Squad

Peter Struzziero – LibScientist
(Founder/Publisher)

I always really loved watching movies. Reading was fun and don’t get me wrong, I am a librarian, read your books, eat your peas, look both ways before blah blah blah and all that stuff.

It was film, though, that always really captured me. More like held me hostage, really. This way to disappear into Never Never Land, to feel true joy and the excitement of an adventure, to stare face to face with True Terror, without being in any danger, and to feel true deep heartache, without any scars. I could run down to the movie theater and disappear into another world for a few hours, and then just stroll back like nothing really happened. It did, though.

Film is my favorite kind of art, something I really dig. The only thing that comes close to film for me… is talking about film. Ask anybody… I never shut up, so The Big Brown Chair has been the perfect outlet for me, and my favorite place to bare all, like it or not.

I’ve bled and suffered with the likes of Rocky Balboa, Andy Dufresne and Clarence Whorley. Measured my swagger against Rob Gordon, Vito Corleone, and Tyler Durden. Hoped my genius could reach the likes of Obi-Wan, Gandalf and Mr. Miyagi and I’ve chased for years with all my heart Holly Golightly, Mrs. Robinson, and Summer Finn. At the end of the day though…when no one’s looking… I am rooting for Darth Vader, Bill The Butcher, Jason Voorhees, Hannibal Lector, and The Joker.

Peter Struzziero is a Reference Librarian from Massachusetts. Currently Peter runs the Young Adult Department at a public library on the the south shore of Massachusetts. He is an avid collector of books, films, vinyl records, and menus from Five Guys Burgers.

Beth Kerrigan 

(Editor in Chief /Contributor)

Once upon a time, Beth Kerrigan spent her weekends watching movies at the Merrimack Drive-in Theater in Methuen, or so she is told, because she was mostly sleeping (her parents probably counted on this). Today, Beth gets her movie fix by borrowing DVDs from her local library, or by reading The Big Brown Chair! She enjoys British comedies and dramas, musicals, and almost anything with Colin Firth and Johnny Depp. A long time fan of The Big Brown Chair, Beth joined the Squad as an assistant to the Editor in Chief (Beth G). An avid reader, walker, and snowshoe-er, Beth likes to unwind with a glass of pinot noir while watching her favorite crime dramas. Her days are a thrill-a-minute heading up the Children’s Department of an active public library in Northeastern Massachusetts. When not working she is busy raising her two daughters to be strong, independent women. When she does get out on the town Beth enjoys dancing and concerts–after all, she is a “valley girl.”

Beth Gallaway – Information Goddess

(Editor / Grammatician)

Beth Gallaway is a Librarian in Massachusetts. She works as an independent library trainer and consultant and moonlights as an assistant director, and is the author of Game On! Gaming at the Library.  Beth was born with a red pen in her hand and works out her own writing frustrations by criticizing other writers; she is obsessed with cheese, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Mt. Everest. Her favorite movie is the short film Reaper, Sheeper, Treasure Seeker (Dave Lieber, 2001) and she loves independent movie theatres.

Zach Newell 

(Contributor)

I am an academic librarian who loves traveling and exploring other cultures.  I am headed to Alexandria, Egypt in January 2012 for six months to teach with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.  I have a problem where I keep taking foreign language classes and trying my luck at a foreign film without subtitles.  Although I am not so lucky in interpreting the language of the film, the universality and power of films—the acting, the cinematography, the music—are powerful tools of persuasion.

My tastes in film are rather sporadic.  I spent my first winter break home from college watching every Woody Allen film I could get my hands on.  I also watched every James Bond film, every classic and just about every foreign film released in the United States in a five year window during my college years.  Then I had kids.  Even though I don’t watch nearly as many films as I used to, I like to explore powerful films that don’t get a lot of attention in the media. I love watching historical period and character films.   I have always loved foreign films, in part because I traveled so much as a kid, but also because I am given a first class window seat into another world, another culture.  It is that seat that really makes me feel alive.  That is the interest in film in general: it makes me feel alive and inspired.  This day in age, that is not such a bad thing.  It allows me to get a little crazy, a little creative and to get really excited. That’s how I feel about The Big Brown Chair and the cast of writers for the blog – exciting! I always look forward to trying something different and taking a crack at a difficult topic.  TBBC is the place.

Jessica Lamarre

(Contributor) 

Still proudly carries her Blockbuster Gold Rewards card.  She has been hooked on movies since her father would take her every Sunday to the local movie theater to see whatever she wanted, which was usually something rated R and against her mother’s wishes.

She grew up sneaking into her brother’s room to watch scary movies and is recorded in the family home videos calling her brother a S.O.B. like Sigourney Weaver says in Alien. Her childhood movie idols were Peewee Herman and Rick Moranis from Little Shop of Horrors.  She had an embarrassing phase where she put Band-Aids on her fingers and sang to her live Venus fly trap. If she could live in a movie it would be Peewee’s Excellent Adventure. She wrote a fan letter to Peewee Herman saying that she was still a fan even after “what he did in that movie theatre.”

Nowadays you can find her at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, one of the few where she doesn’t have to shush the audience or tell them to turn their phones off. She still has a crush on John Cusack. She has a soft spot for Korean revenge films and only cries when dogs die in films. When she’s not watching movies, she is a Youth Services Librarian in Massachusetts. 

