Join us on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the library for a discussion of Yudhijit’s Bhattacharjee’s book The Spy Who Couldn’t Spell – A Dyslexic Traitor, an Unbreakable Code, and the FBI’s Hunt for America’s Stolen Secrets.

Bhattacharjee’s book has been widely praised by reviewers. Publisher’s Weekly noted that “readers…will thoroughly enjoy this fastmoving account of a failed spy who, despite his incompetence, easily filched thousands of secrets.” And from Kirkus Reviews: “The author offers a compellingly seedy portrait of Regan, motivated to contemplate treason due to debt, career stagnation, and marital malaise…a well-written…tale of thwarted amateur treason underscoring the disturbing vulnerability of today’s intelligence systems.”

This program is funded by the Friends of the Takoma Park Maryland Library. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing at the program.

This article appeared in the November 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

After extensive investigation into options and costs and a presentation to the City Council on Sept. 21, City staff have been directed to pursue converting the PEPCO streetlights on wooden poles in the city to LED lights through the PEPCO conversion program. The conversion will be phased in on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis and will allow for adjustments to the program if needed.

At its Oct. 19 meeting, the City Council passed a resolution supporting the conversion of streetlights on wooden poles in Takoma Park to LED lights through the PEPCO conversion program and directed staff to work to ensure that lighting specifications and placement minimize costs, energy use, and light pollution, while enhancing safety and attractiveness.

In terms of environmental impact, conversion of existing streetlight fixtures to ones that are more energy efficient (LED technology) would reduce the City’s streetlight electricity use from 765,599 kwh to 382,800 kwh annually. LED fixtures also will be night sky compliant, within the 3,000 Kelvin level, to minimize light pollution. From a fiscal standpoint, the City could save between $746,000 and $904,000 in current dollars over a 20-year period by converting streetlights to LED fixtures through PEPCO.

LED conversion has already begun with the Flower Avenue Green Street project, and five percent of the City’s streetlights have already been converted. PEPCO will continue to own and maintain the lights, and the City will continue to pay for monthly maintenance charges per the rates set by the Public Service Commission. Further, the City will continue to procure its electricity through the Montgomery County purchasing group which enables the City to be part of a large buying group and thereby reduces the rate per kilowatt, and City staff will work with PEPCO staff to ensure that the replacement lighting is appropriate for City streets.

This article appeared in the November 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Tim Rahn

The Secret Chord, a retelling of the story of the Biblical David by the award-winning author Geraldine Brooks, will be discussed on Wednesday, November 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hydrangea Room of the Community Center.

Narrated by the court prophet-advisor Natan (Nathan), The Secret Chord, tells the often bloody story of David’s reign as king of Israel. Brooks uses David’s complexity to explore loyalty and treachery that comes with power. She also explores David’s relationships with the members of his extended family including his wives.

Published in 2015, The Secret Chord was the recipient of considerable praise by reviewers. Alice Hoffman, writing in the Washington Post, commented that “The Secret Chord reads like a prose poem, with battle after battle recounted in detail, but it’s a page turner of a poem. We want to know how David manages to stave off his rivals and enemies, just as we want to know what love means to him and who, if anyone, will cause him to be faithful.”

Brooks began her writing career as journalist before turning to non-fiction and then novels such as The People of the Book, Caleb’s Crossing, and Year of Wonder. In 2006 Brooks received the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for the novel, March.

Sponsored by the Friends Book Group, the discussion is open to all. Copies of The Secret Chord are available on loan from the library.

Tim Rahn is the President of the Friends of the Library Board and facilitates their bimonthly book discussions

This article appeared in the November 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Pat Hanrahan

French language readers take note. The Takoma Park Maryland Library has expanded its French collection with the purchase of two volumes of graphic memoir by Riad Sattouf, L’arabe du future, an autobiography of a childhood in the Middle East.

The product of a French mother and Syrian father, young Sattouf spent his early childhood in Libya and Syria. His story of these years (1978 – 1985) is gripping. It helped me understand a bit better what is happening now in Syria.

