Monday, September 24, 2012

Go Indian Packing Company Go!


     You have to admit that this just doesn’t have the same ring as Go Pack Go!  You ask anyone in this state, who’s the best football team and the answer 99.9% of the time will be the Green Bay Packers.  Just recently a poll was taken and the results showed that America is coming around to our way of thinking.  The Packers captured 22% of the vote, making them America’s favorite team, while the second best team was Dallas, 11%, followed by the Bears, Giants, and Steelers, 8%, Saints, 7%, Patriots, 6%, Redskins, 4%, and the Jets,2%.
     The earliest mention of any type of football played in Wisconsin was in La Crosse, back in 1860.  The first game played in Green Bay was on September 21, 1895, at Washington Park.  It resembled a barroom brawl more than the game we have come to know and love.  As the game was tweaked and became more organized it grew in popularity.  1919 is recognized as the beginning of the Green Bay legend.  Back then there were no game tickets, no admission fees and no bleachers.  The games were played at Hagemeister Park.  The manager would walk among the crowd and collect donations, which would pay for expenses and injuries.  The remainder went to the players and in that season each player received a whopping $17.00.  The fans were happy though.  Some of those first games had scores of 87-0 and 76-6 with a season total of 565-24 for the home team.  In their second season, some bleachers were built and they sold tickets.  1,200 tickets were sold for the first game.  That season they won 9, lost 1, and tied 1.  Once again they outscored their opponents 227-24.
     Up to this point the team had been sponsored by the Indian Packing Company.  After the second season, they were bought out by the Acme Packing Company and the new owner was convinced to buy a franchise to the newly formed American Professional Football Association for the total cost of $50.00.  Try to do that today and it will cost you one million dollars.  Back then uniforms didn’t have padding and helmets were made of leather and could easily be folded up and put in your pocket.  Some players would roll up magazines and use them as shin guards.  While Coach Lombardi won 5 championships and he never had a losing season with the Pack, Curly Lambeau, who worked to put this franchise together, went 29 years with just  one losing record and 6 world titles.  Before They Were Packers is a great book describing this golden era of football.  Everyone has heard about Lambeau Field, but I never knew much about the man for whom the field is rightly named.  Even though Curly Lambeau: Building the Green Bay Packers is a children’s book, it shows the vision of the man who was a player, coach, owner, and founder of the Green Bay Packers.  For more Packer and football history, you might enjoy 75 Seasons, The Packers, and Packer Legends in Facts.
     Just about everyone who loves the Packers has heard about Vince Lombardi.  Like Lambeau, he was a special man for a special time.  Had he followed his teenage passion, he would have become a priest.  It’s perhaps his religious background and discipline that made him the man that he was.  He had his admirers and his critics and he stood by the things he believed in.  The following books help to tell his story: The Lombardi Legacy: Thirty People Who Were Touched by Greatness, I Remember Vince Lombardi, Lombardi: An Illustrated Life, Lombardi and Landry, Giants: What I Learned About Life From Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry, That First Season, When Pride Still Mattered, and Strive to Excel: The Will and Wisdom of Vince Lombardi.
     After many poorly played seasons, things started to change as Bob Harlan, Ron Wolf, Brett Favre, and Reggie White entered the picture.  Love him or hate him, Brett Favre helped to bring the team around.  In both Favre and Brett Favre, you come to know the thoughts and feelings of this quarterback with the gunslinging style.  After watching Favre for 17 years, it was hard for most fans to imagine what the team would be like when he would no longer play.  In Life After Favre, author Phil Hanrahan returns to Wisconsin and follows the team under the direction of Aaron Rogers.  He not only follows the team, but also the fans both in Green Bay and throughout the nation.  Life does go on after Favre.
     A true Packer fan can never know enough about their favorite team.  The following books should take care of that.  Everything you ever wanted to know should be in 100 Things Packer’s Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Green Bay Packers: Titletown Trivia Teasers, and Tales From the Green Bay Packers Sideline.  With all this knowledge, you should be ready to cheer on the Green and Gold, loud and clear, GO PACK GO!

Monday, September 17, 2012

What should I read next?




Wondering what you should read next?  Looking for big name authors?  Want something new and exciting?

Fall is traditionally the biggest publishing season of the year and this year being no exception. Look no further then the list below for what to read in the next couple of months.

Available now to order:

This book examines the mission that killed Osama bin Laden, details the selection and training process for one of the most elite units in the military, and describes previously unreported missions that illustrate the life and work of a SEAL and the evolution of the team after the events of September 11.

NW: a novel by Zadie Smith
Growing up in the same 1970s urban planning development in Northwest London, four young people pursue independent and reasonably successful lives until one of them is abruptly drawn out of her isolation by a stranger who is seeking her help.

Telegraph Avenue: a novel by Michael Chabon
When an ex-NFL quarterback Gibson Goode, the fifth richest black man in America, decides to open his newest Dogpile megastore on Telegraph Avenue, Nat and Archy, the owners of Brokeland Records, fear for their business until Gibson’s endeavor exposes a decades-old secret history.

