Eddie gets divorced from Brandi Glanville

Eddie Cibiran and Brandi Glanville are now legally divorced by the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday. The actor has finally got apart from Brandi. The decision of having a divorce was taken when it was found that Eddie was on a torrid relation with the costar LeAnn Rimes when she too was already married simultaneously!. Eddie, 37 and Brandi, 36, weds in the year of 2002 and sons together called Mason of 7 and Jake of 3 years old. Recent reports says LeAnn had found the right person in Eddie and now she is very much anxious to have babies with her new husband.

Jennifer Lopaz being a judge

The 41-year-old Jennifer Lopaz, both a singer and actress, is selected to be one of the judges at the panel of American Idol. She announces that her manner of judgment shall be ‘tough but easy and fair’. She says, “I really want to put them through the wringer in the sense that I don’t want to let anybody really great go because they’re nervous or whatever and not get to see what they could’ve been”. However, Lopaz adds that ever since the audition began, she has not been going well on the ‘pop hopefuls’. The show began in Los Angeles in last month and now has shifted to New Jersey. What Lopaz is interested in more, she is looking for more than just vocal talents among the contestants. Along with voice, she also cares for appearance and style of the contestants.

Rachel pregnant!

America’s OK! Magazine declares Rachel Zoe is pregnant with her first baby the last three months she says to her friends. The couple, Zoe and her husband Rodger Berman, who is a businessman, is overwhelmed with happiness at this very news. No one of course expected that this couple were actually trying for to get a baby due to her lean body and the pressure of her work. But now… now that Zoe has become pregnant, she has been going around telling people of her joyful news which she had expected for a very long period of time. This has given her an opportunity to take off some time for her own. Now Rachel and Rodger are waiting to find out what sex their baby is going to be.

Attack of the T&T ('Tweens and Teens).

Brannon, S. (n.d.). Dozens of Teens/Tweens in the Library at One Time? Why not? Texas Library Journal, 85(3), 92-93. Retrieved October 1, 2010, from Library Literature and Information Science Full Text.

Ohhhhhhh...how I relate to this article. Sian Brannon (2009) confessed that "[s]ome days, I wish I could travel back in time and smack the city employee upside the head [for building a new library so close to schools]"(p. 92). The Alhambra Civic Center Library is directly across from Alhambra High School and a mile or two away from seven elementary school (K-8). Every single day, we are filled to capacity in the Teen Center with teens and 'tweens looking for somewhere to study and/or hang out. Well, when we have a tiny room not all of those crazy teen and 'tweens are going to be able to stay. This issue that we are experiencing, clearly, is not a new one. Brannon states that "the after-school deluge of around 60 or more unchaperoned children presents a number of problems for the library"(p.92). The biggest problem is noise and seating. 'Tweens and teens are loud and that is to be expected. Even when they are using normal voices, where there are 60 of them crammed in a room, noise is going to happen. As youth librarians, we need to be creative as to how we approach this problem without upsetting the older patrons and alienating the 'teens and 'tweens.

This article does offer program suggestions that have worked and failed in entertaining and engaging 'tweens and teens. One program the article does mentioned, that works here as well, are weekly programs. At the Alhambra Civic Center Library we have a variety of weekly programs such as Anime Club and the Teen Advisory Board. Along with these programs, we also provide other opportunities where 'Tweens and Teens can make crafts, watch movies, play video games, and hang out with their friends. However, what I appreciated the most about this article, is that in order for these programs to work, we need to know who we are serving: "[p]ublic services staff made an effort to get to know student's names, figure out who hung out with whom, and overall, build a trusting rapport with the youth"(p. 93).  With any kind of service, we need to know exactly who we are dealing with and how we can effectively meet their needs. Yes, the library is not baby sitting service, but when you have young people looking for somewhere "safe" to be, rather than streets, then we do have some obligation to make sure the library is one alternative.

Along with programming and rapport to regulate the massive traffic build-up's that occur in the library, some sort of monitoring system to keep behavior and noise in check. According to Brannon, "[t]he most successful thing that we have done so far in dealing with the kids is to have  "ALL HANDS ON DECK" during the immediate after school hours. Starting at 3:30 p.m., all staff are expected to go to the public floor and establish themselves in different areas of the library"(p. 93). We definitely have this program implemented and it have been success not only with the kids, 'tweens, and teens, but the adults as well. The Library is a place for everyone so as long as there are plans to ensure that everyone can have an enjoyable time is to make sure everyone obeys the rule regardless how old or who they are.

Dude, Why Did My Brain Destroy Itself!?!?

Vawter, D. (2010). Mining the Middle School Mind. Education Digest, 74(5), 47-49. Retrieved October 1, 2010, from Library Literature and Information Science Full Text.

A few years ago, I was speaking with a classmate, about 'tweens and teens, who was a Psychology major. She provided the world's best analogy as to why 'tweens and teens are they way they are:

"'Tween and teen brains are like hard drives on a computer. When the computer is being reformatted, the connections to the hard drives are being reconnected, thus, restoring the computer to what it's supposed to be. In essence, when you tell a young person "are you stupid or something" and he or she replies "uh, yes" then they are telling the truth!During puberty the minds of 'tweens and teens are changing so if they do something odd, they cannot help it--they really are that stupid!"

