The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library has launched a “Digital Branch” that includes a complete website redesign. This blog, Graffiti, will be archived but not updated during the transition to the new website. You can find much of the content from this blog on the new website under the heading Teens.
Please visit our new website at www.tscpl.org and tell us what you think!
Repossessed by A. M. Jenkins
Kiriel needs a vacation from being a demon--actually he prefers the term "fallen angel." He's tired of inflicting guilt on the souls sent to Hell. So Kiriel decides to inhabit the body of a teenage boy, Shaun, right before the moment of his untimely death. Kiriel has a list of things he wants to experience before he's caught and cast out. Some are physical experiences and some are emotional. Additionally, once he's human, Kiriel discovers that he wants to his mark on the world, especially the people in Shaun's life.
The human experience turns out to be a lot more complex than Kiriel imagined. As a reader, looking at life through Kiriel's eyes is humorous but also thought-provoking. Repossessed will make you re-evaluate the ways you see ordinary things.
The Anime Club at the library is having a cosplay! This is your chance to dress up as your favorite anime/manga character and compete for awesome prizes. Do you know your way around the internet? Are you a techie nerd or a techie turd? Prove your worth by completing this Internet Scavenger hunt! Winners will receive fun Teen Tech week prizes.
Send an e-mail to ya@tscpl.org with the answers and links to the web pages that you got the information from.
Frank Warren, the author of the PostSecret books, will be giving a presentation tonight in Lawrence. PostSecret is an on-going community art project that is featured on a website and in four books. People anonymously write a secret on a homemade postcard and send it to Frank Warren. Many of the postcards are beautiful and heartbreaking, but a lot are also silly and random.
Frank Warren will be speaking at the KU campus Union Ballroom at 7:00 pm. Click here for more information and call the Student Union box office at 785-864-SHOW to purchase tickets. If you can't attend his presentation, you can still enjoy the PostSecret event by visiting a gallery of postcards created by KU students in the Kansas Union Gallery, checking out one of the library's PostSecret books, or looking at the PostSecret website.
We are having a photography contest in honor of Teen Tech Week! The theme is Teens and Technology, so the entries should generally follow this subject. Photoshop and other editing programs are allowed, so be creative!
You can email your entry as an attachment to ya@tscpl.org, or bring in a hard copy to the YS desk in the public library. This contest is only open to teens in the Topeka/ Shawnee County area.
Luke Rockefeller was raised with the tradition of volunteering. Luke is a senior at Washburn 
Rural High School and is being honored for his free errand service. He runs errands free for the senior citizens at Topeka Presbyterian Manor. Luke started the service in the spring of 2006 and said “There’s a lot of personal gain. Not only is it a good service but also the personal relationships with the residents – it’s a good feeling.”
This week’s Website of the Week is www.poems.com. It is run by an organization called Poetry Daily, and they feature a new contemporary poem every day. The daily poems come from new books, magazines, and journals and are a diverse sampling of the poetry that is being published right now. It seems like most of the poems that people read are older “classic” poems that are taught in schools. Poetry Daily helps expose people to some of the thousands of fresh and relevant poems being written today.
American Gangster
Frank Lucas is a crime boss armed with ruthless, streetwise tactics and a strict sense of honor. Through ingenuity and a strict business ethic, Lucas comes to rule the inner-city drug trade. With Denzel Washington, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Josh Brolin, Russell Crowe. (2008, 174 minutes, rated R)
Lust, Caution
A young woman is caught up in a plot to assassinate a powerful political figure in Japanese-occupied Shanghai during World War II. With Joan Chen, Anupam Kher, Tony Leung. (2008, 155 minutes, rated R)
Rendition
A CIA analyst is forced to question his assignment as he becomes party to the unorthodox interrogation of an Egyptian chemical engineer who disappeared on a flight to Washington, while his American-born wife desperately tries to track her husband down. With Alan Arkin, J.K. Simmons, Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep, Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard. (2008, 120 minutes, rated R)
Michael Clayton
Michael Clayton is known as 'the fixer' at a powerful New York law firm. The firm's top litigator has become a whistleblower, and when Michael tries to undo the damage, he finds himself up against forces that put corporate survival over human life. With Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack, Tom Wilkinson, George Clooney. (2008, 119 minutes, rated R)
Margot At the Wedding
Relationships are tested and family secrets are exposed after Margot decides to visit her newly engaged sister and her less-than-impressive fiance on the eve of their wedding. With ennifer Jason Leigh, Nicole Kidman, Jack Black. (2008, 92 minutes, rated R)
In the Valley of Elah
A career officer and his wife work with a police detective to uncover the truth behind their son's disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq. With James Franco, Josh Brolin, Susan Sarandon, Jason Patric, Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron. (2008, 121 minutes, rated R)
