October 2013 – Ara Library Blog

Happy Halloween

The Oxford English Dictionary gives the definition of Halloween, or rather Hallow-e’en as a shortened version of All-Hallow-Even. The eve of All Hallows’ or All Saints’; the last night of October. In the Old Celtic calendar the year began on 1st November, so that the last evening of October was ‘old-year’s night’, the night of all the witches, which the Church transformed into the Eve of All Saints. ‘Hallow” means a holy personage in Old English. History.com and Wikipedia give more information on this tradition.

Here are a few weblinks to get you into the ghostly groove.

Something to make, eat or do from Food riot.com :

The not so humble jack’o’lantern

I don’t do grape eyeballs

Bobbing for apples – an old and unhygienic Halloween tradition as it happens or you could try this more appetising option from Instructables.

Something to watch

Something to wear

From Bookish – Best Halloween costumes

From Instructables

Something from our Library

Books

Halloween costumes

King, S (2008) Just after sunset – a book of short stories to give you the creeps.

Hayward, p. (2009) Terror tracks : Music, sound and horror cinema

CD

Jackson, M (2001) Thriller

e-Book

Morton, L (2011) Halloween encyclopedia (use your CPIT username and password to read online)

and finally to keep you and your family safe …

Something from the Police

Safety tips for Halloween

Labouring on

This coming Monday (28th October) is Labour Day.

Since 1900, Labour Day has been a public holiday in New Zealand, commemorating the struggle for the 8-hour working day and other worker’s rights. If you’d like to know more about employment rights, responsibilities, and legislation in New Zealand, try one of these:

Top 100 questions and answers on employment law

Employment relationships : workers, unions and employers in New Zealand

Reconstructing New Zealand’s labour law : consensus or divergence?

Essential New Zealand employment legislation

If, on the other hand, you have plans for Labour day that are a bit less political, you might like to try one of these:

Inspirational gardens of New Zealand

Eco-house manual : a guide to making environmentally friendly improvements to your home

Bourke Street Bakery : the ultimate baking companion

Classic tramping in New Zealand

Or even:

The exam skills handbook : achieving peak performance

Whatever your plans are for the long weekend, have fun, relax, and remember that while the library will be closed on Monday, we’re still open Saturday (10-5) and Sunday (12-5).

Book deliveries by drone! – Have they heard of e-books?

Reported this week in The Age, an Australian newspaper, is a new library book delivery system whereby … “students will be able to order books … via an Android smartphone app and have one of six Flirtey drones deliver them to their door in Sydney.”

See more delivery drone services from mail delivery to pizza delivery on you tube.

It will be interesting to see if the new drone technology catches on. Meanwhile at CPIT we can offer electronic delivery of information to your computer, ipad, tablet, etc. via our e-books.

To find e-books

1. In Primo Library Search try a search on your topic e.g. dancing then on the next screen under Show only in the left column, select Full Text Online.

e.g.

2. Click on the title of your chosen resource to open it. e.g. Ballroom Dancing

3. Use your CPIT username and password to access it when prompted for this.

Note: Click here for instructions of how to print from an EBL ebook. Depending on the size of your EBL ebook under copyright you may be permitted to print 1 or 2 chapters.

A random selection of e-books in our electronic collection

Lindstrom, M. (2012) Brandwashed : tricks companies use to manipulate our minds …

Oliver, L. (2012) The small business book : a NZ guide

Bartlett, B (2013) Practical recording techniques

Ray, M (2013) Alternative, country, rap, hip hop and more …

Olson, M (2013) Bon Jovi

Miller, M (2011) Using Google Advanced Search

Jackson, W (2012) Android apps for absolute beginners

Wolber, D (2011) App inventor: create your own android apps

If you need any assistance with using ebooks ring 940 8089 or email library@cpit.ac.nz or ask at the Library desk.

Looking for art in all the right places

Christchurch this spring brings so many opportunities to get out and enjoy the arts in our city.

If you have been wondering about the central city lately, you may have noticed a number of artworks and happenings occurring as part of Scape 7 (Public Art Christchurch Biennial), which provides a range of artworks to view and a number of community events to take part in. Don’t worry if you haven’t been into town recently as you have until the 9th November to enjoy what’s on offer.

Scape events range from Powerslide a fun filled inflatable sports field where you can compete in a series of round robin games through to Bodytok Quintet: The Human Instrument Archive a show that is created from recordings of a variety of sounds that can be made by the human body and responds to the viewers’ movements. For those who would like to contribute their own sounds to the installation you can register your interest, and Phil will be making new recordings on 19^th and 20^th October. Bodytok by Phil Dadson is at the Lantern Gallery, ArtBox site.

ArtBox is currently showing Here and There a group show by Tracy Osborne, Ana Cubilana and Michelle de Silva. For those of you who haven’t yet discovered ArtBox it’s a great exhibition space at 270 St. Asaph Street. It’s a gallery space where Christchurch artists who have lost their studios and gallery spaces can exhibit their work. Each month sees a change in exhibition, and keep an eye on the exterior walls as they change too.

Each month the ArtBox exhibiting artist/s give a talk about their practise (held at CPIT) which is always illuminating and rewarding to attend. Purchase a raffle ticket for $20.00 and have a 1/100 chance of winning an original artwork contributed by the exhibiting artist, great odds for potentially owning an original artwork! Funds raised from the sale of the tickets go to the artist and supporting the operating costs of ArtBox.

Also watch out this month for FESTA The Festival of Transitional Architecture and come to Something Super the launch of the Firth Courtyard on the ArtBox site, 5.30 – 11.30pm, on the 25^th October. There will food, music, movies, art and talks – a great way to kick off your long holiday weekend!

World Architecture Day 2013

World Architecture Day, celebrated on the first Monday of October, was set up by the International Union of Architects (UIA) back in 2005 to “remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat”. This year World Architecture Day has the theme ‘Culture-Architecture’ and the UIA invites its members to create events that highlight culture as a vital part of the architectural process and illustrate its potential to help resolve the challenges architects face in the practice of their profession.

This celebration is also in conjunction with United Nation’s World Habitat Day. The purpose of World Habitat Day is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and the basic right of all to adequate shelter. It is also intended to remind the world that we all have responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns.

So plenty of excuses to celebrate the extraordinary capacity of architecture and the social responsibility architects have in the future of our habitat. So take some time out to have a look at our amazing architecture collection here at the library, for example:

Designed for Habitat : collaborations with Habitat for Humanity

The solar house : pioneering sustainable design

Sustainable Design. Towards a New Ethic in Architecture and Town Planning : Towards a New Ethic in Architecture and Town Planning

Transformer : reuse, renewal, and renovation in contemporary architecture

World Vegetarian Day – 1 October

[Graphic of the food pyramid for vegetarians from Loma Linda University]

Welcome to World Vegetarian Day and World Vegetarian Awareness Month.

What are you having for dinner tonight? In celebration of today, why not swap that pork, beef or chicken portion for a creamy pumpkin pasta or a vegetarian curry.

The NZ Ministry of Health has a guide about eating for healthy vegetarians.

Not ready to go all out vegetarian?

Why not try a meatless Monday. Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns, in association with the Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Here are two of their free online ebooks of recipes.

Meatless Monday burgers e-cookbook and Meatless Monday chili e-cookbook

If a whole week of it might be your goal watch this TED TV video where Graham Hill, creator of Treehugger.com presents in less than six minutes, why he is a weekday vegetarian