RELAX

The school year is in full swing. All over the Teen Room you'll see kids buckling down, sharpening their pencils, and getting to work. Homework, college applications, extracurriculars, extra credit. We're so proud of you guys!

But don't forget to relax.

Everyone relaxes in their own way. Some people like to read a good, quick book. Maybe a short poem while you eat your breakfast? Some people swear by yoga. Others by knitting. Some people might like to lay back with their fattest pair of headphones and listen to some good old fashioned classical music.

Whatever you're into, the Teen Room can help you out. Books, DVDs, CDs... we can track them down for you. I also offer a few of my favorite zone-out-and-stare videos from youtube. Watching these videos is worth hours of yoga, I'm telling you.

How do YOU relax?

The Old Man and the Sea

in 4 minutes...

Shakespeare made easier

Not that I'm saying you shouldn't still read the play, but if you're feeling a little lost and getting all the characters jumbled up, these shorts from CliffNotes might help.

It's a fun study break too; I just enjoyed Hamlet*.



*And that's not even one of my favorite plays!  Hamlet is a tool, and if I'm going to watch someone ruin the lives of everyone around him, I prefer Richard II.

Copyright: the always bodacious Kate Beaton!

I had no idea you could soup up a Ford Fiesta like that

Oh man, it's like a real, live video game.  This could be my next dream job.  I wonder what kind of benefits these guys get?  Besides driving a car into a yeti on top of a ladder?!?

Yo Yo Interlude

I know squat about baseball

But now I heart the San Francisco Giants!

Guys, tell me this isn't going to be like Axe bodyspray...

USE SPARINGLY! Even if you get to go on a magical flight with the Beibster every time. Because my sinuses can only take so much.

An aside about our sidebars

While your teen services librarians will of course continue to post the weird, informative and heartrending, you can also find all kinds of nifty in our sidebar.  Authors' blogs and websites, book reviews, sites to help you with homework, career choices and health, and stuff that is just amusing.*

Our sidebar also features ways for you to talk back to us, whether you visit our facebook page, Twitter feed, or Meebo chat.  And today I've just put up a new widget [LibrariUS] which is asking for your input on how you use the library.  This helps us provide better service for y'all, so please check it out.

Thus endeth the public service message.  Here's some cuteness:



*Amusing is critical; it is how I structure most of my day.

Probably won't be a high school club activity any time soon

Nor will it be allowed in the Teen Room. But it is still kinda awesome.




You gotta love that the dude won the match with his manly chess skills and not the facepunch.

Love your library? Tell the world!

The deadline is just around the corner! Win $3,000 for your school or public library (which could provide even more fantastic materials and services!), to say nothing of the pride and glory.

World travel

This is elegant and clever! It both makes me want to travel and makes me want to get a camera and try to put together a tour of Cambridge. What would you document?

Are You Typical?

Have you seen this video from National Geographic? Pretty keen way to look at these statistics -- and to think about the world beyond our little town.

Absolutely. Especially when I am riding on the T.

Also, please note that the library books are free. But you can pretend to be a hood if it makes you enjoy the process more.

It Gets Better

If you haven't heard about this already, or if you haven't watched the videos, please check out the "It Gets Better" project's channel on Youtube.



These videos were created in response to teenagers who have committed suicide because of bullying, because they felt alone with their differences, because they felt like freaks who would never fit in...

Do you hear that?!?! Gay, lesbian, transgender and queer teens end their lives because people with tiny minds are making those lives a misery.

This is very real. Over 21 days in September, nine teenagers committed suicide because of homophobic bullying.

Billy Lucas (15) September 9, 2010. Indiana
Cody J. Barker (17) September 13, 2010. Wisconsin
Seth Walsh (13) September 19, 2010. California
Tyler Clementi (18) September 22, 2010. New Jersey
Asher Brown (13) September 23, 2010. Texas
Harrison Chase Brown (15) September 25, 2010. Colorado
Raymond Chase (19) September 29, 2010. Rhode Island
Felix Sacco (17) September 29, 2010. Massachusetts
Caleb Nolt (14) September 30, 2010. Indiana

You know what else is real? What the people in these videos are saying. Please listen. Don't give up. Live your life the way you want it to be.

Test Prep Can Be Fun?

Heck yeah! If you are sick of slogging through PSAT or SAT vocab flashcards, take a look at this alternative:

http://www.gotbrainy.com/

I love the idea of using pictures and video to define a word -- this also really works when learning a foreign language. Plus, you may be inspired to pick up a camera and make your own cinematic oeuvre of your favorite (or most despised) vocab word.