Event: Spring Open House Fund Raiser
What: Fundraiser
Time: Sunday, May 16 at 12:00pm-4:00 pm
Where: D&D Farm 6000 Creasy Springs Road
To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
Event: Spring Open House Fund Raiser
What: Fundraiser
Time: Sunday, May 16 at 12:00pm-4:00 pm
Where: D&D Farm 6000 Creasy Springs Road
To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
The Black Studies Program
–presents–
Giants of Black Thought
An Exhibition of Poster Presentations
by Spring 2010 Introduction to Black Studies Students
(Dr. David L. Brunsma)
Opening: Tuesday, May 04, 2010, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Ellis Library, Room 202
Come see our students’ work and enjoy light refreshments
The students explore the following Giants
If you are unable to attend the opening ceremonies, the exhibit will be on display for two weeks in Library 202
Ellen Louis Blair was born right here in Columbia, Mo., and works in the MU Libraries Administrative Office. Ellen currently serves as an Administrative Associate II, and has worked for MU Libraries for 35 years. She jokingly says she graduated from the College of Common Sense.
Ellen has two cats, Pebbles and Diego. “I rescued Diego in October from the side of the highway in morning rush hour traffic, when he was about 6 weeks old.”
Ellen’s hobbies include embroidery and sewing, and the coolest place she thinks she’s ever visited is the Rocky Mountains.
The best person to portray her in a movie, In Ellen’s opinion, is Judy Garland.
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Julie A. Rogers, Assistant Head of Security at Ellis Library, was born in Michigan and has been with MU Libraries for not quite two years.
Julie owns two dogs and one cat, and enjoys tennis and gardening.
Julie believes the coolest place she has ever visited is New York City and would love to have Sandra Bullock portray her in a movie.
Harold Alan Jones was born in Tywappity Township, Mississippi County, Missouri. Alan works in the Catalog Dept. and holds a BS in Spanish from MU. He has worked for MU Libraries for a total of 35 years, if you include his student days.
Alan owns (or is owned by) three cats: Curbie, Hyacinth and Mulder. In his leisure time he enjoys listening to opera, reading and hiking. Alan’s hobbies include politics, Roman history, food, movies and travel. Some day he hopes to visit the town of Kelso, Scotland, where his mother’s family came from.
Alan feels the coolest place he has ever visited is the Utah desert.
When asked who should portray him in a movie of his life, Alan replied, “Some say I look like Sean Connery, but I would choose my favorite forgotten actor, Richard Carlson (White Cargo, Creature from the Black Lagoon).
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Deborah Dianne (Debbie) Melvin hails is originally from Fulton, Missouri and works in Ellis Interlibrary Loan. She is a graduate of Hickman High School and the School of Tomorrow Accelerated Christian Education Supervisory Training, and has worked for MU Libraries for 8 years.
Debbie is a twin, and was president of her 6th grade class. She proclaims “I used to drag race up and down Business Loop 70 not so very long ago.”
Debbie’s hobbies include watching her grandchildren and NASCAR, and she has written a short story which has been published.
Debbie thinks the coolest place she has ever been is Merrimac Caverns and her opinion of who would best portray her in a movie is divided: “Sometimes Jerry Lewis, sometimes Ginger Rogers, sometimes Katharine Hepburn.”
In closing, Debbie told us: “My relationship with God is of utmost importance to me, as well as my relationship with my husband.”
I would bet that very few of the following get taught academically in courses on the novel. They tend not to fit in.
