societal hypocrisy, as well as just being a darn good story. (It's also a frequent target of censorship).

Maybe sometime during these next couple of weeks, you might have the urge to make like Tom Sawyer and play hooky. While I don't advocate blowing off your finals (or faking your own death, like Tom did), a few minutes with Twain may prove a great stress relief. I advise going beyond the required-reading Twain novels you've been assigned in English classes over the years, and check out some of his more obscure work (a favorite of mine: The Diaries of Adam and Eve, [PS1301 .A1 1971] on the third floor of the library).

Twain famously predicted his own death, joking that as Halley's Comet had appeared during his birth year, he should die the next time the comet came around. In 1909, he wrote,

"I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: "Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together."

Twain passed away on April 21, 1910 in Redding, Connecticut.

Source for biographical information: NoveList

Happy Thanksgiving

The Hill Freeman Library & Spruill Learning Center is thankful for all Reinhardt students, faculty and staff who pass through our doors.

We will close today at 2 pm in honor of the holiday and reopen at 2 pm on Sunday. We wish all of you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving.

(The picture is from Daily Life America. I found it in a very fascinating article that tells about the true origins of the holiday. It's probably not what you were taught in kindergarten. Intrigued? Check it out for yourselves. I am grateful to have so many online resources at my fingertips through my job at the library, and thankful for the chance to share them with you through this forum)!

IN THE NEWS: Cartersville's Daily Tribune Nov. 23, 2009

Thanks to Marie Nesmith and The Daily Tribune News of Cartersville, GA, for an OUTSTANDING article on Don Wesley-Brown and the Triplett Memorial Military History Collection!

Read the article here.

Did you know...?

...that you can suggest books and media for the library to add to its collection?

You can find a suggestion form on our library homepage. Let us know what you'd like to see on our shelves!

Have you perused our Leisure Reading collection on the second floor lately? This collection is continually being changed and updated. We recently got in several new books, including the latest by Jodi Picoult and Joel Osteen, and in the "posthumous" category, the last book by George Carlin and the newest chapter in the Wheel of Time series.

Maybe you'd like to pick up a novel for Thanksgiving break, in case you need a respite from too many relatives, or an escape from all that studying I know you'll be doing...

"Year Of" Movie TODAY at 2 pm: "Soldier Blue"

Today's offering in our Year of North American Indigenous Peoples film series is the graphic 1970 film Soldier Blue by director Ralph Nelson.

This film was the first motion picture account of one of the most tragic and infamous incidents in the history of the American West: the massacre of an entire village of Cheyenne and Arapaho by the Colorado militia in 1864. The movie was released during America's involvement in Vietnam, shortly after the events of the My Lai massacre were made public.

Posters in theater lobbies during showings of Soldier Blue warned patrons of the film's "controversial and devastating" subject matter. The film was also unusually graphic for its time in its explicit depiction of violence, including close-up shots of bullets ripping into flesh.

Soldier Blue will be shown at 2 pm today in the theater at the Funk Heritage Center.

Happy 81st birthday to my favorite rodent

Entertainment icon Mickey Mouse made his "talking picture" debut on November 18, 1928 in an animated short called Steamboat Willie. His trademark squeaky voice was provided by Walt Disney himself.

I actually got to see Steamboat Willie for the first time a couple of months ago when I went to the Walt Disney World resort, and I must say the little mouse has held up pretty well!

There's an incredible article by M. Thomas Inge about Mickey Mouse in American Icons: an Encyclopedia of the People, Places and Things that have Shaped Our Culture, edited by Dennis R. and Susan Grove Hall. Our library has access to this work through the Pop Culture Universe database; Reinhardt folks can read it here. This article looks at the mouse from a sociological perspective, examining both the societal influences on Mickey's creation (was his appearance really based on a stereotypical character from a minstrel show?) and the influences Mickey himself has had on world culture (did you know that in China the folk figure of the Monkey King has been depicted with Mickey's face)? Just one of the many titillating revelations in the piece: Walt Disney apparently admitted that he loved Mickey Mouse more than any woman he'd ever known!

Check it out!

Speaker Today in the Library @3pm!

Today at 3:00 pm on the third floor of the library, James Melton of Emory University will present "From Salzburg to Savannah: A Pietist Utopia in Colonial Georgia, 1734-1776."

