FYI: Grazing in the Grass

This is not part of Mountain View Reads Together, but was brought to our attention. Perhaps it's interesting for you.

Tuesday, November 8
GRAZING IN THE GRASS
Creating a Sustainable Food System through Pastured Livestock & Poultry

Join us for an eaters' event celebrating pastured livestock and poultry and learn some simple actions you can take to create a healthy and sustainable food system. Guest speakers Michael Dimock, president of Roots of Change, and Dan Imhoff, editor of CAFO, the Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories, will discuss industrial food fallacies, facts about the importance of biodiversity and show you how to vote with your fork for healthy food.

Our sponsor and host, Epicurean Group, a Bay Area sustainable food service company, will make the case for taste. Attendees will enjoy fine organic wines and graze on tasty appetizers of grass-fed meat and poultry and organic vegetables and artisan cheeses prepared by Epicurean chefs.

Seating is limited, so get your ticket now at Brown Paper Tickets:
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/207804

$15 Student - $25 Member - $30 Nonmember - $10 Wine supplement

Tuesday, November 8, 2011
6:00 - 8:30 PM
SLAC Café, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025

2011 Book: Eaarth

This year’s Mountain View Reads Together book choice is Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet, the most recent book by environmental writer Bill McKibben. The author describes a drastically changed planet he calls “Eaarth,” yet also offers hope via new ways of living. McKibben is the founder of the grassroots group 350.org, dedicated to solving climate change.

Mountain View Reads Together, currently in its sixth year, is a project that creates a shared community experience by offering a series of events related to one book. All of Mountain View is encouraged to read or listen to the chosen book, and participate in related events. A series of free activities that are related to the themes of the book will be offered throughout November. For more information, visit mvreads.org or www.mountainview.gov/library.

How [2008 book] "Three Cups of Tea" Changed One [Mountain View] Woman's Life

How ‘Three Cups of Tea’ Changed One Woman’s Life
June Bennehoof was so inspired after reading the book, she decided to raise enough funds to build a school in Pakistan—and she’s nearly there.

Read more

2010 Book: Persepolis

The City of Mountain View Public Library has announced its fifth annual Mountain View Reads Together, a city-wide celebration of one book that is scheduled for November.

This year’s selection, Persepolis: the Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, is a memoir of the author’s childhood during the Iranian Revolution. The highly-acclaimed book is told in a vivid graphic-novel format.

The month-long program includes book discussions and events for all ages that explore the themes of the book. For details, check the library's website or phone the Reference Desk at 650 903-6337.

Help Select the Book for 2010!

If you'd like to help select the book that Mountain View will be reading in 2010, please contact Karin Bricker (karin.bricker@mountainview.gov), (650) 526-7042.

A planning meeting will take place in March 2010, with a date to be finalized later.

In the meantime, think of books that lend themselves to good discussion and diverse activities. Ask others you know, too!

Artists' Reception on December 2, 2009

The winning artists and their pieces of art at the reception held the evening of December 2 at the City of Mountain View Public Library lobby.

Magnetic Bookmarks on stand: photographs suggested by the book and the inspiring quotes. By Nanci Tousignant
Pillow with bookcover and iconic swatches suggested by the book. By Susan Morgan.
"A Higher Place" (charcoal drawing) by Lynn Fennema
"Don't Be Afraid" (paper collage) by Karen Zellers
"The Fall Garden" by Amanda Miller (pictured) and Carly Miller.
Susan Morgan presents the Mailbox pillow as a gift to the author, Audrey Shafer (on left).

November 2009 "The Mailbox" Events

The November events are now listed at http://mvpl-mvrt.blogspot.com/

Author Audrey Shafer will speak at the library, Books Inc., and local schools. Other activities include an art contest, calligraphy class, pop-up card workshop, talk about traumatic stress, and an event centered around dogs (& cats, too).

Art Contest -- due November 2

("Flowers!" by Amanda and Carly Miller, ages 8 and 12, respectively)

• Read the book — “The Mailbox” by Audrey Shafer
• Create a work of art in any medium suggested by the book’s themes
• Art must not exceed 16”H x 18”W x 20”D
• Submit your art and the info below by November 2
• Artwork will be displayed in the Library’s lobby through December 1
• Artists’ reception Monday, December 1 at 7pm in the Community Room
• Prizes will be awarded to three winning entries and five honorable mention submissions.

Name:
Phone:

Email:
Name of work/description:

Submit your work & entry form by November 2 to either of these librarians:

Karin Bricker, Children’s Services, 650.526.7042

Candace Bowers, Adult Services, 650.903.6887

Download PDF of Art Contest flyer.