Gerald Hanley – Noble Descents
Alexander Kielland – Skipper Worse
Rebecca West – The Birds Fall Down
Eden Philpotts – Children of the Mist
Henry Adams – Democracy
Brian Moore – The Emperor of Ice Cream; The Statement; The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (the last of these is tough to read because it is such an unsparing depiction of a very bleak life)
Mario Puzo – The Fortunate Pilgrim
Sue Kaufman – Diary Of a Mad Housewife
Kathryn Hulme – The Nun’s Story
Joseph Hergesheimer – Tampico
Jose Maria Gironella – The Cypresses Believe in God (about the Spanish Civil War; with 3 sequels, the last of which hasn’t, I think, been translated into English)
Uwe Johnson – Speculations About Jakob
John Lanchester – Mr. Phillips
George Borrow – Lavengro (continued by The Romany Rye)
Lew Wallace – Ben Hur
Some famous writers have less well known works that are outstanding; somehow they get overlooked:
Dostoyevsky – The Insulted And Injured
Henry Fielding – Amelia
Henry James – The Tragic Muse
Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Marble Faun
There are also some very good unfinished works of fiction by famous writers:
Jane Austen – Sanditon
Alexander Pushkin – DUBROVSKY
Dickens – The Mystery Of Edwin Drood
Albert Camus – The First Man
In concluding, let me purloin some books from the category of popular or genre fiction. You probably wouldn’t want to call them “great,” but I’m very glad that I didn’t miss them:
Eugene Manlove Rhodes – Paso Por Aqui
Robert Cormier – The Chocolate War
Edith Pargeter – Reluctant Odyssey (What am I doing recommending this on its own, when it’s the second of a trilogy? Because I read it on its own.)
Mary Pat Kelly – Special Intentions
John Meade Falkner – The Nebuly Coat
Pearl Newbrogh was born in Moberly, Mo., works in Technical Services in the J. Otto Lottes Health SciencesLibrary, and has worked for MU Libraries for 18 years. Pearl graduated from Moberly High School and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Truman State University.
Pearl owns (or is owned by) three dogs and a cat. “Two of the dogs are black Labrador Retrievers. They are both 6 years old and their names are Shadow and Hershey. The other dog is a Pekehund (Pekingese/Dachshund mix). His name is Hamlet and he is three years old. My cat’s name is Georgie. He is my oldest at 18 years old. I adopted all my “furry kids” from people wanting to give them away. I’ve had Shadow since she was 3 months old. Hamlet, who was adopted from the Humane Society, was a Christmas gift from my husband. Hershey really adopted us. Some neighborhood kids brought her to our door thinking she was our other black lab, Shadow. She introduced herself by sitting down at my feet and extending her paw to shake hands with me. We were fast friends from that point forward. My husband and I tracked down her owners who gladly gave her to us as she was a deviant who kept escaping from her pen! “
In her leisure time Pearl loves to read, craft cards, cook and bake. “I love to sing. I’m a member of the choir at my church.” Pearl also spends a lot of her free time helping with various committees and projects at her church. One of Pearl’s hobbies is baseball spectatorship. “I am a St. Louis Cardinals fan. My husband is a Chicago Cubs fan. (I know, sad isn’t it …?) This makes the Cardinals vs. Cubs games very interesting at my house.”
Pearl admits that she has not had much opportunity to travel yet, but she loves to visit Chicago because “it is an amazing city and there is so much to see and do!”
Asked who should portray her in a movie, Pearl told us: “I think my life is interesting, but hardly movie worthy. I’m really not sure who I would want to portray me.”
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Sheena U. Waggoner, Ellis Library Administrative Offices, was born in Poplar Bluff, Mo. and has worked for MU Libraries since June of 2008. Sheena holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s in Human Resources. She is currently studying for her Ph.D. in Education Psychology.
Sheena has no pets, and in her leisure time she babysits her grandson. She explains “my grandson is my pride and joy, and I love taking care of him.” Sheena’s hobbies include planting flowers in spring, people watching and going to the movies if she can afford to take a study break.
Sheena believes the coolest place she has ever been is Germany, “and while there I was able to tour old little German towns, and visit the local pubs where they introduced me to German ale, and the word ‘brosch’”
Sheena would like to see Angela Bassett play her in a movie, and leaves us with this closing thought: “I really love working at the Library it has given me the opportunity to meet some wonderful people.”