A brief bio of Dr. Melton from the Emory web site follows:

"His last book, The Rise of the Public in Enlightenment Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2001), is a work of comparative synthesis focusing on England and France as well as the German-speaking territories. As the first book-length, critical reassessment of what Jürgen Habermas termed the “bourgeois public sphere,” it builds on Professor Melton’s longstanding interest in absolutism and political culture in early modern Europe. His earlier book, Absolutism and the Eighteenth-Century Origins of Compulsory Schooling in Prussia and Austria (Cambridge University Press, 1988), was awarded the Biennial Book Prize by the Central European Conference Group of the American Historical Association. His edited works include Pietism in Germany and North America, 1680-1820 (co-editor), (Ashgate Publishing, 2009), Cultures of Communication from Reformation to Enlightenment: Constructing Publics in the Early Modern German Lands (Ashgate, 2002); Paths of Continuity: German Historical Scholarship from the 1920s to the 1960s (Cambridge University Press, 1994); and a translation (with Howard Kaminsky) of Otto Brunner, Land and Lordship: Structures of Governance in Medieval Austria (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992).

More recently his interests have turned to the Atlantic World, notably German migrations to North America in the eighteenth century. In 2008 he received an NEH Research Fellowship for his project on the transatlantic migration of Salzburg Protestants to the Georgia colony in 1734. Fleeing their alpine homeland as part of the largest expulsion of a religious minority in eighteenth-century Europe, a small band of Salzburgers founded a utopian Pietist community on the Savannah River that for a time was the most successful settlement in colonial Georgia. The book, Migrations of Conscience in the Old World and the New: From Alpine Valley to Colonial Lowcountry, addresses questions of interest to European and colonial historians alike. How did clandestine religious minorities resist or accommodate efforts to impose confessional uniformity? What led some exiles to seek refuge across the Atlantic when other options were available in Europe? Once in North America, how did a previously isolated alpine folk react to the rapidly expanding institution of slavery? What attitudes toward race did they import from their European homeland, and how did these views lead them to oppose slavery?

Some recent or forthcoming articles: “New Perspectives on Germans in the Atlantic World,” "Otto Brunner und die ideologischen Ursprünge von Begriffsgeschichte," (2009); "From Alpine Miner to Lowcountry Yeoman: Transatlantic Worlds of a Georgia Salzburger, 1693-1761,” Past and Present 200, no. 2 (2008); “Confessional Power and the Power of Confession: Concealing and Revealing the Faith in Alpine Salzburg, 1730–34," in H.C. Scott and Brendan Simms, eds., Cultures of Power in Europe during the the Long Eighteenth Century (Cambridge University Press, 2007).

This date in history: Elizabethan Age Begins

"It is the Lord's doing, and it is wonderful in our eyes.--Psalms 118:23, quoted by Queen Elizabeth I of England upon hearing of her accession to the throne.

On November 17, 1558, at 6:00 in the morning, the English Queen Mary I died at St. James Palace in London. Parliament convened and by 8:00 decided that Mary's half-sister Princess Elizabeth should succeed her. Mary and Elizabeth, the daughters of King Henry VIII by his first and second wives, Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, respectively, had had a troubled relationship for the five years of Mary's reign. Mary, like her mother, was a devout Catholic and had earned the nickname "Bloody Mary" for her intense anti-Protestant legislation. Some of her Protestant subjects attempted to overthrow her and put Elizabeth on the throne, leading Mary to arrest Elizabeth and put her in the Tower of London on suspicion of complicity in the plot. However, on her deathbed, Mary accepted that Elizabeth would inherit her throne.

Queen Elizabeth I, known as the Virgin Queen because she refused to marry and share power with a husband, reigned for 44 years, bringing stability to the country and seeing the emergence of England as a world power. Her reign coincided with the flowering of the English Renaissance and has been called the "Golden Age" of England.

We have several good works available in the library about Elizabeth I, including the splendid biography by Alison Weir [DA355.W36 1999], some of the Queen's own writings [DA350.A25 2000], several historical novels and the 1998 Polygram Entertainment film starring Cate Blanchett (trailer below courtesy of Youtube). You can also read more about her accession in this article from History Today, which I found in our World History Collection database.

One man's gift to benefit "generations" of scholars

The Hill Freeman Library & Spruill Learning Center has exciting news to share! We recently received a generous git of over 5,000 materials--books, artwork, historical artifacts, maps, media and more--from a single donor. Mr. Don Wesley-Brown of Bartow County, a veteran of the 101st Airborne and a lifelong military history collector, has given his incredible collection to us. It will be called the Triplett Memorial Military History Collection, and will be given a place of honor in our library.

