November 2010
51 posts
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What Did Mark Twain Eat For His 70th Birthday?
On this date in 1835, legendary author Mark Twain was born. For his 70th birthday, there was a dinner in his honor at Delmonico’s in NYC that included all sorts of delicious goodies (like Persillade Potatoes, Red Head Duck and Timbales Perigerdine). Here’s the 1905 menu, plucked from our famous Menu Collection. What says “happy birthday” better than mushrooms on toast...
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WatchOur friends The Walkmen keep popping up all over. Here they are covering Holiday Road for The AV Club. We know it as “The theme song to National Lampoon’s Vacation.”
ps - This Saturday, we’re hosting a tribute to National Lampoon for our final LIVE from the NYPL event of the year. Bonus points if you come dressed as Cousin Eddie.
timeoutnewyork:
andrearosen:
The...
Interview: Dan Smith Will Teach You Guitar →
He is arguably the most recognized musician in New York City. The slight smile, patient and reassuring, that greets you every morning as you wait in line at the corner bodega for your coffee and bagel. Regardless of socioeconomic class or race, from Bed-Stuy to The Bronx, from East Village to the Upper East Side, all New Yorkers know: Dan Smith will teach you guitar.
Billy Parrot, the amazing...
The New York Times Asks: Why is every... →
LAST CHANCE: VOTE NYPL
It’s the last day to vote for NYPL as a “must follow non-profit” in Mashable’s annual awards. So it’s now or never, loyal fans of libraries and all we have to offer. Sign into Facebook or Twitter and click here. Do us proud!
To get you pumped to vote (and to highlight the cool rarities we actually have), here are two voting-related political cartoons from our...
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Those Thanksgiving cards cracked us up so much, we... →
Great Black Friday Shopping At NYPL (And We Ain't...
The holiday season is in full swing, and as you awake from your food coma today and head out to the stores in search of the perfect 99-cent television or some other gift for your loved ones, consider this - the Library sells everything from beautiful Reading Room Lamps to marble lion book ends to “Shhhhh!” t-shirts to ornaments. Why not do some holiday shopping at NYPL and support a good...
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“We’re all praying to the same God. We’re pretty much saying the same...”
– Jay-Z speaking about faith during his LIVE talk on Nov. 15. His quote segues beautifully into our Three Faiths exhibition at the Stephen A. Schwarzman building, which highlights how Judaism, Christianity and Islam are interrelated. It’s a perfect FREE show to visit this weekend or during a...
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WatchThe next head of NYPL’s Schomburg Center Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad has a chat with the current director Dr. Howard Dodson, who is leaving in July 2011, at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. Enjoy!
Meet the next Director of The Schomburg Center for... →
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One last bit from our conversation with...
Edward Albee: On a good night, I can cry five minutes into a play.
Will Eno: If I'm hydrated...
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Yes, Jay-Z was in the (New York Public Library) house Monday night (How moving is that photo of Jay-Z and Harry Belafonte doing the “man embrace”? Wow!)
But there were other highly-acclaimed geniuses at the Library that evening as well. American playwrights Edward Albee and Will Eno also sat down for a conversation as part of the Conversations from the Cullman Center series. Albee’s won three...
“I’ve been playing Plato to Biggie’s Socrates.”
– Words of wisdom from Jay-Z, as repeated by Dr. Cornel West during their LIVE from the NYPL convo last night.
Quotable conversations. Stellar guests. We’re pretty much a “Must Follow Non-Profit,” right? If you think so, tell Mashable! Vote for us as “Must Follow Non...
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WatchNot only is Jay-Z in the house, but now our LIVE from the NYPL conversation with Keith Richards is on the web!
Check out the complete video from Keith’s October 29th NYPL appearance!
Jay-Z Is Here . . .
Jay-Z is in the house! The man of the hour is at our Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42 Street to prep for this evening’s conversation with Dr. Cornel West of Princeton University and LIVE from the NYPL’s Paul Holdengraber. The event has been long sold-out, but there will be a *free* live webcast through Fora.tv.
However, if you’d rather not sit in front of a screen this...
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“Artists of all kinds have a platform and, if they’re any good, have a...”
– Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter from an excerpt of his book Decoded in today’s Daily News. Just a taste of what he’ll be talking about tonight at NYPL in conversation with Cornell West.
And don’t worry about tickets selling out, everyone can stream the event live thanks to...
Spread The Word - VOTE FOR NYPL!!!! Do it NOW!
The incredible website Mashable is taking nominations for its fourth annual awards program, and one of the categories is “Must Follow Non Profit.” So, NYPL is a non-profit (a four-star charity, in fact). We’re the most popular public library on Facebook and Twitter. We have this blog (a Tumblr, gosh darn it). We have a fantastic e-newsletter, an incredible network of NYPL blogs...