Kristopher Lee Anstine, born in Sedalia, Mo., has worked for University Archives for 5 years. He graduated High School in Smithton, Mo., then spent two years at Westminster College in Fulton and took basic and intermediate Russian courses at Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif, Kris achieved and AA degree for State Fair Community College in Sedalia and a BA in Interntional Studies (European) from the University of Missouri—Columbia. While he was a student at UMC Kris worked in the Physical Processing Unit.
Kris loves animals, but his current lease does not allow him to have pets.
In his leisure time, Kris enjoys reading science fiction/fantasy, historical fiction, classics, but does not limit himself to those genres. One of his favorite authors is Bernard Cornwell. Kris likes to cook and bakes “a mean pie.” Having recently read Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Kris is interested in researching sustainable and local agriculture. And, he reiterates, he likes to read.
Hobbies include cooking and reading foreign language materials, cultural subject matter, world religions and geography. “I speak a little bit of a lot of different languages, and am more or less fluent in several. My brother and I are researching building our own straw-bale house.” Kris also likes to listen to jazz, standards, classic rock and old-school country.
Where is the coolest place Kris has been? “Plzeň, Czech Republic, birthplace of Pilsner beer.”
Asked who should portray him in a movie of his life, Kris replied: “I once had someone tell me I looked like John Lithgow in the movie “Buckaroo Bonzai”; I still don’t know if that was intended as a compliment.”
Anything else? “I’m a closet James Taylor fan… and I was in glee club in high school…”
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Gena Scott, of the Libraries Development Office, was born in Mexico, Mo. She has worked for MU for over 12 years and at MU Libraries for over 8 years. Gena holds a Bachelor of Educational Studies and Master’s degree in Educational and Counseling Psychology from MU; and is currently working on “what I hope will be a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis.”
The animals in Gena’s life include a dog named Carson and two cats—Ernie and Versace.
In her leisure time, Gena enjoys reading and watching movies, traveling with her family, swimming and knitting. Hobbies include quirky movies and U.S. history. “I have 5 adult children (3 are stepdaughters) and 4 step grandchildren and I enjoy being involved in their lives.”
The coolest place Gena has ever been is Germany. “The castles are wonderful.
Who should Gena like to portray her in a movie? “Kermit the Frog.”
Gena left us with one final comment: “I love working for the MU Libraries. I get to meet a lot of interesting and intelligent individuals.”
Have a good meal and help the Haitian relief effort:
All profit (price of meal minus cost of food and beverages) from all sales during lunch and dinner at Bleu Restaurant & Wine Bar on Tuesday January 19 will be donated to Florida 1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team, currently deployed to the Haiti earthquake disaster. See www.floridaonedmat.com
Bleu will feature an all-Aitian menu, including traditional vegetarian, pork, fish and chicken dishes.
Call 573-442-8220 to make your reservation.
All good mysteries are works that non-mystery lovers can enjoy. They are good works of fiction, by good writers, that happen to be mysteries. They deal with an event that arouses our vicarious adrenalin—the perpetration of evil. Yet they are “entertainments,” as Graham Greene would say. At least the ones I like are.
To me there are three basic kinds of mysteries: romance, naturalistic, and puzzle. In “romance” (in the literary use of the term), you have heroes and heroines outwitting and overcoming villains—and often something romantic does develop, as a bonus to the crime-solving. And it’s always romantic to have a personality of high quality, that people admire, to identify with. In naturalistic works (hard-boiled, police procedural, noir), the emphasis is on bleakness and toughness. Puzzle mysteries are like written-out crossword puzzles; locked-room mysteries are classic examples.
For a mystery to be an entertainment, it pretty much has to have interesting characters and situations and an enjoyable atmosphere. So most good mysteries, in my view, are what I have called “romances.”
