Blog Post
November's Books to Film (You KNOW! the season is upon us)
by muffy
Brian Selznick's charming Caldecott Medal winner The Invention of Hugo Cabret : a novel in words and pictures (2007) is one for the whole family to hit the big screen on November 23rd. In this moving and entertaining film adaptation, an orphaned boy secretly lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station and looks after the clocks. He gets caught up in a mystery adventure when he attempts to repair a mechanical man. Martin Scorsese directs a star-studded cast of Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz, Johnny Depp, and Jude Law.
Based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 is the highly anticipated next chapter of the blockbuster The Twilight Saga. The new-found married bliss of Bella Swan and vampire Edward Cullen is cut short when a series of betrayals and misfortunes threatens to destroy their world. Wide release on the 18th, savvy fans know the drill.
The gritty noir novel London Boulevard (2001) by Ken Bruen has been adapted into a feature film starring Colin Farrell, Keira Knightley, Ray Winstone. An ex-con hired to look after a reclusive young actress finds himself falling in love, which puts him in direct confrontation with one of London's most vicious gangsters.
In A Dangerous Method, adapted from the book by John Kerr, on the eve of World War I, Zurich and Vienna are the setting for a dark tale of sexual and intellectual discovery. Drawn from true-life events, it explores the turbulent relationships between fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein, the beautiful but disturbed young woman who comes between them. Starring Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley, and Viggo Mortensen.
George Clooney, Judy Greer, and Matthew Lillard star in The Descendants, adapted from the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. Wealthy Hawaiian landowner Matt King has his life upended when his wife, Joanie, is involved in a boating accident. King struggles to reconnect with his two daughters as the three of them take a journey to deliver the news of Joanie's imminent death to the man with whom she was having an affair.
My Week With Marilyn, is based on Colin Clark’s (played by Eddie Redmayne) controversial memoir. The film centers on the tense relationship between Sir Laurence Olivier ( Kenneth Branagh) and Marilyn Monroe ( Michelle Williams) during production of The Prince and the Showgirl. In the early summer of 1956, 23-year-old Colin Clark, just down from Oxford and determined to make his way in the film business, worked as a lowly assistant on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl. In his diary, one week was missing, and this is the story of that week when Colin introduced Marilyn to some of the pleasures of British life.
Blog Post
Heavy D, charming rapper, has died
by sernabad
Heavy D, rapper, TV star, and mostly recently, actor in the just-released Tower Heist, died suddenly yesterday.
Heavy D was known for his charming, smooth-dancing, less edgy rapping which nicely meshed hip hop with R&B. He led the group Heavy D & the Boyz, whose most popular song was the hit, Now that We Found Love.
The self-described "overweight lover M.C." had recurring roles in several TV shows, including Boston Public and The Tracy Morgan Show.
His last acting role was in the Tower Heist. He played the role of a courthouse guard.
The cause of death for Heavy D, who was just 44, will take weeks to determine, according to the L.A. County Coroner's office.
Blog Post
Election Results for Washtenaw County
by Debbie G.
Election Results for communities throughout Washtenaw County are available on the Washtenaw County Clerk's website. CitiTV Channel 19 also has results.
Blog Post
Boxing legend, Smokin' Joe Frazier, has died
by sernabad
Joe Frazier, boxing legend who knocked out the untouchable Muhammad Ali forty years ago, has died.
Frazier, the youngest of twelve children, turned pro in 1965 at the age of 21. Three years later he had a 21-0 record.
The bitter word battle between Frazier and the also unbeaten Muhammad Ali (formerly Cassius Clay) came to a head in March of 1971 when the ferocious competitors battered each other for 15 rounds. It was a celebrity-drenched spectacle. Frank Sinatra took photos for Life magazine. Vice President Hubert Humphrey sat near Irish firebrand Bernadette Devlin. In a unanimous decision, Frazier became the heavyweight champ after knocking Ali down.
The rivalry remained heated for many years, fueled by Ali's racially-charged taunts. But as Ali grew ever frailer with Parkinson's and the 30th anniversary of the Bout of the Century approached, both fighters mellowed.
Frazier, who was just 67, learned he had liver cancer just a month ago.
Blog Post
Andy Rooney, America's lovable Mr. CrankyPants, has died
by sernabad
Andy Rooney, longstanding CBS mainstay, died November 4, just five weeks after signing off from his long stint on 60 Minutes.
Rooney's broadcasting career began shortly after WW II ended, penning for well-known entertainers, such as Victor Borge and Arthur Godfrey. In the early 60s, he wrote the Everyman essays that the late Harry Reasoner delivered for CBS.
And then, in 1978, Rooney found his niche with the popular newsmagazine, 60 Minutes. In his A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney, he was given free reign to crab about everything from New Year's Eve to Ernest Hemingway to road maps.