Justin Termini

(Contributor)

Justin Termini is a Library Assistant in Massachusetts. In addition he is a soon to be Librarian, student of the Library and Information Sciences, amateur martial artist, friend of small animals and lover of movies. Some of his earliest memories involve seeing Ferris Beuller’s Day Off, A Christmas Story, and Return of the Jedi in theaters as a child. He loves and admires the work of Federico Fellini, Sam Peckinpah and Charles Chaplin. He also writes about health, nutrition and literature at blackbeltlibrarian.com.

Noelle Boc

(Contributor)

Noelle is a rabid reader, a fantasy footballer and loves hiking the White Mountains.  She will happily jump into a game of ultimate Frisbee, volleyball, softball or mini golf and might pout a little bit if she loses. She also plays a mean game of Spades and cribbage.  Many evenings you can find her enjoying local music in clubs in the Boston area, and reminiscing about her days on stage in her band, Jumprope.  On other evenings you’ll find her writing articles for the parenting blog DadDoes.com.  She likes just about every genre of film, although horror is low on the totem pole.  The rest of the time, Noelle can be found enjoying her job as a children’s librarian. 

Anna Call

(Contributor)

Anna, blessed with a razor wit and possessed of a love for really awful movies, always talks about herself in the third person. She lives with a diverse group of Penguin Café Orchestra records and is currently seeing Tank Girl. It is rumored that she is an Italian. Her favorite movie is “The Phantom of the Paradise.” Her other favorite movie is “Death to Smoochy.” Her other other favorite movie is “Pulp Fiction.” She’s smarter than she looks.

Jen Malaguti

(Contributor)

Jens obsession with movies began at a young age. She owes its beginning to her movie obsessed grandfather’s compulsive movie rental and recording habits ( two VHS players and a beta). Though she never shared his John Wayne adoration, she did share a love of cinema.

After a brief stint working in an upscale retail boutique in a dreadfully boring section of Berkeley Ca, Jen decided to return home to Boston to attend Simmons and pursue her masters in Library Science. Currently, Jen works as a Youth Services Librarian and watches movies, writes, knits, practices her cooking skills, and online shops–despite her bossy cats constant pawing on her keyboard, always daydreaming of her perfect vegetable garden of the future.

Rachel Martin

(Video Editor/Contributor)

Rachel Martin’s passion for movies was kindled in college, where she had the opportunity to spend a semester in Los Angeles with an intense, hands-on film program. She loves highly imaginative movies and is a sucker for sagas, including Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and Lord of the Rings. She also has a taste for quirky movies such as Amelie and A Town Called Panic, tongue-in-cheek movies such as The Princess Bride, classics such as The Sound of Music, and dramas such as Cinderella Man. Animated Disney movies will always hold a special place in her heart.

In addition to editing video content for The Big Brown Chair, Rachel works as an administrator and picks up video projects for her church, Grace Chapel in Lexington, MA. She enjoys reading, traveling, amusement parks, decorating cupcakes, learning to play ukulele, and spending time with her family (husband Keith Martin, puppy, and cat).

Keith Martin – KeithMartin322

(Audio/Visual Director)

Peter and I go way back.  In our days together at UMass Lowell, he was the movie buff and I was the music nerd.  I was constantly trying to get him to listen to my “sad bastard music” as he put it and he was trying equally as hard to get me to love movies with the same burning passion that he had.  I think the only movie we haven’t ever disagreed on is “The Shawshank Redemption.”

My passion for film has always been in the creation.  I put all of my effort into video production classes and snoozed through economics.  After college, I had abandoned everyone I had ever known and moved out to LA to mix audio for television.  Within a few months another opportunity came up that brought me three thousand miles back to the east coast.  I’ve been working in live remote television for a number of years now, covering everything from cruise ship christenings to the Super Bowl.  I’ve even got an Emmy under my belt!

At TBBC, I’m constantly creating and I wear many hats, figuratively speaking.  I don’t wear hats very often.  What started with building motion graphics for the Rants & Raves segments quickly turned into loads of other graphic design assignments including merchandise, banners, and many more things to come.

I love putting myself into situations where I am forced to learn a new skill and I am determined to overcome my colorblindness.  I could eat an entire green bean casserole at Thanksgiving if nobody stopped me and I’m probably the only person that loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles more than Peter.

Jason Bloom – Librarianbloom

(Contributor)

The family television was always my favorite babysitter. On the days when I would come home from
school and plop down, make a snack and watch hours of cartoons, to the evenings spend watching
VHS tapes crammed with grainy copies of wholly inappropriate movies for my age, all while my
parents were working late-shifts and not worrying so much what I was doing. And I don’t think it was
a bad move, in fact, it has made me who I am today, and has shaped my tastes in film. And boy oh
boy, have I seen A LOT of them.

After years in Technical Theatre as a Stage Manager and Technical Director, teaching middle and
high school and thinking about getting a Masters in Japanese Studies, I somehow ended up in
Library School, and ended up as the Assistant Director/Head of Technology and User Experience at
the Ames Free Library in Easton, MA.

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