Appropriately, the library held a presentation of the collection on Veterans' Day, in honor of all who have served in our country's armed forces, and in special appreciation of Mr. Brown and his generous gift. Mr. Brown, who often speaks to groups on his favorite topic, the American Civil War, gave a short talk about how his interest in military history evolved, and how he began collecting.

Although he was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a city he describes as a "living Civil War museum," Brown said he didn't fully appreciate its history while he was growing up.

"I lived on Missionary Ridge, where I believe the true turning point of the war took place," Brown admitted, "but when you grow up in a place, you tend to take it for granted." While Brown's interest in military history had not yet kindled, his interest in books and reading certainly had. Brown described himself as the kind of kid who "always lived in the library."

Brown enlisted in the military in order to pay for college, but his real interest in military history was sparked when he saw Ken Burns' acclaimed documentary on the Civil War. This doesn't mean he was exactly a fan of Burns' work.

"The political correctness of it made me want to throw a brick through the television," Brown said. He had a feeling there was more to the story than what Ken Burns described, so he started researching the war for himself. Buying and books about the war soon became a passion.

"If you want to know the truth, about 95% of these books were bought when I really couldn't afford them," he said. "But I went through a book every three or four days."

Naturally, Brown began to wonder if any of his own ancestors had fought in the war. When he researched his family name "Triplett," he found over 200 Tripletts had fought in the war (on both sides, although Brown quipped that he tries to play down his Yankee relatives). Through further research, Brown discovered that the Tripletts hailed from Mt. Vernon, Virginia, and were one of 13 families personally invited to attend the funeral of President George Washington.

"So I got interested in Washington and the Revolutionary War," Brown said. "Then I found out there had been a Triplett in the armed forces in every war from the French and Indian War to the present time." In other words, the story of his family was in a way the story of America's military history and the story of America itself. Brown was well and truly hooked on his subject.

One day, Brown said, he looked around his house and saw how many books he had stored in boxes, and realized that his collection should be somewhere it could be used. A chance drive through Waleska gave him the powerful feeling that he had found the perfect new home for his beloved collection.

"This is a great treasure," a guest at the Veterans' Day program announced, to murmured agreement from those assembled.

Reinhardt College President Dr. Isherwood thanked Brown on behalf of "the generations and generations and generations that will learn from your life's work."

"There is no greater gift that you can give to these generations," Dr. Isherwood said.

Right now practically every member of the library staff, including student workers, are busily working on getting Mr. Brown's incredible donation processed and ready for the shelves. We have boxes stacked five high and four deep, and Brown joked that more may be forthcoming.

"Unfortunately," he said, "I'm still in the habit of buying books! So just set another shelf aside for me, because I'll be coming back with more."

THANK YOU, MR. BROWN!!!!!! We are all extremely grateful to you!

Triplett Memorial Military History Collection donor Don Wesley-Brown addresses a Veterans' Day assembly at the Hill Freeman Library & Spruill Learning Center.
Reinhardt College President Thomas Isherwood chats with Mr. Wesley-Brown after his remarks. Dr. Isherwood thanked Wesley-Brown on behalf of the "generations and generations and generations" of Reinhardt students who will benefit from this generous gift.
Library director Michael Martinez studies an original map of the Chickamauga Battlefield, one of the approximately 5,000 items Don Wesley-Brown has donated to the collection.
A World War I-era song book used by soldiers in the US Army, part of the Triplett Memorial Military History collection donated by Mr. Wesley-Brown.
Technical services librarian Joel Langford discusses the new collection with a patron.
Library patrons peruse some of the items in the Triplett Memorial Military History Collection.

"Year Of.." Movie TODAY at the Funk: "Little Big Man"

Greetings Reinhardt! Today's "Year of North American Indigenous Peoples" film will be the 1970 classic Little Big Man starring Dustin Hoffman as "either the most neglected hero in history or a liar of insane proportion!"

Hoffman plays Jack "Little Big Man" Crabb, a 111-year-old man on his deathbed relating the tale of his life (told in flashback) to a historian. His incredible life story includes being raised as a member of the Cheyenne tribe, a gunslinger, a sidekick of Wild Bill Hickock, and a scout for General Custer. As a Caucasian boy adopted by the Cheyenne, Crabb is in a unique position to view both cultures.

This film combines satiric comedy and drama, and serves as a social commentary about prejudice and injustice. It is also considered one of the anti-establishment films of the era, portraying members of the US Military as villains in order to protest American involvement in the Vietnam War. Director Arthur Penn has commented that elements in the film were comments on American genocide, similar to the Holocaust.

