Library News: Speakers, Discussions and the Spelling Bee
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The Scarsdale Library will host some interesting speakers and discussions this month. Here are just a few of the events for December. Also – the Friends of the Scarsdale Library Spelling Bee will be held on January 23, 2015. The deadline for teens or adults to enter iis December 15th. Please see details below.
Naval Historian to Discuss Contrarian Interpretation of World War II in the Pacific
It was a "Day of Infamy," that started a "Clash of Civilizations" as many theorized after December 7, 1941. Scarsdale resident Walt Johanson, who served in the Navy and helped plan "Operation Desert Storm" in 1990 has a different view.
Johanson will discuss his contrarian viewpoint in the context of the conflicts the U.S. faces today at the Scarsdale Public Library on Monday, December 8, at 7:30 p.m. Johanson believes that viewing the war as a clash of civilizations goes contrary to an analysis of the deep-rooted causes of the war in the Pacific and that thinking has contributed to the "failed policies" of today.
Johanson retired from the Navy in 1995 after a 30-year career in that service and the Marine Corps Reserves. He was an analyst at the Navy War College and wrote a history of the naval reserve. After retiring from the Navy he has taught in Mount Vernon and at the City College of New York, Iona College and Mercy College.
Black Holes and the Evolution of the Universe:
Meg Urry, the chair of the Physics Department at Yale will speak at the library on Tuesday night December 9th at 7:30 pm. She is an engaging lecturer and will present a great astrophysics slide show. Urry has been a leading promoter of women seeking careers in science and has been written up in the NY Times. The event is sponsored by the Yale Westchester Alumni Association Speakers Program. The public is invited and the event is free. For more information and to register, click here. 
Nancy's Book Group to Discuss "The Rise and Fall of Great Powers"
Nancy's Book Group, led by Nancy Zachary, will discuss "The Rise and Fall of Great Powers" by Tom 
Rachman at the Scarsdale Public Library on Wednesday, December 17, at 1 p.m., with an evening session at 7:30 p.m. The New York Times described the work as "ingenious."
The novel focuses on Tooly Zylberberg, who as child led a peripatetic existence. Left to her own devices much of the time, it seemed inevitable that Tooly would fall in with a ragtag group of ex-pats who took her under their collective wing. The novel spans the last 30 years in this tale of a rocky road to adulthood. Over the course of flashbacks and fast-forward escapades, Tooly gradually pieces together the jigsaw of her unconventional life to confront a complete picture that isn't always comforting.
Registration is required at the library's main desk or by calling 722-1300.
Sign Up for the Spelling Bee!
Time is running out to sign up to participate in the fifth annual Friends of the Scarsdale Library Adult and Teen Spelling Bee. Teams of up to three individuals compete for prizes and recognition as the community's premier spellers. Spots are filling quickly, and the entry deadline is December 15th. Application forms are available at the Library or online at http://www.scarsdalelibrary.org/friends. Returning teams are looking for competition from challengers, who must be in high school and/or adults. The competition promises to be keen, with audience members spelling along quietly or cheering for their favorite team to win the grand prize, a set of Bose TrueSound headphones.
Besides the etymological main event, the evening's fun will include raffles and a silent auction. Notable auction items this year include an eight-week SAT prep course offered by TestTakers and valued at $1995, and a painter for a day, provided by A.G. Williams Painting Company, Inc., and valued at $600.
The Spelling Bee will take place on Friday, January 23rd at 7:30 PM in the Scarsdale High School Auditorium. Proceeds from the Spelling Bee will be used to fund a high-level speaker series, bringing quality programming to Scarsdale and making the library the intellectual hub of the community.
For more information, contact co-chairs Renu Lalwani at 917-584-8834 or renublalwani@gmail.com or Carolyn Mehta at 914 584-5903 or kamncar@aol.com.
Giving Tuesday on December 2
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Scarsdale Synagogue Tremont Temple Emmanu-El has joined more than 10,000 organizations in 46 countries to sponsor #Giving Tuesday on Tuesday December 2nd.
All you have to do to participate is give food, donations or money to causes or organizations you believe in. Charities, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world will come together on December 2 for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give.
It's a simple idea. Just find a way for your family, your community, your company or your organization to come together to give something more. Then tell everyone you can about how you are giving. Be part of a global celebration of a new tradition of generosity.
SSTTE encourages you to give and share what you are doing on Facebook, Twitter and 
Instagram. Post an "UN-Selfie" about how, where or why you give on the SSTTE Facebook page.
Breakfast with Santa at SHS on December 13
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Santa Claus is coming to town! The Scarsdale Parks and Recreation Department and the Scarsdale Chamber of Commerce will be Co-Sponsoring the fourth annual Scarsdale Holiday Breakfast on Saturday, December 13th from 9:00-11:00 am for all Pre-K through 4th Grade students and their families. Those who attend will receive special holiday giveaways as well as have the opportunity to take their picture with Santa who will be visiting Scarsdale from the North Pole.
Cost is $5 per person. Please register online here or at the Recreation Department by the December 8th deadline. Special Thanks to Lange's Deli for providing breakfast and Imagine Candy for providing giveaways.
Happy Holidays!