Did you know that Mountain View is joining in celebrating October National Arts and Humanities Month? For more information, visit http://mv-arts.blogspot.com. You can create your Mountain View Reads Together art piece and also fill out the October Arts Challenge entry form and you'll have TWO chances for different prizes. You can submit your Arts Challenge entry form by mailing it to the City Clerk or turning it in at the library in the autumnal mailbox shown above.

Secret Delivery

Artist: Michele Mitcavish
Napa County , California
"Secret Delivery"
Fused and Cut Glass Mosaic
2008


"I wanted to take a dreamy approach to my interpretation of the book, "The Mailbox". While I was reading the book, I started to make notes of things that jumped out at me in the story. As wisps of the book's images ran through my imagination, I drew them onto the box. I also incorporated some of the key phrases from the text into the imagery. Then I began cutting and melting the glass. The rhododendrons, flames and green envelope (inside) were all fused in a glass kiln and then filled in with hundreds of pieces of cut glass for the areas of color. After the glass was adhered, I completed the grouting to make sure the mailbox could weather the outdoors. I find working in the medium of mosaic gives me the freedom to visually pull the different elements together to create a complete story."

The Mailbox was the book choice for 2008 Napa County Reads. On November 7th, 2008, Arts Council Napa Valley, the Napa County Office of Education, the Napa County Board of Supervisors, artists, and community members celebrated the Napa County Reads program at an auction and benefit at Artesa Winery. The book was the inspiration for 28 artful mailboxes designed by local artists and auctioned off at the event. The proceeds benefitted Napa County Reads, a literacy program sponsored by the Napa County Office of Education.

2009 Book Choice: The Mailbox

The Mailbox by Audrey Shafer has been selected as 2009’s Mountain View Reads Together book. This is the first book chosen that was written for a younger audience.

Gabe is a 12 year old who has moved from foster home to foster home and is eventually adopted by a reclusive uncle, a Vietnam Veteran. As the book begins, the boy returns home from school to find the uncle has died unexpectedly. Not wanting to return to foster care, he decides to keep the death a secret. He is aided in this by a mysterious person who communicates with him by leaving messages in the mailbox.

The 178 page book is written for grades 4 and up but should appeal to adults as well. It is a good one for families to discuss. It addresses the lingering effects of the Vietnam War on participants, the plight of a 12 year old orphan who longs for a family, the importance of pets, the value of reading, and a caring community--all wrapped up in a compelling mystery.

The author, a Mountain View resident, is a professor of anesthesiology at Stanford and an anesthesiologist at Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.

Watch for upcoming details about the November 2009 series of Mountain View Reads Together. More details will be on the Library's website.

Women in Islam (Nov. 24)

L to R: Ameena Jandali and Sumbul Ali-Karamali

Ameena Jandali is a founding member of Islamic Networks Group. She has delivered hundreds of presentations in schools, colleges, universities, churches, and other venues on Islam and related subjects, and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs. She currently team teaches a class on Islam at San Francisco City College. She received her M.A. in Near Eastern Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and B.A. in History from the University of Illinois.

Sumbul Ali-Karamali is a local author who earned her B.A. from Stanford, her J.D. from U.C. Davis, and her L.L.M. in Islamic Law from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. She was a teaching assistant in Islamic law at the University of London and was a research associate at the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law in London. For excerpts, reviews, and information about her first book, The Muslim Next Door, please visit her website at www.muslimnextdoor.com.

This was the final program for 2008. Raffle tickets had been given out throughout November whenever an evaluation form was turned in. The drawing was held and four prizes donated by our sponsors were awarded: gift certificates from local bookstores East West Bookstore and Books Inc., a Talk Cinema Palo Alto subscription, and a Flip Ultra video camera from Pure Digital. The winners will be contacted by phone.

Thank you so much to the many people and organizations involved in putting on this year's program! Thank you to those of you who made it out to events, connected with the community, and shared your thoughts and opinions. It takes all of us to make Mountain View the vibrant community it is.

"Change Your World" Youth Contest

On Saturday, November 22, the winners of the MVRT Change Your World contest were recognized at a program at the Mountain View Public Library. The prizes and refreshments were sponsored by the Mountain View Los Altos Challenge Team and the Friends of the Library.

1st place, Grades 3-7
Natalie Lillie reading from her book Natalie's Lice Aren't Nice
Natalie, age 12, turned a difficult personal experience into a positive lesson for others with her book, “Natalie’s Lice aren’t Nice.” Natalie wrote the book to show other children that they don’t need to be embarrassed about this very common problem. Her book offers a realistic and entertaining story as well as guidelines for avoiding an infestation and recovering from one. The book is in the process of being translated into Spanish. Natalie received a 1st place award of $250.00 in the 3-8th grade category.

