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Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
… And despite all good cheer, It sized up as “boringest night of the year.” Still 36 hours until Christmas dawning, And reruns of reruns were leaving ‘em yawning. The tree decorating had happened last week The lineup of movies appeared rather bleak. The cookies were eaten; the sprinkles were scattered No Christmas ‘till Christmas! …
Posted in: Books, Collections, Education, Libraries, Preservation, Uncategorized
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
December 18 is a special day in the yearly calendar of the Library of Congress – it’s the day when several of the rare stringed instruments in the Library’s collection are taken from their display cases and handed to the members of a talented string quartet. The collection was assembled with the intention that it …
Posted in: Uncategorized
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
A cartoon can be engaging and funny and tell a story without any audible sound at all; even newspaper cartoons of the 20th century featured characters such as Ferd’nand and The Little King, (external links) who went through their paces, frame-by-frame, with little or no dialogue to move the story along. But sometimes, more is more, as …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, Exhibitions, Film, Music, Uncategorized
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
This guest post comes from Audrey Fischer of the Library’s Communications Office: Generations of former kids who learned their ABCs on PBS will be celebrating today’s 40th anniversary of the show “Sesame Street.” (external link) The Library’s been a fan right along! In April 2000, for example, when the Library of Congress celebrated its bicentennial, …
Posted in: Collections, Education, Events, National Book Festival
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Friday evening at the Library of Congress, our ongoing “Music and the Brain” lecture series will tackle a truly fascinating phenomenon: people whose senses sometimes cross-stimulate, causing them to “hear a color” or “taste a shape.” This phenomenon, known as synesthesia, has been identified in a surprisingly large number of people over the years, including …
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Carl Reiner, whose influence on comedy in the U.S. may be unsurpassed, will speak at the Library of Congress’ Madison Building in the 6th-floor Montpelier Room on Monday, Oct. 26 at 1:30 p.m. Doors open one hour earlier! Don’t miss it!
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Events
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
‘Tis the season to be frightened, and the Performing Arts Encyclopedia is full of ghastly tunes for the musical goblins in your life. We start with Jean Schwartz and William Jerome’s “The Ghost that Never Walked.” The team, best-known for the song “Chinatown my Chinatown,” put this 1904 number into the show “Piff! Paff! Pouf!” to tell the …
Posted in: Collections, Music
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
When it comes to laughter – flat-out, clutch your sides, tears-springing-from-your-eyes laughter – Carl Reiner is an American icon. For something like four generations he’s been cracking us up, from his writing and skit performance on the legendary Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows” (external link) to his creation of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” …
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Events
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
(Ed. note: This post comes to us from Phil Michel, Digital Conversion Coordinator for the Prints & Photographs Division, and one of the authors of the new book Baseball Americana.) While the baseball season winds down and the excitement of another World Series chase begins, we’re celebrating the national pastime with a new book, Baseball …
Posted in: Collections, History, Photos, Preservation, Social Media