Magee Memorial Catches the Light

Through the endless movement of time; the life of former library director, Robin Magee; the sun; through carefully stacked glass prisms; in the Wilkinson Public Library; on Halloween, an order emerges....

Halloween Storytime

Fiendish, freaky, children came to chill and hear a scary yarn read by Youth Services Librarian Elizabeth Tracy, Tuesday October 31.

Caution: Rainbows from Memorial may be contagious!

Town of Telluride Official, Mark, may have had normal hair before coming into contact with the rainbows.

We have all been touched by the striking Robin Magee Memorial, whose rainbows sweep the floors in silent synchrony with the year's passing.

But, are the rainbows contagious?

The library patron depicted to the left may have been normal (at least, partially normal) prior to encountering them. On second thoughts, it's highly doubtful Mark has ever been normal. However, his hair might have been!

Good Time of year to Enjoy Robin Magee Memorial!

Local artist Duncan Mackenzie won the library’s competition to make the Robin Magee Memorial last March.

His idea to use glass prisms, and commemorate Robin in light, was both subtle and profound.

Now that the sun is at lower elevations throughout the day, the rainbows cast by the prisms are more visible during library hours.

We encourage patrons to discover the rainbows – which cast a full color spectrum of differing sizes depending on the time of day, and the incidence of sunlight – around the library. They slide up and down the stairway, alight on bookshelves, and paint the walls with ladders of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

To complete the memorial, Duncan Mackenzie used 16 rightangle glass prisms (machined from Schott L-7 optical glass) and placed them in the upper windows that surround the main stairwell. Each are mounted on adjustable ball and socket frames.

Noting that Robin Magee was a devout Buddhist, Mackenzie, who interviewed more than 20 of her friends before deciding on the memorial, said that “Everyone who knew her seemed to agree that an object wouldn’t suit her.”

The use of prisms provides a subtle, ever-changing dynamism to the memorial. Patrons are continually surprised by the rainbows; interest in them is only increasing.

“In many traditions, light is a metaphor for spirit,” observed Mackenzie. Having worked with sundials and pieces involving time, the idea to use “light to speak to the invisible realm” came to him. “I took a lot of time to just be here [in the library] and observe the building,” he said.

“Knowing the geometry of the building, I knew it wouldn’t be permanent. It seemed an appropriate metaphor.”

Each day the rainbows appear at different times and places, moving in silent harmony with the year. Mackenzie has thus created an ever-changing permanency. The perfect symbol to celebrate life!

And each winter Robin Magee reminds us, there’s light behind every corner.

Memorial artist Duncan Mackenzie stands before the plaque commemorating the life of former Library Director, Robin Magee.

Rainbows, cast through the prisms commemorating the life of Robin Magee, alight on the first floor, just before opening time.

Your New Librarian--Pickles, the Cat

There's a new librarian at WPL: Pickles, The Cat.

Pickles is your all American moggy, a confident kitten ready to pounce on you at any time. He hides behind books. Skips across shadows. His sharp teeth gnaw on shoe laces and fingers. He's a viscous predator waiting to be hugged.

Pickles belongs to Youth Services Librarian Elizabeth Tracy, who adopted him at the library after he was brought in to tempt patrons to take him home.

He may become the Library Cat--that frisky feline frolicking along avenues of books, sleeping on shelves, or cropping up unexpectedly in the most bizarre places. If the library is a forest of knowledge (books were once trees, after all) then Pickles is like Simba, king of the jungle.

He's unstoppable. Uncatchable. Wiley and wise. A bundle of surprise! An extrovert recluse!

Watch out, kids, Pickles is loose!



Pickles louges in the middle of the floor.








Pickles considers an sudio-book. Is it edible?

Astray in the book shelves, Pickles is in search of knowledge.









Pickles hangs behind a stool in the kids'area, ready to pounce on unsuspecting passers-by.






Taking advantage of a quiet moment, Pickles crosses through the shadows to a sunny stretch, for a quick yawn and whisker-licking.

America vs. Islam

Author, and long time expert on the Middle East, Robert Schultheis gave a presentation on Saturday, Oct. 14, he titled America vs. Islam. Forty-one patrons showed up to listen, and discuss the restructuring effort in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Schultheis has been traveling to and around Afghanistan since the early 1970s, at least twenty-five times, and has been to Iraq several times since 911.

Schultheis gave some alarming insights. He recognized U.S. involvement, in what he described as a civil war, as hopeless, and yet discouraged withdrawing at this point.

That would leave a vacuum in an instable, crucial location, and guarantee the proliferation of an Iran-supporting government. However, he noted that the current government is also sympathetic to Iran’s nuclear aspirations. This is the government American soldiers are being killed to protect.

He discussed the difference between the various sects of Islam, such as Sunni and Shia, the ruling bodies they engender, and the ideological differences that militarize disputes between them.

He detailed the ideology of dogmatic, super-strict Wasabi Islam, that removed all statues as idols, and practices puritanical violence.

He discussed the origins of the Taliban in Afghanistan: “You can definitely say that if Pakistan didn’t exist there wouldn’t be a Taliban, there never would have been.”