Rooney, who was 92, was one to keep his word. He once confided to Mika Brzezinski co-host of MSNBC's Morning Joe, that he would die when he stopped working.
Blog Post
City General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011
by Debbie G.
Tuesday, Nov. 8 is the City General Election and the ballot this year includes:
- City Council candidates in all five wards
- Renewal of the Streets Repair and Resurfacing Millage proposal
- Sidewalk Repair Millage proposal
- Amendment to restructure the Ann Arbor City Employees Retirement Board of Trustees.
Polling place locations, candidates and millage information is available on the city’s Election website.To find out your exact polling location, visit the Michigan Votes online voter information center.
Voter Tips
• Don’t forget to bring your photo ID to vote. Voters who do not have acceptable photo ID will be required to sign an affidavit in order to vote.
• Polling place hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
• The City Clerk’s Office is still accepting applications for absentee ballots. The office is open to the public for absentee ballot requests on Saturday, November 5, 2011 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. In-person requests for absentee ballots will be accepted at the City Clerk’s Office, 2nd floor of City Hall, until Monday, November 7 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Ann Arbor Public Schools are closed on Election Day. Polling places located within schools are open . Signs will be posted at all polling locations to assist voters.
• Washtenaw County election results are televised on Community Television Network’s CitiTV Channel 19 beginning at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011—after the polls close—and will continue throughout the night.
Blog Post
Pumpkins and Prizes and More - Oh, My!
by Debbie G.
There are two fun Halloween events this Saturday, Oct. 29, in Ann Arbor:
- The Third Annual Halloween Pumpkin Fest at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market.
- The Halloween Skate at the Veterans Memorial Park Ice Arena.
The Main Street Halloween Treat Parade on Halloween from 11 a.m. ~ 5 p.m. is a favorite with AADL since we get to see the kids all along Main Street and when they come the Halloween Party at the Downtown Library before the Parade at 10:30 a.m. for stories and treats.
The City's Safety Tips will help you keep your Trick-or-Treaters safe on Monday, Oct. 31st. Halloweening will rule in the neighborhoods from 5 p.m. ~ 8 p.m. so be on the lookout for ghosts, goblins and Neutrinos.
Blog Post
A Winner Among Us
by muffy
Of the 1,582 entries at this year's ARTPRIZE (see blog), 10 winners were voted in and among them is Ann Arbor artist Lynda Cole.
Taking 3rd place, her 3-D kinetic sculpture entitled Rain consists of 7600 squares of silver leaf on polyester film, and is suspended by aluminum monofilament within a 10 ft. cube of space and move with ambient air currents.
This photo at left represents one module. The Art Prize entry comprised of 25 modules. To see all of them, go to the artist's website or blog.
As our commitment to showcase and support local artists, The Ann Arbor District Library is proud to include two of Lynda Cole's work in our circulating art print collection , entitled Winter and Explore. Now you too, could live with great art.
Blog Post
Let the Bridge Work Begin - Big Project Next to the Big House
by Debbie G.
You've been winding your way through the single-lane situation on East Stadium, eagerly anticipating the next phase in the Ann Arbor Bridges project. Well, the wait is almost over. Beginning in November 2011, the Ann Arbor Bridges Reconstruction project will begin.
The Project Update Press Release details, concretely, every phase of the project. Leaving no cone unturned in their effort to keep citizens informed, the city will provide updates on the website throughout the reconstruction.
And speaking of the Big House, Sparty sends his best.
Blog Post
Steve Jobs, genius Apple CEO who changed the world, has died
by sernabad
Steve Jobs, brilliant visionary, co-founder (with Steve Wozniak), and CEO of Apple Computers, died yesterday after a seven-year battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer.
His revolutionary products changed how we compute, listen to music, watch movies, and communicate.
He was the first to bring computers into our homes. His influence can be seen everywhere -- the mouse? Steve Jobs. Beautiful, elegant, easy-to-use technology? Steve Jobs. The signature layout of the Apple stores? Steve Jobs. iPhones? Apps? iPods? iPads? Jobs. Jobs. Jobs.The wild success of Pixar Studios? That was Steve Jobs as well, after he bought the nascent operation from George Lucas and blew the lid off computer-generated animation.
Last night the tributes and analysis of his remarkable career and wide-reaching impact on our everyday lives began within minutes of the announcement of his death, and will continue for several days.No doubt, many of these reports are being produced on and spread by Apple products.
Apple will go on. Steve Jobs, whose gift of seeing far into the future, surely planned for this inevitable day. It is inconceivable that he would have let his passion for creative, fun, esthetically gorgeous technology, die with him. But for this moment, we'll pause and wish that somehow, magically, there was an app to delay his passing for just a little while longer.
No doubt, #iSad will be trending on Twitter today.
Steve Jobs, who died one day after the long-awaited announcement of the latest version of the iPhone, was just 56.