Here is a list (incomplete) of mysteries I have liked:
Some comments:
Raymond Postgate – Verdict Of Twelve
Ellis Peters – Fallen Into the Pit
Patricia Wentworth – Rolling Stone (a great villainess)
Michael Gilbert – The Doors Open; Game Without Rules
Josephine Tey – The Franchise Affair
Nicholas Blake (pen-name of the father of Daniel Day-Lewis) – The Smiler with the Knife
Margery Allingham – Dancers in Mourning; The Fear Sign; The Mind Readers
Dorothy Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh – Thrones, Dominations
Andrew Taylor – An Old School Tie
Ngaio Marsh – Night at the Vulcan
Patricia Moyes – Falling Star
Rex Stout – Too Many Cooks
Peter Lovesey – The House Sitter
Dick Francis – Banker; Reflex
Simon Brett – Dead Giveaway (alcoholic actor as blundering amateur detective)
Emma Lathen – Banking on Murder
P. D. James – Unsuitable Job for a Woman
I think Allingham’s Albert Campion is easily better than Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey. The only Sayers work that I like very much was finished by another writer years after Sayers was dead.
Dick Francis’s heroes tend to be unbearable—self-pitying and self-absorbed and yet altruistic and ultra-courageous, and obviously made of bones and ligaments of steel, since they survive brutal punishment that would pulverize most people—even Tiger Woods. Yet, at his best he rises above this handicap.
I’ve read several of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe novels. They seem so much alike that I don’t see much point in reading more than one. I’d be glad to know if there are any others of his that stand out from the crowd.
I have tried several P.D. James novels, but have really liked only the one I listed.
—John Wesselmann
Wayne Sanders, in the Catalog Dept. at Ellis, was born in Saint Louis County, Mo. He has worked for MU Libraries for 14 years, 8 years full time. Wayne holds a B.A. in History & Anthropology from Vanderbilt University, an M.A. in Anthropology from MU and an MLS (Master of Library Science), also from MU>
Wayne’s animal companions include 2 German shepherds (mother & son), 2 cats (1 calico & 1 black) and fish His leisure time pursuits include: “organizing (duh!), playing with the grandkids; relaxing (the antithesis of the former two), visiting, and the occasional adult beverage.” Wayne’s hobbies are genealogy and fishing.
Where is the coolest place he’s ever visited? Hawaii
We asked Wayne what actor should portray him in a movie of his life. He responded: “I’m not sure, but I know it’s not Noah Wiley.”
Ryan McAllister, who works at UMLD, was born in Fayette, Mo. “It was the closest hospital to Brunswick, Mo., where I grew up.” Ryan has worked for MU Libraries since March 2005 having begun his career here as student staff. Ryan holds a B.A. in Classics and is pursuing teaching.
Ryan has “a cross-eyed, barn cat named William Wallace Spartacus Casper McAllister. He goes by Wallace.” Ryan enjoys watching movies (preferably not horror), listening to music (anything but country, though Garth Brooks is acceptable), and running.
Ryan’s hobbies? “I am a huge tennis fan: Go Federer! I also am a huge Mizzou football and Chiefs fan. I enjoy languages, especially Latin and Italian. Actually, I like all things Italian. I also enjoy traveling, cooking, and food in general. Some would say I am obsessed with In-N-Out burger; I will neither confirm nor deny this, though I did once spend 50 dollars on a cab ride just to make a trip there.”
The coolest place Ryan has ever visited is Villa Jovis, Capri, Italy. “It was the villa of Emperor Tiberius and has a grand view of the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius. There is also a spot where he could dispose of unwanted slaves, and the Blue Grotto is not too far away.”
We asked Ryan who should play him in a movie. “People have told me I remind them of Jason Biggs and Seth Rogen, though I think I would prefer Sacha Baron Cohen.
Other interesting facts we learned about Ryan: “I can blow self sustaining bubbles and do the worm. I make something called sausage bread; it’s pretty awesome. I took a screw from the set of E.R. I was once, unknowingly, interviewed for the O’Reilly Factor when I was in NYC; they asked my brother the question initially; he had to turn to me for the answer.”
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