2nd place, Grades 8-12
Alexander Gonsalves -- Disha Trust: India
Alexander volunteered at the Disha Charitable Trust, a school for mentally challenged children when visiting Panaji, a city in Goa , India . He wants to do something to help the children at the school. Alexander will be starting a drive for books and art supplies to be sent to Panaji. He won a prize of $150.00 as the second place winner in the high school category.

1st place, Grades 8-12
Akash Nigam -- Kick, Lead and Dream
Akash, the $250.00 1st place winner in the high school category, loves soccer and cares about people who have not had the advantages he has enjoyed. He put those passions together to create “Kick, Lead and Dream” a summer soccer camp for at risk youth in Mountain View. Akash has enlisted many others in his vision-- from fellow students (to serve as coaches) to the support of local organizations including Police Action League (PAL) and Mesa de la Comunidad. The program has been so successful that Akash has been asked to replicate it in Sunnyvale .

L to R: Sharlene Gee, Alexander Gonsalves, Akash Nigam, Natalie Lillie, Karin Bricker

Copies of the advance uncorrected proofs from Penguin: Listen to the Wind (a picture book) and Three Cups of Tea (young reader's edition for grades 3-6). Final copies of the books will be available for sale in January 2009.

Words N2 Action at MVHS (Nov. 18)

At the Words N2 Action fair at Mountain View High School on Nov. 18, organizations described what they did and shared their needs for volunteers. Students contacted and coordinated the following organizations to participate:
Community School of Music and Arts, Green Citizen, Magic, Tri-City Breakfast Program, Sierra Club, Pathways Hospice, City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley, American Red Cross, Special Olympics -- Silicon Valley, City of Mountain View, Ronald McDonald House, and Reading Partners.

Jennifer Jordan (11/12); Red Rock (11/13)

Jennifer Jordan

Kate Reid (from Call of the Wild) and Jennifer Jordan

Scenes from the discussion at Red Rock.

"Back to School"; Margo McAuliffe and Kenyan girls school

Excerpted from the PBS site below:

Back to School is the second installment of Time for School, the multi-year project launched in 2003 when Wide Angle profiled seven children in seven countries – Afghanistan, Benin, Brazil, India, Japan, Kenya, and Romania – starting their first year of school, often despite great odds. Returning in 2006, we find that some are already hanging onto their enrollment by a thread.

For more information on the PBS "Wide Angle" documentary, "Back to School," click here.

=================
Excerpted from the kenyahelpkenya site at the end:

Kenya Help: Building a High School for Girls in Kenya

"You don't need me to come here to teach math. What you need is for me to go home to raise money for the girls' high school". Those were the words, spoken in September 2005, by Margo McAuliffe, retired high school math teacher from Menlo Park, California. Thus began the journey from a bare plot of ground in Naivasha, Kenya to the opening of St Francis Xavier Girls Secondary School (or just St. Francis Girls) to the first class of students in February 2007.

Fr. Daniel Kiriti dreamed of a school for the girls of his Naivasha parish, be they Catholic or not. He wanted a school for the bright but poor girls whose only hope was a secondary education. Its mission would be to empower young women, to build their self-confidence and instill a sense of owning their destiny and that of their community and their country.

For more info on Margo McAuliffe's Kenyan girls school project, go to kenyahelpkenya.org.

Celebrate Pakistani Culture

Sunday, November 9, in the Mountain View City Hall Rotunda.

Building Multicultural Bridges

By Sumbul Ali-Karamali

When I read Three Cups of Tea, my predominant reaction was gratitude for Greg Mortenson. In his book, Mortenson relates Jean Hoerni once cynically stating that Americans would never help the Pakistanis, because they cared about the Buddhists, not about the Muslims. Yet, Mortenson almost single-handedly did care and did help, recognizing – as so few ever do – that education is the key to peace.

As an American Muslim girl growing up in Los Angeles, I had the luxury of education. But I was always aware, even as a child, of how close I had come to not having it. My parents had grown up in India, and my father put himself through school by tutoring children – eventually earning four university degrees. He told me repeatedly, as his grandfather had always told him, that education was the only thing no one could take away.

I grew up Muslim at a time when I was usually the only Muslim in my vicinity – so I got all the questions about Islam. In a way, much of my life has been one, long interfaith dialogue! That’s why it occurred to me one day, after I’d embarked on a career as a corporate lawyer, to write a book for everyone who had ever asked me a question on Islam – and for everyone who had ever wanted to ask but didn’t know any Muslims.

