Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted @ Broke and Bookish
Favorite Fictional Couples in Books

1.  Amy and Rory (Doctor Who - I'm counting this because they make books based on the series, and I heart them)
2.  Agnes and Shane, Agnes and the Hitman
3.  Alexia Tarabotti and Lord Conall Maccon, Soulless
4.  Wesley and Buttercup, Princess Bride
5.  Ron and Hermione, Harry Potter
6.  Eowyn and Faramir, Lord of the Rings
7.  Alice and Jasper, Twilight
8.  Viola and Count Orsino, Twelfth Night
9.  Sookie and Eric, Dead to the World
10.  Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth, Persuasion
Runner Up: Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe, Anne of Green Gables

Teaser Tuesday: The Throne of Fire

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
"Our camels plodded along. Katrina tried to kiss, or possibly spit on Hindenburg, and Hindenburg farted in response. I found this a depressing commentary on boy-girl relationships.”    Throne of Fire, Rick Riordan
  

Monday, November 7, 2011

SpyOps: Secret Agent Training Library Program

Date: November 2, 2011
Time: 1900 hours

Your Mission, if you choose to accept it: create a secret agent program for the teens at a small Indiana public library.

Objective: create an event that will intrigue and entertain the teens for two hours.

Report:

On Wednesday, November 2, 2011, I presented a library program to 10 teen Recruits between the ages of 13 and 18. The program involved three tasks: code breaking, marksmanship, and agility. The recruits were asked to crack two ciphers (a Caesar Cipher, or Shift Cipher, and a Book Cipher), attempt to hit the bullseye with one of six shots, and complete a laser maze. If all three tasks were completed, the Recruits would receive Special Agent status.

Code Breaking:
Recruits diligently attempting to crack the codes. Recruit, Code Name Halo, works on Book Cipher.
The first cipher, once cracked, would lead the recruits to a book title. That book would then be used in solving the second cipher. The revealed passphrase would allow the recruit to move on to the second task.

Marksmanship:
Recruit, Code Name Valiant, proving her skills in marksmanship.
Recruits utilize a 6-shooter NERF gun with suction cup ammo to hit the bullseye of a small target approximately 5-6 feet distant. Recruits required to get task checked off by Agent-In-Charge before moving on to Agility Training.

Agility:
Laser Maze
Recruits awaiting their turn at the maze.
Recruit, Code Name Hawkeye, attempts to complete the maze.
The laser maze is used to test the Recruits' agility. The maze is made up of yarn with bells tied to each end. If a Recruit touches one of the "lasers" the bell will sound, alerting the Agent-In-Charge. The Recruit was then required to start the task over. To complete the task, the Recruit must cross the maze and return again without touching the lasers. Once this third task was completed, the Recruits would have the Agent-In-Charge sign off on their promotion to Special Agent.

Once the Recruits had completed their Mission and received their promotions, they were permitted to improve their skills by repeating the challenges. Several of the Recruits chose to do this, some three or four times. Also, once all Recruits had completed their tasks, some Recruits chose to test their skills against each other, participating in several challenges designed by the Recruits, particularly in regards to the laser maze (see below).

End Result:

Mission: Accomplished