Sattouf père believed the Arab world of the 70’s was poised for outstanding achievements. With his wife and child, he moved to his birth village to participate in the glorious future which as we know never happened. The author writes about Syria from a child’s point of view and without censure. His parents, his teacher and his peers dominate his days. The illustrations enhance the childish perception. For instance the teacher is always enormous, and when she’s angry, her mouth can take over an entire graphic square in the band of illustrations. Characters who are outraged express themselves in deep red text balloons.

A best seller in France, Sattouf’s book has been translated into English with positive reviews. The TPML has the English editions of the first two books and will purchase the subsequent volumes as they are translated into English. So far three volumes — of an expected five volumes — have been published in French, and all three are available at the Library, so try the books in French. Reading French graphic books is fun. Even if you aren’t bilingual (which I am most definitely not), the illustrations help comprehension when words are baffling, and graphic book text is often minimal anyway.

So go for it! Enjoy a feeling of accomplishment from reading a book en fran- çais, particularly one that is as hard to put down as Sattouf’s bande-desinée.

Pat Hanrahan is a Takoma Park resident and serves on the Board of the Friends of the Takoma Park Maryland Library.

This article appeared in the November 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Karen MacPherson

Creating pathways to literacy – for various ages and stages – infuses all Library programs. Our efforts start with the youngest children – and their families and caregivers – because research shows that the earlier children are introduced to literacy concepts, the better their chances are for school success. As recent research has shown, by the time children from low-income families reach the age of four, they will have heard 30 million fewer words than their more advantaged peers. Clearly, these children will start school at a huge disadvantage unless there is some intervention.

That’s where our Library programs for young children and their parents and caregivers can play a key role in the community. All of our early literacy programs are free, of course, and they are built on research disseminated by the American Library Association showing best practices for getting children ready to read.

A key part of these programs is modeling these best practices for parents and caregivers, so they can bring those practices back into the home. Our Library programs range from the hugely popular Circle Times on Tuesdays and Spanish Circle Times on Thursdays (both now offered twice weekly) to our Wednesday morning early literacy programs offering age-targeted activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. We also offer a monthly Petites Chansons (French Circle Time) and are working to create a second monthly French program for preschoolers; our current program is popular with both native French-speakers, many from African Francophone countries, as well as parents who are hoping to start their children on French as a second language.

One Monday evening each month, we provide a fun family literacy activity in our Caldecott Club, where we read and discuss some of the best new picture books, using the criteria of the prestigious Caldecott Medal. Besides giving families a chance to read some new books together, the Caldecott Club helps develop visual literacy, an increasingly important kind of literacy in our screen-filled world.

Our monthly Comics Jam offers another opportunity to develop visual literacy for both kids and adults. Comics Jam allows us to showcase our greatly in-demand collection of kids’ and teen graphic novels, which are popular with both reluctant and eager readers. In fact, we see our graphic novel collection as one way to convince kids, especially reluctant readers, to trade their digital screens for illustrated books that actually require a different kind of brainpower to read the information in both pictures and words to make sense of a story.

Our monthly LEGO Club highlights STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) skills in a fun way. Kids can build around a particular theme or just enjoy the pleasure of using their math, science or math skills to create with LEGO, inspired by the numerous LEGO idea books that are part of the library’s collection.

In addition, we have strong literacy-focused partnerships with the neighboring schools. For example, for nearly a decade, the 4th grade classes at Piney Branch Elementary School have visited the Library each week for a program focused on their language arts curriculum (i.e. historical fiction, mythology, etc.).

We also regularly host programs for other grades at both Piney Branch and Takoma Park Elementary School and have offered programs for English as a Second Language students at Takoma Park Middle School. We’re currently part of a Takoma Foundation grant (in its second year) as a partner with Takoma Park Elementary School in its Books & Breakfast program. This program is focused on literacy activities – including an introduction to the library and its resources – for ESL students and their families.

The library also hosts regular programs for local preschools, providing literacy based story times and related activities. These programs are aimed both at preschoolers and their teachers, as we model best practices for reading aloud to young children and other ways to make books and reading come alive.