Clearly, all of this was said in jest, but the 'tween mind is going through yet another transition where more wires and connections are being disconnected and reconnected. According to David Vawter (2010), "[m]iddle school students are walking dichotomies. They can talk about world peace and hit the kid next to them. They can recycle to ease global warming only to leave a mess in the cafeteria. Why? Well, scientifically, it's because their brains don't work"(p.47). In this article, Vawter talks about the neurological changes that take place in middle school students that explains a lot, in regards, to 'tween behavior. Although 'Tweens are physically developing at a fast rate, their mental capacity has yet to full mature, which makes this stage in life so difficult. They may have facial hair or larger boobs, but, mentally, 'tweens are going through an intricate process where the brain "destroys more than 20% of all previously built connections"(p.2010, p. 47).  Vawter labels this process as "pruning," which is interesting, but kind of frightening at the same time.

When we are born, our brain develops all these connections and synapses patterns to help us learn and retain new information. If we, as people, are to evolve by learning then why the heck does the brain destroy connections as such a young age? The answer is this: the brain destroys come of these connections because it is simply overloaded (just like a hard drive ceases to function when it cannot retain any more information) (p. 47.) After learning how the brain develops, and how each part of it transforms at different rates. What is interesting is how different the cognitive and emotional aspects of the brains. Vawder provides an excellent example about a young man who graduated high school at age 5 and started practicing medicine at 21. When he participated in a brain study that focuses on the emotional brain, his brain showed that, despite how cognitively advanced he is, he is no different, emotionally, from the rest of his peers. This study reminds me of "Millicent Min: Girl Genius," by Lisa Yee, where we have an incredibly intelligent character, bu is no different, emotionally from her peers. Millicent desires the same things as any other 12-year-old girl, which is to be accepted and have friends.

The article is really, really informative when it comes to explaining how the minds of 'tweens word. Not only do they have to go through puberty, they have to mentally develop as well. I definitely have a little more sympathy for them; however, just because they are "growing up" does not mean we should expect anything less from them. With this new evolution, we as librarians, educators, and parents should challenge them in every way to become better people. :D

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

From Amazon.com

Kinney, J. (2010). Diary of a wimpy kid. New York, NY: Amulet Books.

With the release of the movie, and all of the requests for "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," I decided that I should read it if I could get my hands on it. I was rolling on the floor as I read this hilarious story about the plight of one sharp middle school 'tween named Greg and his successes and failures at becoming somebod for everyone to remember. Greg tells readers about his plans in a diary, which is supposed to be a journal (his mom got him the wrong kind). According to Greg, he is going to become famous by gaining immense popularity as class president, working on the school newspaper, and/or being voted "Class Clown." Sadly, Greg fails at all because someone was either more qualified or better suited. However, most of Greg's problems lie with his inability to be honest with his family and friends.

His relationship with his best friend, Rowley, is definitely interesting. Although Rowley isn't as smart, or "mature", as Greg, but he accomplishes more than Greg can ever dream of by being himself. There is also a situation where Greg played a mean trick on some of the kindergartners that he and Rowley walk home; Rowley ended up being blamed for the trick and Greg didn't admit fault. When Greg finally admitted guilt, Rowley ended up "rating" him out so Greg lost his responsibilities as a hall monitor and Rowley was promoted. Unfortunately for Greg, he may have been able to to keep his best friend, and his job, had he been honest and less "wimpy."

Genre(s): Fiction, Friends, Humor
Reading Level/ Reading Interest: 5.2/ Middle Grade
Books similar to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hank Zipper by Henry Winkler, Weird School by Dan Gutman, Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, For most people who have a strong concern for breast cancer, October is the month that 'special'. Why is that? October is Breast Cancer Care Month (Breast Cancer Awareness Month). Many organizations or institutions who campaigned on the importance of breast health and do regular checks since early in the month.

In Indonesia, the death rate from breast cancer ranked second only to cervical cancer. Unlike in developed countries like the United States, the death rate from breast cancer is low, because it is the increasing awareness of the importance of breast health check early. So many versatile pink trinkets worn by those who are concerned about breast cancer this October, ranging from clothes, skirts, hats, scarves, hair ornaments, and so forth, until the ribbons are pinned on the shirt (Pink Ribbon), which symbolizes breast cancer awareness. Warning Pink Ribbon Day is always held every fourth Monday in October, which in the year 2009, the Pink Ribbon Day falls on October 26, 2009.

This is an international campaign organized by social institutions each October to increase awareness of this disease and to raise funds for research, prevention and cure. The campaign also provides information and support for those affected by breast cancer. In addition there are also raising funds and awareness about the dangers of breast cancer through various activities.

October is the Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This campaign began in 1985 in the U.S. held by AstraZeneca. This is not the name of the person, but a company that produces cancer drugs, Arimadex and Tamoxifen. The goal is to raise awareness of people would mammography as a powerful weapon to fight against breast cancer.

From year to year more and more companies are involved in a campaign that is increasingly global. Not only the drug companies, but also others such as Estee Lauder and Avon who happened to both cosmetics company.