So when my husband’s job took us to London, I earned a graduate degree in Islamic law. To my cultural, practioner’s view of Islam, my degree added a Western, academic viewpoint. And I sat down to write that book!

It just came out in September, and it’s called The Muslim Next Door: the Qur’an, the Media, and that Veil Thing. It’s a fun-to-read introduction to Islam that combines a warm, often humorous, conversational narrative tone with academically reliable substantive content. It’s full of stories and anecdotes about growing up Muslim in America, but it’s deeply informative.

As I read Three Cups of Tea, I reflected that Greg Mortenson touched on, but did not explain, several Islamic concepts. For example, would readers know what he meant by “Sunni,” “Shia” or “mullah”? Or what the religious clergy in Iran have to do with Pakistan? Or what Mortenson is saying or doing when he joins the Pakistanis in their prayers? Or what a fatwa is and what the Wahabis and the Taliban are?

That’s the kind of question I answer in my book, but in a relatable, American context. What does the Muslim family next door believe and what do they practice? What’s the significance of Ramadan and how does it play out in an American Muslim life? What’s the status of women in Islam? I still cringe when I remember a conversation with a young man that culminated in his demanding, “What do you mean you can’t go to the prom because of your religion??”

I hope my book helps build multicultural bridges and, yes, even world peace. I know that’s a lofty goal, but Mortenson began the same way, too, doing what he could do and not worrying about what he couldn’t. Civilizations are not antithetical to each other; rather, it’s the misunderstandings of those civilizations that cause clashes. We can all contribute, in whatever way we can, to the eradication of the “clash of ignorances.” And thus, perhaps even to world peace.

---------------
Sumbul Ali-Karamali is a local author who earned her B.A. from Stanford, her J.D. from U.C. Davis, and her L.L.M. in Islamic Law from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. She was a teaching assistant in Islamic law at the University of London and was a research associate at the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law in London. For excerpts, reviews, and information about her first book, The Muslim Next Door, please visit her website at www.muslimnextdoor.com.

MVHS Art Show at the City Hall Rotunda

Visitors looking at the art.

Honorable Mention: by Eric Rizo

Honorable Mention (top) by Amanda Hyer, (bottom) by Becca Robbins

Second Prize (piece on top left) by Michelle Bernard (pictured with her mother)

First Prize by Masha Kitaigorodsky (left), pictured with Lori Nock, MVHS Commercial Art teacher, show organizer

Getting to Know Your Muslim American Neighbors (Nov. 1)

Maha ElGenaidi, President & Founder of Islamic Networks Group presents to the audience

Maha El Genaidi has presented to hundreds of schools, churches, synagogues, police departments, corporations and other public agencies and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs. She is a recipient of numerous civil rights awards, including the 2002 "Citizen of the Year" Award from the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. Maha received her B.A. in Political Science and Economics from the American University in Cairo. http://ing.org

Sumbul Ali-Karamali is a local author who earned her B.A. from Stanford, her J.D. from U.C. Davis, and her L.L.M. in Islamic Law from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. She was a teaching assistant in Islamic law at the University of London and was a research associate at the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law in London. For excerpts, reviews, and information about her first book, The Muslim Next Door, please visit her website at www.muslimnextdoor.com.

The 2008 Election and the Gap Between Our Minds and Our Ideals

This blog entry is an aside having to do with this year's historical election and the 2006 Mountain View Reads Together book choice, Blink. Back in 2006 we ran a Mountain View Reads Together event related to this gap:
http://mvreads.blogspot.com/2006/11/reveal-your-mind-computer-exercise.html

**** On Sunday, November 2, the San Jose Mercury News published an article by Nicholas D. Kristof:
Race in this election exposes the gap between our minds and our ideals

For the past year and a half, a team of psychology professors has been conducting remarkable experiments on how Americans view Barack Obama through the prism of race.

The scholars used a common research technique, the implicit-association test, to measure whether people regarded Obama and other candidates as more foreign or more American. They found that research subjects — particularly when primed to think of Obama as a black candidate — subconsciously considered him less American than either Hillary Clinton or John McCain.

Click here for the entire article.

**** And another article you may find interesting:
Studies Find a Candidate's Looks Matter
by Jeanna Bryner, on livescience.com, published online 10/30/08

Voters look for someone who appears both competent and attractive when choosing a president, at least when the candidate is female, finds a new study.

If true, the reportedly astronomical fees spent on vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's appearance could have been right on the money.

"Campaign managers seem to be ahead of the game in understanding that image really matters," said Joan Y. Chiao, a psychologist at Northwestern University in Illinois. "They know that, contrary to popular notions, people are not necessarily using deliberate and rational strategies in deciding whom to vote for, especially when it comes to women."

Click here for the entire article.