Winter of the world by Ken Follett
A follow up to the best-selling Fall of Giants continues the stories of five interrelated families who struggle with social, political, and economic turmoil in the mid-twentieth century, during which they witness the rise of Nazi Germany, the Spanish Civil War, and the horrors of World War II.

The yellow birds: a novel by Kevin Powers
In the midst of a bloody battle in the Iraq War, two soldiers, bound together since basic training, do everything to protect each other from both outside enemies and the internal struggles that come from constant danger.

Coming soon reserve now:

A colorful cast of residents and visitors to Miami go about their daily activities, both legal and illegal.

The casual vacancy by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter fans will recognize the name “Rowling.”  Yes, Rowling is the same author of the Harry Potter series.  This is Rowling’s first novel for adults. The early death of small town councilman reveals deep-roots conflicts in the seemingly idyllic community of Pagford, which rapidly deteriorates in the face of cultural disputes, generation clashes, and a volatile election.

Live by night by Dennis Lehane
Lehane is back with another historical fiction following the “Given day.”  This time it’s prohibition in 1926. Joe Coughlin defies his strict law-and-order upbringing by climbing a ladder of organized crime that takes him from Boston to Cuba where he encounters a dangerous cast of characters who are all fighting for their piece of the American dream.

The secret keeper by Kate Morton
Withdrawing from a family party to the solitude of her tree, house sixteen-year-old Laurel Nicholson witnesses a shocking murder that throughout a subsequent half century shapes her beliefs, her acting career, and the lives of three strangers from vastly different cultures.

The racketeer by John Grisham
Grisham fans will sure to be pleased with another legal thriller.  This time around “The racketeer” is concerns a federal judge and his secretary who fail to appear for a scheduled trial and panicked clerks call for an FBI investigation, a harrowing murder case ensues and culminates in the imprisonment of a lawyer who imparts the story of who killed the judge and why.

This new book continues the adventures of the intrepid Stephanie Plum in this blockbuster
series.

NYPD Red by James Patterson
Detective Zach Jordon investigates a series of brutal, public crimes that coincide with the arrival of dozens of glamorous celebrities in town for parties and premieres.

Look for these titles later this year.

The forgotten David Baldacci
Merry Christmas Alex Cross by James Patterson
The black box Michael Connelly
Flight behavior Barbara Kingsolver
Dear life: stories by Alice Munro
Sweet tooth by Ian McEwan

Reserve a copy now!

Get a jump start ahead of the rest, and reserve these titles and many more @ your Library.

Picture courtesy: Google Images

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Here comes the Zombies



There has been a lot of buzz lately surrounding different activities involving everyone’s favorite undead creatures, zombies.  For example, NPR recently did a story on runners who gain motivation from the walking undead through fun runs and a running app featuring different story-like episodes.  Similarly, zombies have made a resurgence in the visual realm with the hit AMC television series, The walking dead, based upon the graphic novels written by Robert Kirkman.  With October coming up it may be the time to get in the mood for Halloween and what better way than with Zombie themed books and movies?  We hope that these titles will get you thinking about your survival skills in the case you find yourself confronted with the zombie apocalypse.
* photo courtesy of Google images

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Holiday Crafts & DIY Projects




I don’t know about you, but fall is a time when I love to decorate and do craft projects because the holidays are coming around the corner.  First, you can decorate for autumn with fall leaves, pumpkins, apples, cinnamon and all the wonderful foods and scents associated with fall.  Right after that, you can decorate for Halloween, and then Thanksgiving, and before you know it, Christmas is here!  This time of year makes it so much more fun to do craft projects because you can instantly use them as decorations for the holiday seasons and brighten up your home with some holiday cheer!

I am a big fan of Martha Stewart’s holiday craft projects, as well as her big book of crafts.  They are always beautifully done, the instructions are clear, and can be a jumping off point for finding other project ideas.
Her website is also wonderful to use as well.  Everything is broken down into clear and easy-to-follow steps.  It contains holiday crafts, regular craft projects, food and entertaining ideas, and recipes galore.

Another inspiration source for craft projects for me and my family has been Pinterest.  If you have never heard of this site, I highly recommend checking it out.  It is basically a great big bulletin board for sites you find interesting on the internet, or to find new sites that might interest you.  I love to use it for craft projects and DIY projects.  And some of the holiday projects they have on Pinterest are amazing.

I recently threw a baby shower for my sister that was The Very Hungry Caterpillar themed.  I used Pinterest to gather ideas from everything about what to serve as food, table landscapes, and party decorations.  And I could share all the ideas instantly with other family members who were helping to plan the party.

Another website I like to browse is the Better Homes & Gardens website.  They have great DIY projects, cool room makeovers and stunning furniture transformations.

If you would like to browse the EasiCat catalog for other DIY books or craft books, follow any of the links below.