Modern graffiti began in big cities in the United States in the 1970s. In New York, young people wrote their names, or 'tags', in pen on walls around the city.

    One of the first 'taggers' was a teenager called Demetrius. His tag was TAKI 183. He wrote his tag on walls and in stations in New York. He did it just for fun and he had never imagined his behavior would have launched an amazing art campaign. Other teenagers saw Demetrius's tag and started writing their tags too. Soon, there were tags on walls, buses and trains all over New York.

    Then, some teenagers started writing their tags with aerosol paint. Their tags were bigger and more colourful. Aerosol paint graffiti became very popular in the 1970s and 1980s. It appeared on trains, buses and walls around the world.

    In the 1990s and 2000s, a lot of graffiti artists started painting pictures. Some artists' pictures were about politics. Other artists wanted to make cities beautiful and painted big, colorful pictures on city walls.

    In some countries, writing or painting on walls is a crime. Sometimes, graffiti artists have problems with the police. In other countries, artists can draw and paint in certain places. For example, in Taiwan, there are 'graffiti zones' where artists can paint on walls. In São Paulo in Brazil, street artists can paint pictures on walls and houses. Their pictures are colorful and beautiful. Some tourists visit São Paulo just to see the street art!

    In Bristol in the UK, there is a street art festival in August every year. Artists paint all the buildings in a street. Lots of people come to watch the artists and take photos. You can see exhibitions of street art in some galleries too. There have been exhibitions of street art in galleries in Paris, London and Los Angeles.

    Hetty Robinson learnt all about money when very young. As a child, she read the financial pages of the newspaper to her rich father. Her father died when Hetty was 30, and she inherited $1 million. When she herself died in 1916, she left almost $100 million to her two children.

    Hetty made her money on the New York stock(股票) exchange. She was a financial genius. She made money so easily that people called her the Witch of Wall Street. But although she was one of the richest women in the world, she counted every cent and spent as little as possible. She didn't own a house, because she didn't want to pay taxes. So she and her children lived in cheap hotels. She spent almost nothing on clothes, and always wore the same long black dress. She washed it herself, but to save soap she only washed the bottom of the dress, where it touched the ground. Other people had their own offices, but Hetty used a desk in the bank where she kept her money, because it didn't cost anything. She sat in the bank and ate her sandwiches while she bought and sold stocks and shares. If the bank complained, she just moved all her money to another bank.

    Hetty's family paid the price for her meanness. When she was 33 she married a millionaire, Edward Green, and they had two children. But Green lost all his money, so she left him. When her son, Ned, injured his knee, Hetty didn't want to pay for a doctor, so she took him to a free hospital for poor people. Unfortunately the doctor knew Hetty was rich and he asked for money. Hetty refused and took the boy away. His leg got worse and two years later doctors removed it.

    But eventually Ned got his revenge(报复). At the age of 81, Hetty had an argument with a shop assistant about the price of a bottle of milk. She became so angry that she had a heart attack and died. So Hetty's meanness finally killed her. Ned inherited half his mother's fortune, and he spent it all on parties, holidays and expensive jewellery.

Classis Book Club for Home-schooled Teens

★ Sign up at Librarian's 1st Floor Reference Desk.

★ Free books for first 15 teens who sign up for each title. If you are unable to attend the activity, please return the book to Teen Librarian so she can give the book to another teen.

Classics for Home-schooled Teens

Fridays, 1:00~2:00 pm, Library Room 215

January 23: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

February 20: Antigone by Sophocles

March 20: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

April 24: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

For information contact Teen Librarian Elise Sheppard, elise.i.sheppard@lonestar.edu, 281-290-5248.

5th Annual Prom-dress Give-away

Lone Star College — CYEAIR BRANCH LIBRARY'S PROM CLOSET

Your dress is free for you to keep.

