old dogs

Following are descriptions of six new dvds featured as new releases on Amazon which are either in our collection or on order. Get your holds on these now!

Old Dogs John Travolta and Robin Williams take care of two seven year old twins while on the verge of a huge business deal. Amazon calls it "a laugh-a-minute comedy filled with heart."

Capitalism: A Love Story. Michael Moore's latest, an expose of the near collapse of the banking industry and its effect on ordinary people.

Cold Souls Paul Giametti plays himself, an actor in search of immortality through "soul storage." Amazon calls it a "true soul searching comedy."

The Beaches of Agnes Directed by Agnes Varda, this is a self-portrait of the visionary director.

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Starring Robin Wright Penn and Alan Arkin, this is the story of a middle aged wife going crazy living with her much older husband.

Broken Embraces Penelope Cruz plays an actress who is in an unsatisfying relationship with a wealthy man only to get him to pay for her ailing father's hospitalization. Directed by the renowned Pedro Almodovar.

showcase cinemas

Did you know that you can watch a newly released feature film that is described for people with visual impairments? Showcase Cinema in Ypsilanti shows a film with described video every week. It is noted by the letters RWC or DVS next to the film that will have this feature. Go to nationalamusements.com, enter the zip code for Showcase Cinemas (48197). This week the film being shown is The Bounty Hunter. Beginning Friday, March 19th through Thursday March 25. Show times are: noon, 2:40, 5:20, 8:00 and 10:40 PM DVS films are always shown in theater 14. Running time: 1 hour 46 minutes. Rated PG 13. showcase cinemas

Langston Hughes's powerful poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers is known as the song of the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes draws parallels between the African American Experience in America and the worlds rivers: "I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins." Water color Illustrations by E.B. Lewis, add an extra dimension to the eloquent verses and touch the soul.

Fess Parker, of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett fame, has died
Fess Parker, who brought the Wild West into the homes of millions of Americans through his roles as Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett in two popular television series, died today.

A Navy veteran of World War II, Parker was signed by Disney to play Davy Crockett in the early 50s. He starred in the heartbreaking movie, Old Yeller (1957), based on the book by Fred Gipson. In 1964, NBC cast him in the role of Daniel Boone for six seasons.

After his acting career, he became a successful real estate developer and an award-winning vintner.

Parker was 85.

Publishers Weekly says “TWO OF A KIND is a one-of-a-kind find!” We are lucky that Jenny and David, a husband-wife duo, have family and friends in Ann Arbor so they drop in to entertain us once in a while! So treat the family to award-winning music with lots of dancing and laughter on Sunday, March 28th at 2:00 pm at the Downtown Library.

48th Ann Arbor Film Festival

Tuesday marks the start of the 48th Ann Arbor Film Festival, one of Ann Arbor's world-class annual events. AAFF's Executive Director, Donald Harrison, stopped by to give us a quick overview of what we have to look forward to in this year's festival. Aside from the many great films on offer, Donald talks about some of the panel discussions and live performances. This year's highlights include an evening with legendary experimental filmmaker Kenneth Anger and a specially commissioned soundtrack, performed live by composer Flying Lotus, to Harry Smith's 1962 film Heaven & Earth Magic. Two of this year's events happen at AADL: Bison Boys & Famous Monsters of Michigan: 1970s Super-8mm Films of Jimm Juback & Cary Loren and Gerry Fialka Discusses Dream Awake: How James Joyce Invented Experimental Cinema & Disguised It As A Book.

The 48th Ann Arbor Film Festival runs from March 23-28, 2010.

As a student of applied linguistics, I often find myself in the language learning section of our collection. Here at AADL, we have a variety of language learning tools, which employ books, CDs, DVDs, or a combination of these. I have always learned languages in the classroom or by immersion, so I was intrigued by the audio-only courses. I wondered: how well could you learn a language in your car, by yourself? I investigated with the Pimsleur courses.

I have had a fair amount of exposure to Egyptian Arabic, and that Pimsleur course was just what I needed to dust off my basic conversation skills. Every language learner is different, but I personally had less success with the Mandarin Chinese course. The reason for that, I believe, is that I have no experience whatsoever with that language. I lacked basic knowledge of the writing and sound system, which I have in Arabic. I found myself wanting more context and visual input as I listened to the Mandarin lessons. Auditory learners may have more success at learning a totally new language with this method than I did, being a visual learner.

I think anyone with at least some rudimentary knowledge of a language, however, could be successful with the Pimsleur courses. I would recommend it to anyone who needs to refresh their memory of a language once learned, and has some time to kill in the car.

Last week, Google added an interactive bicycle route mapping feature to their popular Google Maps. Still in its beta version, the feature is designed to "include as much bike trail data as possible, provide efficient routes, allow riders to customize their trip, make use of bike lanes, calculate rider-friendly routes that avoid big hills and customize the look of the map for cycling to encourage folks to hop on their bikes," according to Peter Smith.

The good news for Ann Arbor bike commuters and bike enthusiasts is that Tree Town is already part of their mapped data, so you can try out their suggested routes right away. Although I wasn't in love with the route they mapped for my commute to work, the map did highlight -- in bright green -- some paved trails that I would definitely use for commuting on two wheels. The AADL also has books on the rise of cycling, such as Pedal Power by J. Harry Wray and Bicycling Magazine's Guide to Bike Touring by Doug Donaldson.

Ahhhh....
This month's parent magazine update focuses on things that nourish the soul and body, starting with my personal favorite -- books.

Book Links magazine starts with some interesting articles on multi-platform books -- books that include online components. The popular 39 Clues series is a great example of this innovative genre, as is the Skeleton Creek series for teens. Also featured in this issue are series books that are good for reading aloud -- The Porcupine Year, Al Capone Shines My Shoes, and The Runaway Dolls for example -- and books about young artists, along the lines of Peter Reynolds' classic The Dot.

Mothering magazine has its own list of recommended books -- "visually sophisticated" picture books. Though he isn't mentioned in the article David Wiesner would be my personal recommendation in this category. This issue also features lots of other good-for-you stuff -- foods to boost the immune system, ways to foster creative play indoors and an article about celebrating your daughter's menarche in a supportive and empowering way.