Odds & ends

Our favorite online resources for Thinking Day.

We had a three-way tie for our top vote-getter spot for our September TV series contest: Glee, Pushing Daisies, and The Vicar of Dibley. We have ordered the first season of each – look for them to appear on the library shelves soon!

The Walking Dead, Season 2 was also a top vote getter. However, this season begins airing October 16 and will wrap up sometime in mid-spring. The DVD is currently unavailable.

What TV season would you like the library to get next? You can cast one vote each day in our ballot box. Look for the ballot box on the non-fiction DVD shelves.

For a complete list of September votes, click here

Our top two vote-getters for our August TV series contest were Psych and Fringe. We have ordered the first season of each – look for them to appear on the library shelves soon! We also ordered seasons 2 and 3 of Dexter, our June TV picks.

What TV season would you like the library to get next? You can cast one vote each day in our ballot box. Look for the ballot box on the non-fiction DVD shelves.

For a complete list of August votes, click here

Thank you for playing our “Where in the world” geography trivia game. Join us again next summer!

Last week’s answers:
Mongolia
Zud or dzud

Each week we’ll draw one correct teen and adult answer. The winners will get to pick a prize from our POOL O’ PRIZES. You’ll need to stop by the library to enter your answer in our Official Fishbowl of Answers, but you can get a head start looking up your answers online.

Here is this week’s geography questions. Check the flag description for a hint.

Teens: Name this country.
Adults: Residents of this country experience extremely harsh winter conditions. What is this natural hazard known as?

Flag Description: three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), blue, and red. Centered on the hoist-side red band in yellow is the national emblem (“soyombo” – a columnar arrangement of abstract and geometric representation for fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and the yin-yang symbol). Blue represents the sky, red symbolizes progress and prosperity.

Here’s another hint: All the answers can be found online in the CIA World Factbook.

Last week’s answers:
Kazakhstan
the Baykonur Cosmodrome (a space launch facility)

Each week we’ll draw one correct teen and adult answer. The winners will get to pick a prize from our POOL O’ PRIZES. You’ll need to stop by the library to enter your answer in our Official Fishbowl of Answers, but you can get a head start looking up your answers online.

Here is this week’s geography questions. Check the flag description for a hint.

Teens: Name this country.
Adults: This country leases part of its land to a neighboring country. What does this leased land enclose?

Flag Description: a gold sun with 32 rays above a soaring golden steppe eagle, both centered on a sky blue background. The hoist side displays a national ornamental pattern “koshkar-muiz” (the horns of the ram) in gold. The blue color is of religious significance to the Turkic peoples of the country, and so symbolizes cultural and ethnic unity. It also represents the endless sky as well as water. The sun, a source of life and energy, exemplifies wealth and plenitude. The sun’s rays are shaped like grain, which is the basis of abundance and prosperity. The eagle has appeared on the flags of regional tribes for centuries and represents freedom, power, and the flight to the future.

Here’s another hint: All the answers can be found online in the CIA World Factbook.

Last week’s answers:
Micronesia (Federated States of Micronesia)
607 islands

Our top two vote-getters for our July TV series contest were Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Star Trek (The Original Series). We have ordered the first season of each – look for them to appear on the library shelves soon!

What TV season would you like the library to get next? You can cast one vote each day in our ballot box. Look for the ballot box on the non-fiction DVD shelves.

For a complete list of July votes, click here

Each week we’ll draw one correct teen and adult answer. The winners will get to pick a prize from our POOL O’ PRIZES. You’ll need to stop by the library to enter your answer in our Official Fishbowl of Answers, but you can get a head start looking up your answers online.

Here is this week’s geography questions. Check the flag description for a hint.

Teens: Name this country.
Adults: This country is made up of four major island groups. How many total islands make up this country?

Flag Description: light blue with four white five-pointed stars centered; the stars are arranged in a diamond pattern. Blue symbolizes the Pacific Ocean, the stars represent the four island groups of Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap.

Here’s another hint: All the answers can be found online in the CIA World Factbook.

Last week’s answers:
Guatemala
Quetzal

Each week we’ll draw one correct teen and adult answer. The winners will get to pick a prize from our POOL O’ PRIZES. You’ll need to stop by the library to enter your answer in our Official Fishbowl of Answers, but you can get a head start looking up your answers online.

Here is this week’s geography questions. Check the flag description for a hint.

Teens: Name this country.
Adults: This country’s national bird is also the name of its currency. What is this bird?

Flag Description: three equal vertical bands of light blue, white, and light blue, with the coat of arms centered in the white band. The coat of arms includes the national bird representing liberty and a scroll bearing the inscription LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (the original date of independence from Spain) all superimposed on a pair of crossed rifles signifying this country’s willingness to defend itself and a pair of crossed swords representing honor and framed by a laurel wreath symbolizing victory. The blue bands stand for the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea and the sea and sky; the white band denotes peace and purity.

Here’s another hint: All the answers can be found online in the CIA World Factbook.

Last week’s answers:
Nepal
Eight

Each week we’ll draw one correct teen and adult answer. The winners will get to pick a prize from our POOL O’ PRIZES. You’ll need to stop by the library to enter your answer in our Official Fishbowl of Answers, but you can get a head start looking up your answers online.

Here is this week’s geography questions. Check the flag description for a hint.

Teens: Name this country.
Adults: How many of the world’s 10 highest peaks does this mountain country contain?

Flag Description:
Red with a blue border around the unique shape of two overlapping right triangles. The smaller, upper triangle bears a white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle displays a white 12-pointed sun. The color red represents the rhododendron (the national flower) and is a sign of victory and bravery, the blue border signifies peace and harmony. The two right triangles are a combination of two single pennons (pennants) that originally symbolized the mountains while their charges represented the families of the king (upper) and the prime minister, but today they are understood to denote Hinduism and Buddhism, the country’s two main religions. The moon represents the serenity of the this country’s people and the shade and cool weather in the mountains, while the sun depicts the heat and higher temperatures of the lower parts of this country. The moon and the sun are also said to express the hope that the nation will endure as long as these heavenly bodies.
Note: this is the only country in the world whose flag is not rectangular or square

Here’s another hint: All the answers can be found online in the CIA World Factbook.

Last week’s answers:
Papua New Guinea
860 languages