Teens Only | Top 10 List of Things To Do

In anticipation of the Thanksgiving holiday -- and days off from school -- I thought I would find 10 things to DO. 10 things that are good for you (and the first one is also good for the community!). So here we go!

1. Join runners and walkers and help out the Emergency Food Bank of Stockton by being part of the Run & Walk Against Hunger on Thanksgiving morning, November 22, 2012.  I did it last year (I walked, just to be clear) and will be out again this year. Takes away the guilt from eating 4 pieces of my sister's great pecan pie later in the day!

2. Catch a Stockton Thunder game! Click here for a schedule of games at the awesome Stockton Arena.

3.Visit Stockton's Haggin Museum. There's so much to see there, including the current exhibit Charreria: The Artisanship of Mexican Equestrian Culture. 

4. Catch a movie! San Joaquin County has some great movie theaters, and there are lots of new movies to choose from. To find a theater near you, click here.

5. If you're not too stuffed after your Thanksgiving dinner, check out Dell'Osso Family Farm Holidays On The Farm. It opens Friday, November 23rd. Fun guaranteed!

6. Listen to a book on CD! This is especially helpful advice if you're going to be in the family car for a long trip over the holidays. Want a suggestion? Ok. How about a wicked mash-up of fairy tale and Terminator, set in a Star Wars kind of world? Listen to Cinder by Marissa Meyer. 

7. Try a little ice skating! Yes, I said ice skating. The Oak Park Ice Arena in Stockton has lots of public sessions...and you can rent skates there too! It's fun AND it's great exercise!

8. Alright, c'mon. I'm a librarian. I've GOT to include some books on this list of things to do. I asked my friend Christine and she suggests Divergent by Veronica Roth. It's the story of 16-year-old Beatrice Prior who lives in a future Chicago where she must choose between five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life. This decision is only made more difficult when Beatrice discovers she is an anomaly who doesn't fit in to any one group...and that the society she lives in isn't perfect after all! this sounds pretty good....so I'm going to read it. 

9. I can't help it. I have to recommend another book. This time it's a classic: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. My friend Suzanne suggested this one, and I can't agree with her more. Young Scout Finch, the narrator of the story, relates the impact of a trial on her small Alabama town -- a trial of a black man accused of rape who is defended by Scout's father. If you've never read it, read it NOW! It's so good. And it really makes you think. 

10. This one's really easy and it doesn't cost a cent. Just find a quiet moment and think of a few things, or people, that you are truly thankful for. That's what Thanksgiving is all about, after all.

And speaking of which, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Teens Only | Urban Legends

An urban legend is a secondhand story told as true and just plausible enough to be believed....about some horrific, embarrassing, ironic or exasperating series of events that supposedly happened to a real person.

We've all heard an urban legend or two. But which ones are true? And which ones are just myth?

As you probably know, you can go to the Snopes website and find out which legends are truth or myth. But let's try our own "urban legend" knowledge. Admittedly, these are pretty mild. Do you know which ones are truth and which ones are myth?

1. Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity when an apple fell out of a tree he was sitting under and hit him on the head.

2. The height of the Eiffel Tower changes by as much as six inches depending on the temperature outside.

3. During the day, you can see the stars from the bottom of a well.

4. Bats are blind.

5. A Japanese man -- hoping that his father would miraculously come back to life -- kept the man's corpse in a coffin-sized freezer for 13 years before authorities intervened.

Coconut milk for plasma?

6. Coconut milk can be used as a blood plasma substitute in an emergency.

7. A 22-year-old New York waiter was drowned in Coca Cola by a Russian mobster angry that his drink was removed from his table before he was finished with it.

Still thinking? If you'd like to check out some books filled with urban legends, stop by one of the SSJCPL branches. If the one you want isn't on the shelves, ask library staff to help you place a request! Here are a few cool ones:

Urban Legends: The Complete-As-One-Could-Be Guide to Modern Myths by Ngaire Genge

Urban Legends: The Truth Behind All Those Deliciously Entertaining Myths That Are Absolutely, Positively 100% Not True! by Richard Roeper

And now for the answers: 1. (Myth); 2. (True); 3. (True); 4. (Myth); 5. (True); 6. (True); 7. (Myth)

See you next Saturday!