http://www.wcl.govt.nz/blog Wellington City Libraries Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:29:40 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en History is rather contemporary this month at Wellington City Libraries. We have a few of books that highlight the Middle-East and its neighbouring countries: what kind of people its inhabitants are like, how Saddam Hussein came to be captured, and what America's involvement in Afghanistan has evolved into. Asia is featured with ... http://www.wcl.govt.nz/blog/index.php/2009/11/20/the-ebb-and-flow-of-history/ Our travel selection this month is a bit different and unusual. First we have Gordon Hempton and John Grossmann who travel across America in a 1964 VW bus to record the sound of silence that is Nature. Over two hundred years of natural history is presented with its adventures and ... http://www.wcl.govt.nz/blog/index.php/2009/11/18/travels-food-and-fry/ Did you think that Aphrodite's island was Cyprus? Well, think more in terms of South Pacific and more to the point, think about Tahiti as Anne Salmond explains how Europeans and Tahitians fared when they first discovered each other. Closer to home, you can read about fascinating characters in our NZ ... http://www.wcl.govt.nz/blog/index.php/2009/11/17/good-new-zealand-reads/ Hello! We are getting super excited about Wellington Zinefest 09 - and this year promises to be the most awesome one yet! Zinefest will be held on the 21st of November (that’s this Saturday) at Mighty Mighty (Level 1, 104 Cuba Street). It will feature stalls by zine-makers from Wellington and around the ... http://www.wcl.govt.nz/blog/index.php/2009/11/16/wellington-zinefest-09/ With Hekenukumai (Hector) Busby, Jack Thatcher and Hoturoa Barclay Kerr Celebrating celestial navigation, the event Mata Ora highlights and pays tribute to the courageous deep sea voyaging explorations of Maori using the sun, moon and stars as they sought new lands. Today there is a revival of oceanic navigation by the stars ... http://www.wcl.govt.nz/blog/index.php/2009/11/12/mata-ora-celebrating-maori-celestial-navigation/ A handful of men have gone to the moon and back and are still alive to tell the tale. Buzz Aldrin is one of them and you can read the account of his life from then on in Magnificent desolation. A little closer to home, if you ever wondered what the ... http://www.wcl.govt.nz/blog/index.php/2009/11/10/moon-with-a-view/ Have you ever wanted to brew your own beer? Well now you can with Froth! The science of beer, by Mark Denny. Our selection this month also includes recipes for people suffering from diabetes and heart problems. Ready steady party will help you organise fun cooking sessions with your kids, ... http://www.wcl.govt.nz/blog/index.php/2009/11/03/are-you-a-foodie/ Soul of the age: the life, mind and world of William Shakespeare by Jonathan Bate gives an insight of the extraordinary, colourful and often violent world that shaped Shakespeare's thinking. Little known facts about his life add mystique to a writer who produced such a large volume of work. Why ... http://www.wcl.govt.nz/blog/index.php/2009/10/28/bottoms-dream/ Peter J. Bentley has written The undercover scientist: investigating the mishaps of everyday life to help understand why some days things just go wrong. He explains the science that lies behind the most mundane mishaps such as sleeping through the alarm and battling with superglue and how to be in ... http://www.wcl.govt.nz/blog/index.php/2009/10/28/out-of-our-control/ Boring lampshades - not any more with The lampshade lady's guide to lighting up your life: 50 custom lampshades & lamps by Judy Lake. Using inexpensive basic frames, a range of fabrics, photos, postcards or anything that inspires, a tired lampshade will be resurrected or a personalised new one produced. It can ... http://www.wcl.govt.nz/blog/index.php/2009/10/20/lady-with-the-lampshades/