Program about Scarsdale's Own Monuments Man at the Scarsdale Library
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What is actor/comedian Bill Murray's connection to Scarsdale? His character in the recent movie "The Monument's Men" was based on Robert Kelley Posey, a former Scarsdale resident, who as part of the Monuments Men group tracked down thousands of works of art looted by the Nazis. Posey's biggest discovery was the Ghent Altarpiece, also known as the "Adoration of the Lamb" the magnificent 15-Century Flemish masterpiece by the brothers Hubert and Jan Van Eyck.
On Tuesday, November 25, at 7:00 p.m., Paul Harris, Ph.D., an associate professor of political science at Auburn University in Alabama will discuss this fascinating Scarsdalian at the Scarsdale Public Library.
Harris specializes in post-war Germany and is currently working on a book on the U.S. Army Occupation of Germany between 1945-1949, Posey, an architect, was born in Morris, Alabama, in 1904 and moved to the New York area in 1929, eventually settling in Scarsdale in a house he designed on Black Birch Lane. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Reserves and entered active service in War World II. He was hand-picked to serve as a Monuments Man for General George Patton's Third Army.
Chanteuse Cyrille Aimee and More Great Programming at the Scarsdale Library
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November brings a wonderful free concert, book discussion, foreign film, author talk and lots more to Scarsdale. Check out these upcoming events and find even more at www.scarsdalelibrary.org.
The Friends of the Scarsdale Library will present a Swingin' Sunday concert with Cyrille Aimee on Sunday, Nov. 30th at 4:00 pm. Vocalist Cyrille Aimée was primarily raised in France by a French father and Dominican mother. As a curious child in Samois-sur-Seine, she would sneak out of her bedroom window to wander into the nearby gypsy encampments filled with those attending the annual Django Reinhardt Festival.
She quickly fell in love with gypsy music and way of life; years later she would sing on street corners with friends while traveling across Europe. While in the midst of one such odyssey, she found herself at the Montreux Jazz Festival, where she won first prize in the vocal competition - which included the financing of her first self-produced album.
She now happily tours the world with her band as well as in a duo setting with Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo. Aimée's talents also recently caught the attention of Stephen Sondheim, who cast her in an Encores Special Presentation at New York City's City Center in November 2013. She is often heard on Jonathan Schwartz's program on National Public Radio.
The New York Times referred to Aimée's major label debut in August 2014, as "a bravura turn, presented with a smile. Now you can see her – free in Scarsdale.
Rescuing Julia Twice: Thursday, Nov. 6th at 7:30 pm
Journalist Tina Traster knew "something wasn't right" when she and her husband adopted 
a six-month-old baby from a Siberian orphanage in 2003. She eventually discovered that her daughter suffered from Reactive Attachment Disorder, an affliction that affects a portion of children who are abused, neglected, or orphaned. In her moving memoir "Rescuing Julia Twice," Traster exposes the "dark underbelly" of the Russian adoption system and provides parents facing this disorder with valuable insight and information, as well as sharing her experience of learning what it truly means to be a mother.
Tina Traster is an author, award-winning journalist and blogger. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Post, Redbook, Psychology Today, The Daily Beast, Everyday Health,Yahoo, The Journal News, Hudson Valley Magazine, etc. "Rescuing Julia Twice" has been featured on national and regional TV, on radio, and reviewed in Parents, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal,The Chicago Tribune, The New York Post, The Chronogram, and Booklist.
Nancy's Book Group Discussion: "The Other Typist"
Nancy Zachary, will lead a discussion of "The Other Typist" by Suzanne Rindell at the Scarsdale Public Library on Wednesday, November 19, at 1 p.m., with an evening session at 7:30 p.m. Rindell's novel takes place in the 1920s as women's social roles are changing. Rose Baker is prudish typist in a New York City Police Department precinct. Rose is like a high priestess taking confessions of criminals. But as soon as she leaves the interrogation room she is once again the weaker sex, best suited for filing and making coffee. When a glamorous new girl joins the typing pool, Rose falls under her spell and is drawn fully into a high-stakes social world. Soon Rose's fascination with the new girl turns into an obsession from which she may never recover.
Registration is required at the library's main desk or by calling 722-1300.
On December 17, Nancy's Book Group will discuss "Rise and Fall of Great Powers" by Tom Rachman.
Foreign Film: For a Woman
Description: In her mid-thirties, Anne still knows practically nothing of her family's past. After her mother's death, Anne discovers old photos and letters that convince her to take a closer look at her parents' life after the concentration camps of World War II. Her research reveals the existence of a mysterious uncle everyone seems intent on forgetting entirely. As she closes in on a discovery she didn't expect, her father grows ever more ill, and may take the family secret to his grave. In a journey that stretches from post-war France to the 1980s, Anne's destiny intertwines with her father's past until they form a single, unforgettable story.
Wednesday, Nov. 12th at 7:30 pm
Friday, Nov. 14th at 1:30 pm
France / 2013 / 110 minutes / French (English subtitles)
How Insects Affected World History : Topic of Talk at Scarsdale Library
Sarah Albee, author of "Bugged: How Insects Changed History" will discuss her book and the impact of little critters on people's lives throughout the centuries on Monday, November 17, at 7 p.m., at the Scarsdale Public Library. The program is for children in grades 3 and up. Registration is required at the library's website, www.scarsdalelibrary.org. "Bugged" is a combination of world history, social history, natural science, epidemiology, public health, conservation, and microbiology told with fun and informative graphics in an irreverent voice.