For older students, we offer a book reviewing student service learning opportunity. As part of this opportunity, students learn to write book reviews, which eventually are published on the library’s website.

One of the best – and most exciting— ways of promoting literacy is meeting a published author or illustrator. With our partnership with Politics & Prose Bookstore, our patrons can meet some of the most talented and dynamic authors and illustrators working today in creating books for kids and teens. If you’ve never been to one of our author programs, give it a try. We have found that these programs are both fun and inspirational for readers, young and old.

This article appeared in the November 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By John Webster

The City of Takoma Park has a lot to be thankful for. With the help of City TV, IT and Recreation Department staff, the City of Takoma Park now has a fully functional Multi Media Lab. The lab opened its doors on Monday, Oct. 3 with eight computers that can be utilized by the Takoma Park community with all of the newest software. The Multi Media Lab is open Monday – Wednesday & Friday from 3 – 8 p.m. and Saturday from 12 – 5 p.m.

The staff for the Multi Media Lab are William Rice and Rob Radcliffe. Their goal is to ensure that the Takoma Park community residents are as knowledgeable about internet and communication technology as their peers in other communities.

“The new Multi Media Lab is amazing. It is exactly what we need in the current technological world,” Radcliffe said.

“We have an incredible range of professional software, including the entire Adobe Creative Cloud Suite; Photoshop; Dreamweaver; Premier Pro; Audition; Illustrator; Photoshop; Lightroom; InDesign; Animate and After Effects, as well as Apple’s powerful production tools such as FCPX, Motion, Compressor Garageband and others,” Rice said.

This lab has the potential to be an oasis for everyone to use the newest software. “I would like the community to be able to learn and use these programs since these skills can provide them with a lot of opportunities in the future, and the cost of Adobe products can be a barrier to people being able to learn and use these programs”, Radcliffe said.

“The Multi Media Lab creates a number of positive opportunities. If you want to be creative, we have the tools,” Rice said. “Music, art, video, photography, web design, and animation, etc. Wherever your imagination wants to take you, we will help you get there. All ages are welcome. Bring your curiosity and imagination, come learn and have fun.”

Both Rice and Radcliffe believe that the goal for the Multi Media Lab is to help people in the community see that they are capable of learning and creating the same content that they see on YouTube or on posters they see and providing them a space where they can learn these skills at their own pace. They also believe that the Multi Media Lab provides opportunities for everyone. There are great computer resources available for the Takoma Park community in this state-of-the-art facility, including the most powerful iMac computers that are fully loaded with a wide range of professional creative software. Come on out and enjoy the fun of the Takoma Park Multi Media Lab.

New!

Multi Media Lab Open Hours Located on the second floor of the Community Center, participants will have access to the latest Mac computers, word processing and editing software including but not limited to Final Cut Pro and a variety of other programs. Utilizing this equipment will allow you to produce professional work of the highest quality at your own pace. No instruction provided, work independently. The Multi Media Lab will be closed on Thursdays and Sundays. Instructors: William Rice and Rob Radcliffe. TP Community Center Multi Media Lab Monday – Wednesday & Friday, 3 – 8 p.m. Saturday, 12 – 5 p.m. Closed on Thursdays and Sundays

This article appeared in the November 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

This year give the gift of art – local art – for the holidays. Shop at the Holiday Art Sale on Saturday, Dec. 10, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Takoma Park Community Center. Browse handmade works by local jewelers, potters, painters, knitters, photographers, woodworkers and other artists. Bring your friends and family and make it a social shopping experience. Hope to see you there!

This article appeared in the November 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

Considering a third party candidate for any office in this month’s election? Would you vote for a candidate with a reduced vocabulary, one name and more hair than what you’d find on your Uncle Louie’s back?

Hank, the feline star of Wild about Hank; We’re talking about a cat (What were you thinking?) that ran for the U.S. Senate seat against Tim Kaine and George Allen during the 2012 election in Virginia. Wild about Hank, directed by Emma Kouguell, debuts at the free Community Stories Festival at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10, at the Takoma Park Community Center, and is one of many films presented by Docs in Progress.