Schultheis recognizes a larger role played by Pakistan in creating instability in the region.

“Today my Afghan friends are just outraged that we’re letting Pakistanis come in and just ruin their country. I think they’ve burned 4,000 schools this year… They’ve murdered twenty Mullahs for preaching they shouldn’t have a civil war in Afghanistan.”

He said that moderate Muslims have been trying to tell the West for decades about the problems with Islamic extremism.

He also spoke about the failing efforts of badly prepared Civil Affairs Teams, military teams meant to liaise with Iraqis to rebuild the country and represent America. Coalition forces have not attempted to integrate themselves in line with the Mid-East culture. He said he had seen an English tank, for example, with an enormous crucifix painted on it. And “All sorts of nonsense.” From privatized interests profiteering off inefficiency, to alcoholic officers, the US restructuring effort is badly in need of restructuring efforts of its own!

“It’s almost as if they don’t want to win… It’s not a grand conspiracy, it’s a mixture between corruption and gross incompetence.”

The privatization efforts have seriously impacted the success of the restructuring effort, according to Schultheis. He gave one example of TITAN interpreters knowingly working for the insurgency, but being retained regardless by company officials due to payment schedules.

Schultheis spent more than seven months with an Army Civil Affairs team, the 13th team of Alpha company, meant to cover all of Baghdad, while researching his latest book, Waging Peace. He has recently returned from Iraq, and will be heading back to Afghanistan sometime in the near future. His familiarity with the culture, and firsthand experiences, made for a fascinating presentation.

Discussion was vibrant. Lots of ideas and opinions were shared.

One of the highlights of the discussion was Schultheis pointing out where he believes Bin Laden is likely hidden. He gave a convincing argument. See video of his talk here:

www.telluridelibrary.org

Watch Robert Greenwald’s Iraq for Sale, too — it’s in our collection.

The Perfect Storm: Peak Oil and Global Warming

Peak oil is the term used to describe peak oil outputs, and the coming scarcity of fossil-fuels in the near future.

Local organic farmer and sustainability consultant, Kris Holstrom, gave an overview of the Third Community Solution Peak Oil conference she attended this September, in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Speakers at the conference included David Orr, Vicki Robin, Richard Heinberg, Julian Darley, Peter bane and other experts in the field. Kris gave a succinct, poignant synopsis of the conference, bringing the points home with some striking visuals, titled The Perfect Storm: Peak Oil and Global Warming

She discussed “Relocalization”, the decentralization of energy, money and food, allowing local communities the ability to support their own needs through invigorated cooperation and local production.

Important highlights included the need to be more efficient in the home, to carpool and travel less, to separate needs from luxuries, buy locally grown foods, and, more distantly, support community developments like community gardens.

Behaviors must change.

The shift in perception must include the shipping of goods when viewing the worth of a product. Presently, bottled water may have traveled thousands of miles to arrive at the local market. In this case, much more carbon dioxide is produced than the amount needed to make the product. In order to be carbon-neutral, each individual must take action first by seeing the world differently.

You may view her power point slides on our website: www.telluridelibrary.org

Iraq For Sale!

On Monday, October 9th, WPL showed Robert Greenwald's latest movie: Iraq For Sale. Fifty-six patrons enjoyed the film, which details gross inefficiencies in the Iraq restructuring effort, privatization of the military, and mass profiteering by corporations.

The film has testimony from former Halliburton employees, US Army personnel, retired US Army officers, civilian truck drivers driving for the Halliburtn subsidiary, Kellog Brown and Root, among others.

The film has been described as “Horrifying” by the New York Times, and Greenwald is stirring up interest in the alleged corruption that “congress won’t face,” says the Houston Chronicle.

A must see film!

Discussion followed the film, lead by Robert Schultheis. Among the questions raised were “How can the army keep its soldiers when corporations are being paid near 10 times to do the same job?” And “How can we keep a military without a draft?” And “Instead of paying corporate mercenaries $100K a year, why not pay troops more to fight for the US Army?” All questions seemed to have a common answer—greed. The Us Army is not a private company, and those who decide on defense spending can’t invest in those tax dollars, the same way they can in private corporations who ‘win’ no-bid contracts to do military jobs, Schultheis explained.

Schultheis discussed his personal experiences out there, and described the corruption as “widespread,” that it “happens everywhere.” The regime was described by some as “evil” and “toxic”; “it’s almost as if they don’t want to win,” Schultheis said. However, optimism prevailed with hopes of change in US policy in the near future.

Attempts to get Robert Greenwald on the speaker-phone failed, as the reception was terrible, and the ongoing discussion somewhat passionate.

Upcoming Events at the WPL:

Upcoming Programs:

Saturday, Oct.14th, at 6pm, in the Program Room: America vs. Islam
Robert Schulthies will discuss his personal experiences in the Middle East (he spent more than 7 months with an Army Civil Affairs Team researching for his book Waging Peace). Hear firsthand accounts of the profiteering, corruption, inefficiency, and the grossly underestimated campaign out there, and discuss ways to better manage the conflict with fellow Telluriders.

