April 18 is the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco earthquake and fire--a major historical and social event in the life of Californians and a cornerstone in the study of earthquakes and seismic activity in the U.S. Most of the city's 400,000 residents were still in bed when the monstrous (magnitude-7.8) quake hit at 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906. AADL owns a variety of materials on this event, including last year's San Francisco is Burning: The Untold Story of the 1906 Earthquake and Fires and A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906.

One night Enrico Caruso was serenading San Francisco opera lovers in Bizet’s Carmen, the next night the city was in flames after the massive 1906 earthquake. The earthquake and fire destroyed the opera house and Caruso never sang in San Francisco again. Read more about the earthquake, and see a picture of Caruso in costume for Carmen, at National Public Radio’s website. You can borrow a recording of Caruso singing “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée” from Carmen from the library to get a feel for the magic of that night.

Muhammad Ali recently agreed to give up majority control of the rights to his name and image to an entertainment and licensing firm in exchange for $50 million. CKX, Inc. also owns the rights to Elvis Presley's marketing.

The library has many materials for those interested in learning more about Ali. Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times and the more recent The Lost Legacy of Muhammad Ali, both by Thomas Hauser, are highly recommended. Other books include The Muhammad Ali Reader and King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero.

DVDs include When We Were Kings, an excellent documentary about the 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" versus a younger and meaner George Foreman. Also on order is Michael Mann's director's cut of the 2001 film Ali. For those who don't want to wait, the original DVD release is also available.

Look for Hoot, based on the novel by Carl Hiaasen, which should be coming to AA theaters sometime soon. I'm going to try to make it to the free screening tonight and I'll let you know if I think its any good. I really loved the book, so I hope so.

If your vision is diminished in any way, then come visit the fifty vendors at this wide ranging display and demonstration of products at the Morris Lawrence Bldg. on the campus of Washtenaw Community College, Wednesday, May 10, 10:00 am-4:00 pm. You will learn about services, supports and technologies to help individuals facing sight loss. Sighted assistants will be available, snacks, and Dr. David Zacks of the Kellogg Eye Center, will give a special talk on "New Frontiers in Vision Research: Fr

Could this be a cruel April Fools joke on fans of the Simpsons?

According to news reports, the most beloved American family made their debut on the big screen this past weekend in a trailer announcing a new Simpsons movie in the works. The short teaser trailer featuring Homer Simpson in his tighty whities was shown in theaters across the country before the new animated film, Ice Age: The Meltdown. The release date is July 27, 2007 so mark your calendars!

The library has many books and videos on the Simpsons, including DVD sets of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons of the popular television show. For those of you who want to read about the Simpsons, there are books discussing the social relevance and philosophy of the Simpsons.

Word is out that martial arts superstar Bruce Lee will be the subject of a new Broadway musical featuring music by David Bowie. Director Matthew Warchus (who is currently about to unveil The Lord of the Rings musical) is also attached to the project. To prepare yourself for this side-splitting East Side Story, check out Enter the Dragon or The Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection recently added to the aadl collection.

Also in the works is a musical version of the hit martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

National Public Radio's Story Corps seeks oral histories from ordinary folks "as a record of the way we live today--and how we got here." In the case of Blanca Alvarez this is very literally a story of how she got here. In the Story Corps interview with her daughter, Connie, Alvarez describes crossing the border from Mexico to the United States over thirty years ago and the jobs she held to support her family in those difficult early years.

Jane Addams, 1860-1935

In celebration of Women's History Month, Thompson Gale has launched a free website of information on the history of women--biographies, a historical timeline, a downloadable calendar, quizzes and activities to facilitate classroom discussion. Also included is Women's Rights on Trial, which includes information on 101 key trials of historical importance to American women since the settlement of the colonies.

Last night on Survivor, the La Mina tribe attempted to catch fish to eat, but all they could catch were poisonous puffer fish.
However, there was a close-up shot of a porcupine puffer in the water that could have been Porky's cousin.
You don't know who Porky is? He's our friendly resident porcupine puffer in the Downtown Youth Department.
Anyone else see this episode and can back me up?