We Are Takoma asked Docs in Progress Executive Director Erica Ginsberg to tell us more about Community Stories Festival and this year’s films. Questions were submitted to her by email, and her answers have been lightly edited for space and grammar.

We Are Takoma: Describe the Community Stories Festival.

Ginsberg: The Community Stories Festival grew out of Docs in Progress wanting to give filmmakers a showcase for their documentaries about local topics. The festival celebrates how documentary film can be used both to reveal untold stories of our local community and also bring that community together.

The festival has been a program of Docs in Progress since 2010. That year, we held a one-night showcase screening in a small auditorium of films produced by adult and youth students in our documentary filmmaking classes. All the topics were local. While we expected their friends and family would show up, what we had not counted on was that we would have a standing room only crowd. What started as a one night festival for 75 people has grown into a multi-day event which, last year, attracted more than 500 people. Since 2013 one of the most popular nights of the festival has taken place at the Takoma Park Community Center, and we expect this year to be no different.

We Are Takoma: How has the festival been received in the community/surrounding area?

Ginsberg: We do year-round screening programs in partnership with We Are Takoma and get a respectable number of engaged Takoma Park residents for those events. However, Community Stories is on a whole other level. It’s no surprise that Takoma Park residents are engaged with the community around them, and this is clear at Community Stories, where many locals attend and engage with the filmmakers, the people in the films and their neighbors.

We Are Takoma: What impact has it had?

Ginsberg: The biggest impact I see is for the filmmakers and those in the films. The films we show at Community Stories may not get distribution because it is really difficult for short films to make their way in the world of film distribution. They may also be pegged as “local interest” films, even when they have universal themes. Therefore, you are unlikely to see these films at the Sundance Film Festival or on Netflix. It is really rewarding to see the filmmakers get a chance to see their films on a big screen with a super-engaged audience.

We Are Takoma: What has been the most memorable moment from the Community Stories Festival for you?

Ginsberg: The Q&A’s are always memorable because they are a chance for the audience to interact with the filmmakers and also some of the people who are in the films. It is exciting to see that “fourth wall” broken, where the people on the screen are there in the flesh. I also love when people learn new things about their own community—interesting people, untold history or a small business that perhaps they did not know about before.

We Are Takoma: What can you tell us about this year’s event?

Ginsberg: While the early years of Community Stories featured only work by our students, since last year, we have opened up submissions to other filmmakers, as long as the topic is local (and, by local, we mean the whole DC Metro area). This year’s festival takes place from November 9-12.

Wednesday, Nov. 9 is the opening night. This will take place at the AFI Silver Theatre in Downtown Silver Spring. The early show (6:30 p.m.) features short documentaries about local topics produced by students in our classes. The late show (8:45 p.m.) is the Maryland premiere of Indivisible, a film about young “Dreamers” fighting to reunite with theirparents, who have been deported for being undocumented immigrants. Both of those screenings are ticketed events (tickets through Docs in Progress.)

Thursday, Nov. 10 takes place at the Takoma Park Community Center with a program of short documentaries. The films take us on a journey from the sorriest bus stop in America to the bike trails of DC. We will meet senior citizens energized by a love of the blues, local artists who find inspiration in unusual places, and a feline politico who decides to run for office. The filmmakers are both emerging filmmakers and seasoned pros. Thanks to a partnership with We Are Takoma, the screening in Takoma Park, will be completely free.

Friday, Nov. 11 features a partner program with the Wheaton Film Festival at Chuck Levin’s Music Center in Wheaton. This will include film screenings and professional development panels for filmmakers or aspiring filmmakers.

Saturday, Nov. 12 is a day to try your own hand at documentary filmmaking. Docs in Progress will be offering two modestly-priced workshops at our space in Downtown Silver Spring – one on how to shoot documentary video using a mobile phone or tablet and the other on the art of the interview. To find out more: www.docsinprogress.org/communitystories.

This article appeared in the November 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.