Chief Dan George was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Old Lodge Skins, Little Big Man's adoptive father.

As with all of the films in our "Year Of" series, Little Big Man will be shown at 2 pm in the theatre at the Funk Heritage Center on campus. Library director and "Year Of" chairman Michael Martinez will be on hand to offer commentary and answer questions.

Remember, our "Year Of" contest is ongoing! See any "Year Of" film or read any "Year Of" book, write a brief review, and send it to Karen Preslock at kp1@reinhardt.edu. Each month one winner will be chosen to receive a "Year Of" t-shirt and a 4-gig flash drive. A second-place winner will also be chosen to win a t-shirt. ALL PARTICIPANTS (you can even enter more than once) will be entered into a drawing at the end of the year for a Nintendo Wii. The more times you enter, the better your chances are of winning! Good luck!

11:00, 11/11

Why 11/11?

There is an excellent article on the history of Armistice Day/Veterans Day in the Encyclopedia of American Holidays and National Days by Len Travers, which we have here courtesy of Daily Life Online. November 11 marks the anniversary of the end of World War I.

"On the morning of November 11, 1918 the German government signed an armistice with Britain and France that called for the end of the war on the eleventh hour. In the morning, the war continued, but at 11:00 the guns fell silent."

Congress made Armistice Day an official federal holiday in 1938 (on the eve of World War II), but many Americans privately observed the date in the '20s and '30s by pausing for a moment of silence at the eleventh hour. On November 11, 1922, President Warren G. Harding lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This became a presidential tradition. ("Year Of" tidbit: Before the tomb was sealed, Crow leader Plenty Coups offered a traditional blessing for the souls of the unknown).

1n 1954, Armistice Day was offically renamed Veterans Day to honor the veterans of all American wars, not just of World War I.

Do not forget to join us today at the library at 1 pm for a special Veterans Day remembrance and the preview of the new Triplett Memorial Military History Collection!

Thank you to all of our Veterans and to those now serving.

New Hiltonian Posted

Hello all! Just wanted to let you know there is a new issue of Reinhardt's online student newspaper The Hiltonian. This blogger reads it all the time to catch up with "you kids." Check it out...

Come to our Veterans' Day observance at 1 pm TODAY

More about the Berlin Wall for all you post-Cold War kids...

We have a number of excellent resources at the library about the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall, including the documentary When the Wall Came Tumbling Down: 50 Hours That Changed the World [DD881 .W53 1999]. But for my money, nothing tells the story as powerfully as the children's book The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis [JUV 921 SIS]. This remarkable book combines bold, densely-packed illustrations, photographs and text to tell the story of the author's childhood in Cold War-era Prague. This powerful book took my breath away. Thank you, Karen, for recommending it to me. We should never, ever forget.

Berlin Wall--courtesy of YouTube...

And one more, from yesterday: Lech Walesa--the first elected President (1990-1995) of the Republic of Poland--starts the fall of over 1,000 8-foot tall dominoes where the wall once stood:

Also, happy 40th birthday to...

Yes, Sesame Street premiered on November 10, 1969. Personally, I intend to observe this date in history with milk and COOKIES.
(Image courtesy of Pop Culture Universe)

Two MAJOR events in the library this week...

TODAY from 2-4 pm on the third floor of the library, we will have GRAFFITI FOR FREEDOM to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. You are invited to come and decorate a "piece of the Wall" and learn about why this date is so significant.

Also, from 3:20 to 4 pm there will be an informational meeting about Reinhardt's Study Abroad program and next summer's trip to Central Europe!

Tomorrow (11/11) is Veterans' Day, and the library is holding a celebration to thank and honor all those who have served our country, and one man in particular. We recently received a tremendous and generous donation of approximately 5,000 materials--including books, art, media, maps and flags--from a single collector, Mr. Don Brown of Cartersville. Mr. Brown served in the armed forces for over 13 years as a member of the 101st Airborne. He has spent the past two decades amassing his collection of books on US military history, with a particular concentration on Civil War history. At 1:00 pm tomorrow we will be making a presentation of the Don Brown history collection to the library and the college. Please come out to view a selection of the donated materials and meet Mr. Brown in person. We would love to have everyone come out and offer their thanks to him for his service to the country and for his generosity to Reinhardt College!

(Image of the Berlin Wall courtesy of the library at Mississippi State University)

This date in "Year Of" history...

