culture

Who Is Challenging Books And Why

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These graphs below are based on figures are pulled from the American Library Associations “Challenge Database”, which currently has 10,676 book challenges on record. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. An actual banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. Due to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens, most challenges are unsuccessful and most materials are retained in the school curriculum or library collection.

You will notice that if you add up the numbers of challenges by reason or initiator, the total will be greater than 10,676. This is because many challenges have multiple reasons or initiators.

Challenges By Year

Challenges By Year

Challenges By Reason

Challenges By Reason
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Top 10 Most Banned Books: 2009

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Banned books week is here again. Every year, there are hundreds of attempts to remove books from schools and libraries. Celebrate your freedom to read and right to choose your book during Banned Books Week, September 25th to October 2nd. For more information visit the American Library Association.

Last year during banned books week I posted the top 10 most challenged books for each year spanning 2001 to 2008. Below you is the most recently updated list of the top ten most banned books for 2009:

2009

  1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
    Reasons: drugs, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
  2. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
    Reasons: homosexuality
  3. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
    Reasons: anti-family, drugs, homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group
  4. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
    Reasons: offensive language, racism, unsuited to age group
  5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
    Reasons: religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
  6. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
    Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
  7. My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
    Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
  8. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
    Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
  9. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
    Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
  10. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
    Reasons: nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

Wet T-Shirt Contest Water Boy

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Here we are on what would be the 90th anniversary of Charles Bukowski’s birthday so I guess I’ll post one of my favorite obscure Bukowski clips. The clip is from the 1977 classic “Supervan“. In the film a lecherous Bukowski has an uncredited cameo appearance as a wet t-shirt contest judge. Bukowski is seen splashing water and groping unsuspecting (or possibly suspecting) young starlets while wearing a t-shirt that reads “Wet T-Shirt Contest Water Boy”. I have no idea how the writers/producers/directors ever roped him into this one but I’m glad they did.

Bukowski also has cameo appearances in The Killers and Barfly (which he wrote). If you’re interested in purchasing “SUpervan”, it was released just this March on DVD. And if you’re a huge fan of vans, the actual Supervan is currently for sale.

Sick Systems – How To Keep Somebody With You Forever

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This is a magnificent (yet disturbing) piece on creating a “sick system” – a psychologically manipulative set of behaviors used to keep people dependent on you. There are four main rules:
1. Keep them too busy to think.
2. Keep them tired.
3. Keep them emotionally involved.
4. Reward intermittently.

I have seen this set of rules used in a large number of dominant or authoritative relationships – including governments, dictators, religions, cults, lovers, kidnappers, families and employers. The author outlines a bunch of techniques you can use to achieve your goals using the “sick system” rules.

Make sure there’s never quite enough money, or time, or goods, or status, or anything else people might want. Insufficiency makes sick systems self-perpetuating, because if there’s never enough ______ to fix the system, and never enough time to think of a better solution, everyone has to work on all six cylinders just to keep the system from collapsing.

Touching Strangers

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Photographer Richard Renaldi released a cool new project today called “Touching Strangers”. The collection consists of street portraits of, you guessed it, strangers touching. In an interview with Jörg Colberg, Richard explains:

It is rather awkward to approach someone and ask them if they are interested in touching another stranger for a photograph. I think maybe my nervous, slightly pleading voice kicks in, combined with a little charm. I generally give them my spiel about being a photographer working on a project, and I try to have my book, Figure and Ground, to show to them. It was never easy – though most everyone who agreed to participate was a good sport. Most people eventually grasped the concept, and often it seemed to be a pleasant distraction from their day.

Images from the project can be found after the jump. Also worth browsing through are Richards other photographic collections my favorite being “Bus Travelers”, “Fresno”, “Madison Avenue”, and “Great Plains“.
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Nuked

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If you have read this blog for any amount of time, you know I’m not a stickler for correct spelling and grammar, but I thought you would get a kick out of this. Merriam-Webster has succumbed and updated the pronunciation of nuclear on their website citing:

Though disapproved of by many, pronunciations ending in \\-kyə-lər\\ have been found in widespread use among educated speakers including scientists, lawyers, professors, congressmen, United States cabinet members, and at least two United States presidents and one vice president. While most common in the United States, these pronunciations have also been heard from British and Canadian speakers.

Local Fun

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There are a few great things happening in Denver in the next week I thought you all might be interested in. All of them free (or recommended donation).

Track Shack Race
Denver’s first track specific bike shop, Track Shack, is going to open on the 27th. In order to celebrate their grand opening they’re putting on a race. Cyclists start at Start at 15th and Tremont, race to Lawrence, then to 17th, and back down to Tremont. The last five racers in each lap are eliminated until only one is left standing. The race starts at 6:30pm. Should be a good time. The kids over at Cycle Jerks have all kinds of photos and interviews about the new shop.

Denver Community Museum
Organized and curated by fellow blogger, Jaime Kopke, the Denver Community Museum is a temporary museum located all around Denver, Colorado. Carried out in the form of a pop-up gallery, the museum will exist for less than one year (and less than one month in any single location) – an institution with an expiration date. Contents for the Museum’s monthly, rotating exhibitions are based entirely on community submissions (that means you). The Denver Community Museum is a not-for-profit project and is free and open to the public.

The contents of the Denver Community Museum are generated entirely by submissions from the local community (again, that means you). Exhibitions will change on a monthly basis. One month before an exhibition begins, an open call for participation is announced in the form of a Community Challenge, describing a particular creative project.

Artifacts for the Denver Community Museum’s first exhibit, “The Missing Map” will be accepted this Friday and Saturday, 9/26 & 9/27 at the DCM from 12- 5 PM. Bring in your globes for the show, which will open Friday, October 3rd.

Denver Pecha Kucha
I’ve mentioned this event several times before and highly recommend it. The princesses of .ppt, Jaime and Angela, have once again put together Denver’s third Pecha Kucha night scheduled for Monday, Sept. 29th, at 8:20 at Buntport, but be sure to get there early as seats go quickly. I’ll be there, you should too.

The Art Of Skateboarding

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Artist/designer/sculptor Andrew Lewicki has created some high-end skateboard art. His pieces “Gold—Plated Skate Rail” and “Walnut Skate Ramp” raise the bar on these everyday skating staples. The press release mentions:

“…the city of Los Angeles has explored civic “solutions” to such practices [rebellious skateboarding behavior] by installing legal skate parks and authorized graffiti walls, a tactic Lewicki exposes as both antithetical and irksome to the rebellious spirit inherent in these exploits.”

Lewicki presents an interesting, if not an almost Utopian, response with his pieces.

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