If you Need a Prom Dress

Contact the Youth Service Specialist at your school/ Contact Prom Closet organizers directly:

LSC-CF Teen Librarian Elise Sheppard at 281-290-5248, elise.i.sheppard@lonestar.edu

LSC-CF Friends of the Library President Nancy Flanakin at meaford8510@vahoo.com

Saturday dates to get a dress:

(Other dates by appointment only — contact Elise or Nancy)

Prom Dresses Needed!

Dresses & accessories needed: All dress sizes 0 — 26

Accessories: Shoes, handbags, jewelry, hair pieces, shawls, etc.

Perfect condition: Clean, undamaged, beautiful

Delivery instructions:

Take donations to Lone Star College — CyFair Branch Library Circulation/Customer Service Desk anytime the library is open.

    Smartphones, tablets and laptops make it easy for people to work on the go, but traditionally, printers have been cumbersome to move out of the office. However, the new Zuta Pocket Printer will enable people to print anywhere. The Zuta Pocket Printer was invented by Zuta Labs, based in Jerusalem. This small printer is about 10.2 cm wide and long and 7.5 cm high, and weighs about 350 grams. The company plans to ship its printers to customers in the beginning of 2017.

    This printer can connect wirelessly to smart phones, tablets, laptops and PCs via Wi-Fi, and is supported by Android, iOS, OS X and Windows. A free application from the company lets you use the printer via a mobile appliance; a laptop or PC can also select the printer for Use just like any other wirelessly connected printer. This printer can print one average A4 page, measuring 21 by 29.7 cm. Zuta Labs noted that its printer can print on any standard size piece of paper, and that, in principle, it could print on any surface.

    The printer's," omni-wheels" help it turn and move in any direction on a surface. Laser sensors（激光传感器）help control the movement, speed and location, according to the company.

    Zuta Labs said the printer's rechargeable battery can last about l hour, on average—long enough to print about 60 pages. One ink cartridge（墨盒）can print more than 100 pages, according to the company. Currently, the appliance prints only in black, although Zuta Labs said it plans to have a full-color printer in the future.

    It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently.

    My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I'm so glad I did.

    On the road to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape. After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big hums(脊背)in the distance.

On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn't believe it –—there aren't any whales along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.

The little baby whale—-actually as big as our boat—-was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools(漩涡)and waves. “She's trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side,” my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe –—and to give us a trusting(信任的) look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.

    In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.

    “Anyone who offends（冒犯）China will be killed no matter how far the target is.” That is the tagline for Wolf Warriors 2, the Chinese box office hit. It sees a soldier entering into an African war-zone and saving hundreds of lives from Western bad guys. It's basically the plot of your typical Hollywood action movie, but this time it's a Chinese man upholding justice and keeping the world safe.

    Following in the footsteps of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, martial arts expert Wu Jing is among a new generation of Chinese action stars turned directors. His first Wolf Warrior film came out in 2014, but it didn't catch much attention. Mainstream movies, especially those promoting patriotism（爱国主义）, usually don't do very well in China. Wolf Warrior 2, however, has become a phenomenon. The massive response in China also made the film top the global box office worldwide last weekend, beating Hollywood blockbuster Dunkirk.

    Many moviegoers said online that they were touched by the patriotic plot. “This movie is the best Chinese action movie,” one social media user wrote. “Shockingly good-hot blood and tough guys. I cried after watching it,” said another.

    One reason for the enthusiastic response compared to the first Wolf Warrior film is its improved action scenes. Many in China have praised the film for its fighting scenes and special effects, saying they are of “Hollywood quality”. The movie, which is entirely privately funded, has also been lauded for its attention to detail and reportedly features close replicas（复制品）of many of the latest weapons used by the Chinese army. Timing has also contributed to its success, with the Chinese nation in the times of a new wave of patriotism.

    The film first came out just ahead of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese army, a hugely symbolic event for the country. Over the weekend, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) held a grand military parade, which presented the latest weapons of China. In a serous speech, which in parts was not different to lines from the film. President Xi Jinping promised to fight anyone who tried to tear China apart.