On November 9, 1875, Indian Inspector E.C. Watkins submitted a report to Washington DC, stating that hundreds of Sioux and Cheyenne associated with Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were "hostile" to the United States. The government responded with an order that the Native Americans "be informed that they must remove to a reservation before the 31st of January, 1876" or else they would be "turned over to the War Department for punishment."

Of course, since this decree was issued in November, by the time couriers delivered the message to these "hostile Indians" it was already winter. The government expected the Sioux to travel approximately 200 hundred miles across frozen ground with no provisions for themselves or grass for their ponies (or maybe they didn't expect it at all). When the Sioux missed their deadline, the matter was turned over to the War Department. In March of 1876, General Philip Sheridan ordered in the troops. Among the officers leading the forced removal? General George Armstrong Custer.

(Source: history.com. In photograph: Chief Sitting Bull)

Remember. remember

Remember, remember the fifth of November, the treasonous Gunpowder Plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot...

Over four centuries have passed, and they're still holding a bit of a grudge against Guy Fawkes... Religious extremism and terrorism in 17th century England, and now it's an excuse for a party...

"Year Of" Movie today: "I Will Fight No More Forever," 2 pm at the Funk

Today's Year of North American Indigenous Peoples movie offering is the 1975 film "I Will Fight No More Forever," starring Ned Romero as Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce. The Nez Perce nation lived in the Wallowa Valley of Idaho and Oregon. When President Grant opened the Valley to white settlement, the Nez Perce were given only 30 days to move to a reservation. Chief Joseph had promised his father on his deathbed that he would not allow his people to lose their land. ("A man who would not defend his father's grave is no worse than an animal," Chief Joseph said).

The army was sent to force the removal. Chief Joseph and his people managed to evade the pursuing units for 108 days, finally surrendering when his starving, outnumbered band was too weak to continue.

On October 8, 1877, Chief Joseph supposedly made his famous speech. "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever." (There has been some debate whether or not he actually spoke those words, but they are an indelible part of his legend). For his principles and his conduct, Chief Joseph has become renowned as a humanitarian and a peacemaker. For the rest of his life, he spoke out against injustice and worked to improve the lives of his people. Chief Joseph died in 1904. According to his physician, the cause of death was "a broken heart."

The movie also stars James Whitmore, as the leader of the federal troops pursuing Joseph, and Sam Elliott.

All "Year Of" movies are shown in the theater of the Funk Heritage Center on campus.

King Tut...how'd you get so funky?

THIS DATE IN HISTORY.. On November 4, 1922, a water carrier employed by archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the steps that led to the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun--better known these days by the nickname "King Tut." The unusually well-preserved tomb made Tut a sensation. Ironically, while King Tut is now one of the most famous of the Egyptian pharoahs, there is evidence that he had fallen out of favor among his contemporaries. Those who came after him tried to suppress his memory and wipe out his cult. As a result, the tomb was lost and forgotten. The theory suggests that grave robbers couldn't find Tut, and that is why his tomb was so well preserved. Those who tried to banish the young king's memory may have helped him become more popular than ever!

We have a lot of good books on King Tut, his tomb and its discovery. Check out Treasures of Tutankhamun [DT87.5, on the third floor] or the ebook Howard Carter: The Path to Tutankhamun by T.G.H. James, available from both eBrary and NetLibrary. King Tut is also featured in the A&E series Mummies Tales From the Egyptian Crypts, available in our media section.

Resource for voice students

Vocalists, especially opera singers, are often called upon to perform songs in many different languages. As it's impractical to attain fluency in every language, singers often learn to pronounce the words phonetically. Of course, it also helps to know what you're singing about.

Now the library has a good resource to help voice students prepare pieces in many different languages. IPA Source is now available through the Hill Freeman Library & Spruill Learning Center. This database contains pronunciation guides for several languages. Selected songs are presented with the lyrics, their pronunciation guide in the International Phonetic Alphabet, and the English translation. Check it out!

Dead Man's Party: Feliz Dia de los Muertos

Hola! I hope everyone had a fun and safe weekend.

Today is one of my favorite foreign holidays, although it is gaining popularity in the United States. It is the Day of the Dead.

When it comes to honoring and remembering our lost loved ones, I think the Mexicans have the right idea. When I go, I hope those who cared about me in life will still invite me to a party every now and again.

There is an excellent and very thorough article by Cynthia D. Bertelsen on the Day of the Dead. It appears in the book Entertaining from Ancient Rome to the Super Bowl, and is available through the library in the database Daily Life Online. I highly recommend it.