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The 'Whole Megillah' At NYPL
You may not know the origins of the phrase “the whole Megillah,” but if you watch this great clip about the Library’s Three Faiths exhibition, you’ll find out. Thanks to NY1, you can wow your friends with this knowledge and answer the question correctly when it (inevitably) gets asked on Jeopardy. We also think it’d be great to impress your visiting family over the holidays by bringing...
Marina Abramovic At NYPL Tonight - Tix Available
Who wouldn’t want to see this face in person? Earlier this year, performance artist Marina Abramović’s two-month sit-in at MoMA was the subject of much pondering: What’s the point? What’s with the dresses? Doesn’t she need to go to the bathroom? Well, tonight at 7:00 p.m. at NYPL, Marina speaks! Come see her in conversation with neuroscientist António Damásio as...
Soldier Downloads NYPL eBooks From The South Pole
The Library is doing its part to help soldiers overseas - by keeping them reading. As long as they have a library card, they can download thousands of eBooks no matter where they’re stationed. One soldier - 18-year military vet Richard Felton of the New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing - said in an email interview about a year ago that he downloads NYPL eBooks while...
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Depeche Mode Founder / Erasure Member Lists Top...
Yes, NYPL has a Tumblr (which is awesome, and we encourage you to follow us, tell your friends to follow us, etc), but NYPL also has a fantastic network of blogs on its own website constantly updated by staffers with a ton of great content. We’ll be highlighting some of those blogs on NYPL Wire, including this one by Marie Hansen at our Jefferson Market branch. She had the chance to ask...
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Nation, Stephen Colbert Rocks!
Nation, here’s a report on Stephen Colbert - he’s a great guy! Folks from his Comedy Central show “The Colbert Report” donated several boxes of books to NYPL’s Correctional Services Program after the NY Times ran an article on the service. The program at Rikers Island prison in NYC offers a mobile library for inmates in the hopes that they keep their minds busy and...
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“My philosophy is: as the face gets worse, the clothes have to get better.”
– Steve Martin (via putthison)
And with threads like this stylin’ tuxedo (and sweet Library Lions medal), you’re doing just fine, Steve.
Steve Martin chats with NBC/U head honcho Jeff Zucker at last week’s Library Lions gala. Photo by Julie Stapen.
Cool Gift Idea . . . And A Chance At A Discount
Like this amazing New York City street image by acclaimed photographer Berenice Abbott? It’s just one of over 275,000 photos in our Digital Gallery that you can get framed (or unframed) and give as a gift this holiday season. Yes, it’s early to be thinking about this, but heck, the stores are getting decked out already so why not get started? Here’s the best part - if you...
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Pics From The Past: Marathon Sunday
In honor of Marathon Sunday here in New York City, check out some photos of the 1979 Marathon from our collections. Oddly, the images seem to be stuck to something (which means that’s how they were when they were acquired) but they’re still neat. Check out more in our Digital Gallery. Enjoy.
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Jay-Z: SOLD OUT
Jay-Z proved to be a one-minute man today - in less than 60 seconds, his Nov. 15 reading at the Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building sold out. For those who scored tickets - congrats! For those shut out - there will be a video of the event online! Stay tuned here …
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Jay-Z Tickets On Sale Tomorrow!
Ever wonder what Jay-Z’s 99 problems actually are? Well, the 10-time Grammy winner will be at NYPL on Nov. 15 to discuss his new book “Decoded” and just may get into it. Tickets for the event go on sale tomorrow at noon - $58 gets you a ticket and a copy of the book. The superstar will be signing the books afterward. So go to showclix.com or call 1.888.71.TICKETS at noon...
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We Are The Champions, My Friend
News flash: The NYPL just won two major prizes at the PR News’ Non-Profit PR Awards at the National Press Club in Washington DC. One for use of Twitter (we are the number one public library in the country with 82,000 followers - a 1,000-plus percent increase since January). Another for this year’s advocacy campaign, “Don’t Close The Book On Libraries,” which resulted...
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Elvis Was In Our Building
Last week Keith Richards was in our house. Yesterday Elvis Costello dropped by. The Artists Den (known for presenting intimate concerts in unique settings) held one of its super secret concerts last night - Elvis Costello along with the Sugarcanes and Pete Thomas - for 500 lucky fans at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Costello performed new songs from “National Ransom” during the...
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Jonathan Franzen and Carrie Bradshaw Rule The...
The NYPL circulation numbers are in for October, and the book checked out more than any other during that month was “Freedom: A Novel” by Jonathan Franzen. The top movie was “Sex In The City 2.” Below are the top five in both categories compiled by our assistant director of central collection development Miriam Tuliao (if you haven’t read or watched these yet, get to...