Sunday, Oct. 15th, at 4pm, in the (you guessed it) Program Room: The Perfect Storm: Peak Oil and Global Warming
Local sustainability expert, Kris Holstrom, will present discussion on the coming oil shortage (termed peak oil) and the repercussions on our oil-based economy. Kris recently attended the 3rd Community Solution Peak Oil Conference in Yellow Springs, OH, where she spoke with sustainability gurus like David Orr, Richard Heinberg, Julian Darley, Vicki Robin, and Peter Bane. She will stress new strategies for relocalization, the decentralizing of energy production to the community level, and increased cooperation at the local level.

Monday, Oct. 16th, at 6pm in the Program Room, Free Film Potluck: The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
Documentary that details post-oil lifestyles in Cuba following a mass oil-shortage in that country. Film is shown as part of the Telluride Unplugged energy-independence awareness week. Patrons are encouraged to bring some healthy, organic foods to share, and discuss the potential impacts of Peak Oil on the US.

Saving $$$ and the Environment: Switching over to good, energy efficient lighting.

Held on Sunday, Oct. 8, at 4pm in the Program Room.

As part of the Town of Telluride’s energy-independence awareness campaign, Telluride Unplugged, the Wilkinson Public Library hosted a talk by local lighting expert, Chris Myers.

Chris is the owner-operator of Enlighten, a lighting company that consults with architects, businesses and homeowners to select the choicest lighting for their particular needs.

Chris gave a fun-filled talk about the various energy demands certain fixtures make, providing lots of visual examples, to 19 patrons.

Switching over to compact fluorescents can spare up to 75% of electrical loads, and they last ten times as long! Fluorescents received a bad wrap in the early days, when they were designed as cheaply as possible. There are many varieties currently available that have better color indexes, and don’t paint everything with that hollow white, flash intermittently, or emit that infuriating buzz.

There were plenty of questions from patrons. At least one architect attended the talk. Questions centered on technical aspects of lighting—the various acronyms employed, and the future of lighting. LED lights are not at their most cost-effective yet, Chris said, and demonstrated the available options, comparing them to established fluorescents. Chris agreed that for some things fluorescents aren’t so great—for example incandescent dimmers create a warm hue reminiscent of candle light.

Nonetheless, switching to more efficient lighting is the first step to energy conservation in the home, building, or business. It makes good economic sense. And it makes environmental sense, too.

Writers in the Sky, 2006.

This year’s WITS brought acclaimed Colorado authors to Telluride to share their inspiration, their writing, and their experiences in the publishing world.

Each talk was unique—each writer different, and yet each was united by a common theme: Inspiration.

This low-key event fosters an intimacy lacking in other writing festivals; a real sense of the personal is touched. And the universal is glimpsed.

There are few things as useful to a would-be writers as hearing the stories of those who have succeeded in the business. Hearing how authors craft their stories is inspiring, and brings something foreign closer to home. For example, a commonality among the authors was their approach to the start of their novels, or poetry, as case may be. They started, for the most part, with an image—an idea—around which the narrative fell, like leaves off a tree. Julia Ross, a very successful romance novelist, said she didn’t typically write an outline.

Will Hobbs, the famed young adult author, found his inspiration in our country’s wild and unkempt places, often writing a story around a single scene in some mountainous aerie, or along the foaming waters of the Colorado River.

Clinton McKinzie is similarly inspired by the outdoors, and research for his books consists of climbing vertiginous cliffs, and crossing dangerous passes in the most northern reaches of the Boreal forests.

For David Mason, literary critic and acclaimed poet, the creative process starts with a flash of feeling, a symbolic image that elicits emotional and psychological responses. Poetry is a careful blend of the conscious and the subconscious (or super-conscious?), a human voice that rings across time, like the bells before a funeral. His superb readings, that pulsed with soft rhythms and careful cadence, brought tears from a number of the audience.

Carol Batrus has written a book inspired by her life experience. The vicissitudes of circumstance have brought her from Wall Street Vice President, a highly successful executive, all the way to Community Assistance Advisor for the Zulu in rural South Africa—a place she described as “country where rape is a national sport.” Her inspiration came from her extraordinary experiences working to reestablish a supplanted culture, and the certainty that something much larger than chance—if she could but listen—was at work in her life. Visible in everyone’s life!

Julia Ross, whose narratives are well crafted, sonorous, and descriptive, certainly well written, told the room that “you must give yourself permission to be mediocre.” Meaning to just write, not let the best supplant the possibility for the good.

Writers in the Sky provided an intimate portrait of the author, framing the creative process within attainable norms that the audience shared. Suddenly something seemingly distant, and so out of reach, was as visible as an apple, hanging from the undergrowth.

Writers in the Sky!

Writers in the Sky is this weekend!

Friday, Oct.6, at 6pm: Welcome Receoption. Come mingle and meet the authors. FREE to all.

Saturday, 9:30am - 4:15pm: Main event. Two hour break for lunch. Followed by book signing. Tickets are $45, available at www.tellurideticket.com or at the circulation desk. Under-eighteens are FREE to attend Will Hobbs' talk, starting at 3:15pm. Come for just one author? $9 per talk.