My Netflix queue is chock-a-block full of tv shows on dvd, and now I see that most of them are available from the UW Libraries with little or no wait time and at no charge. Glad I paid that Netflix membership in advance.

New arrivals in the past two weeks, all located at the AV Desk in the basement of Coe Library:

Arrested Development: One of my favorites! Feel free to argue this point, but for my money, the best character is GOB. I can’t get enough of his Segway scooter and his theme song.

The Shield: I only saw the first season, and it was scary good. Now is the time to catch up on the rest, as I’ve heard this is one of the best shows on tv.

Grey’s Anatomy: Ridiculously soapy and irresistable, even though I’m tired of McDreamy. Does any workplace really have this much drama?

Joan of Arcadia: This one has been on my to-watch list forever, I have only seen a few episodes. Is it worth my time?

Red Dwarf: Join the legions of fans.

Finally, Young Frankenstein. Not a tv show, but it stars the late great star of tv and film, Peter Boyle. May he rest in peace.

The New York Times reports today that Wyoming’s grizzly bear population faces a serious threat from an infestation of mountain pine beetles. 

The insects decimate stands of whitebark pine and the tree deaths create a loss of pinenuts, a primary food source for the bears.  Global warming makes the infestation problem worse, and scientists project that the grizzlies will start moving to colder locations with healthy whitebark pines, namely the Wind River Range.  The article includes a fascinating preview of the bear regulation debates likely to rage in our state over the next decade.

To learn more about Wyoming’s Yellowstone grizzly population, visit Coe Library.

Have you ever wondered if time travel is possible or contemplated what really happened to the Neanderthals? The February issue of Wired Magazine offers brief answers to these questions and 40 more of the biggest questions about science. Experts take a shot at explaining the ungraspable, like “why can’t we predict the weather?” and “is time an illusion?” The solutions to six mysteries of the universe by the hilarious John Hodgman might just be the best part.

Still have questions about science? Visit the Coe Library reference desk and we will do our best to answer them!

The classes listed below will meet in the Electronic Classroom in Coe Library Tuesday:

• 9:35 – 10:50 a.m. WMST 4700 (Holland)
• 1:20 – 2:35 p.m. KIN 3037 (Alderman)
• 4:00 – 6:50 p.m. SOWK 4460 (Dole-Izzo)

Nothing like waiting until the end of January to announce a resolution, but I wanted to be certain of it. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Coe Library and to renew my lost ability to read a book or so a week, I hereby declare my plan to read 50 books in 2007. This is not a new idea but it promises to be fun. I’m counting on the UW Libraries blog readers to keep me honest and to provide clever commentary and book recommendations!

#1: The Mystery Guest by Gregoire Boullier

The first book I read proved an excellent start to my resolution. Translated from the French, The Mystery Guest offers the account of a man invited by his ex-girlfriend to attend a birthday party for a famous artist as a “mystery guest”. The artist, whom he has never met, holds a party for herself every year, with one guest for every year of her life, plus one mystery guest. Our hero holds a grudge against his ex, and wills himself not to attend, but in the end he cannot resist.

His take on the party is uniquely French and the writing is contemplative without being navel-gazing. My favorite part of The Mystery Guest: it is a true story! The whole time I read it, I thought “what a great idea for a novel” and then I noticed by the call number (sorry, I’m a librarian through and through) that the book is a memoir.

I love a party and a new idea, but were I in Boullier’s shoes, I suspect that serving as mystery guest and seeing an ex would be too nerve-wracking for me to attend. Would you go?

The following class will meet in the Coe Library Electronic Classroom Monday:

9:00 – 10:50 a.m. ITEC 1000 (Aagard)

The classes listed below will meet in the Electronic Classroom in Coe Library on Friday:

• 9:00 – 9:50 a.m. SPPA 1010 (Coyle)
• 12:00 – 12:50 p.m. SOC 2090 (Pribanic)

Your UW Libraries bloggers are back from an exciting week with 10,000 other librarians at the American Library Association Midwinter Conference in Seattle.

We soaked up information about new library initiatives and products, but we also saved some time to enjoy the Seattle sights.

Coffeeshops were first on the to-do list. Hard to find a latte like this in Laramie:

For a sweet treat, we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Tom Douglas bakery. Take a gander at my favorite dessert, the world-famous coconut cream pies from his Dahlia Lounge:

While picking up name tag flair and scamming free librarian totebags, we spent a little face to face time with a talking robot:

Of course, there’s no place like home, and we’re thrilled to be back in Laramie even if it is freezing cold and there are no talking robots. Next time you visit Coe, stop by the Reference Desk and ask us about our trip!