MUVE

Since I have never played a MUVE, I again interviewed my oldest son for this.  According to him these online, interactive games are “pretty fun with lots of cursing and violence to a degree depending on the game.”  A person “can get lost in the game.”  He was taking about games such as MineCraft, Call of Duty, etc.

If the above description is accurate for all MUVEs, I really don’t see the benefit of any library having this.  The only upside for MUVEs is to draw in the youth or user to the library so that they may experience the other aspects of the library while there and then come back later to utilize those other programs.

Social Network Comparison

Since I don’t use any social network other than Facebook, I interviewed my older son who has Facebook, SnapChat, Instagram, and Twitter.  He decided to compare and contrast Instagram with SnapChat.  According to him, most people like SnapChat better.  He uses SnapChat more than any of other platforms.

Comparison (both have): story mode, private messaging, group messaging, can see who else is online for private messaging, accept friendships, and ads.

Contrast: SnapChat had more filters, more customization, “streaks” (have to have SnapChat to understand what this is), can see birthdays, posts are temporary and can only be viewed for 24 hours.  Instagram has permanent and temporary posts.

The value in using all the social media platforms for libraries is that they are able to get their “message” across to all ages.  Today’s youth are constantly on the go, and that means keeping up with them.  Using social media to promote programs and communicate news  is vital for the library.  It will increase their visibility and impact to not only youth but other patrons as well.

Review of the movie “Victoria and Abdul”

British actress Judi Dench, known for her James Bond role as “M”, once again portrays Queen Victoria during the last 15 years of her long reign.

The movie starts in British controlled India in 1887, where Abdul is asked to travel to England for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebration to present her with a special “mohar” (coin).  From this introduction, the Queen takes a liking to Abdul and installs him into her private household against her families wishes.  Abdul’s initial stay in England was only to be for one year; however, this extended to 1901 when Abdul and his family were expelled by King Edward upon his ascent to the throne when Queen Victoria passes away.

During his stay, the Queen has Abdul travel with her everywhere and he becomes her confidant.  Her release of Abdul from her service to calling him “Munshi” (teacher) enrages everyone around the Queen.  But this does not deter her.  She has Abdul teach her the language of India (at that time Urdu) and about Muslims (through learning the Quran) and Hindus.  She becomes so proficient that by the time of her death she is writing in her journals and having full conversations with Abdul in Urdu and having religious debates.  The movie does not shy away from how the rest of the Queen’s family and household find the relationship scandalous and controversial  and do their utmost to get rid of Abdul.  In the end, they accomplished this by scrubbing his existence from royal history.

This is a somewhat historical accurate movie based on the journal entries and photos of Abdul, which were made public by his descendants in 2010.

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