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Refusing to be Enemies

by annevm

A screening of the film "Refusing to be Enemies: The Zeitouna Story" is coming up this evening at 7:15 p.m. at the Michigan Theater. Made by local filmmaker Laurie White, the film is about Zeitouna a local group of Arabic and Jewish women. This remarkable group also is the subject of the DVD Working together: the Arab and Jewish women of Ann Arbor's Zeitouna which you can check out at the library.

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Get in the game!

by joy k

If you’ve been following the ups and downs of the Seishun tennis team in The Prince of Tennis manga series, you won’t want to miss the anime—newly arrived on DVD at a library near you! For those of you unfamiliar with the series, it’s the story of Ryoma Echizen, a tennis prodigy who has just returned to Japan after growing up in the states. Watch for the humor, action, and drama as Seishun pursues its goal of winning the middle school national championships. As for the tennis—well, let’s just say the characters have some interesting moves you definitely won’t see on the ATP tour! For those of you who have read the series, comment and let us know which school is your favorite.

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Great Lakes Myth Society playing in town this Friday

by manz

Southeastern Michigan’s Great Lakes Myth Society bring their blend of folk, pop and rock music back to Ann Arbor this Friday for a performance at the Blind Pig. A common theme throughout many of GLMS’s songs is Michigan and its natural surroundings. Singer/Songwriter Timothy Monger explains, “to reference our home in song has always been a natural reaction. It was only when we noticed how strong the themes were that the desire to center our project within the Lakes took hold."
Check it out for yourself on their latest album. Side note: In the song “Marquette County, 1959” the singer croons “Jimmy Stewart came to Marquette County in 1959.” This is true and references the film Anatomy of a Murder which Jimmy Stewart did indeed film in Marquette in 1959. (It’s a gem of a film costarring Lee Remick in a sassy roll.)

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Hot new (well, almost new) dvd releases from Amazon at your library

by Maxine

Following are several new dvds in our collection that are on Amazon's "Hot new releases" list:

We are Marshall. This film, based on a true story, stars Matthew McConaughey as Jack Lengyel, new coach of Marshall University's football team after coaches and team members die in a plane crash in the Appalachian Mountains in November, 1970. The usual football action but also some affecting performances.

The Lives of Others. Winner of best foreign film of 2006, the movie is a thriller which, according to Amazon, .."opts for character development over car chases." In 1984 East Berlin, a Stasi officer, Gerd Wiesler, is charged with spying on a playwright and his girlfriend but when he realizes his superior has a personal vendetta, his alliances change.

300. Frank Miller's grapic novel is vividly transformed to screen. Gerald Butler from Phantom of the Opera plays Leonidas, the Grecian king who leads his Spartans into battle against the Persian invaders.

Black Book. In this Dutch film, Rachel Stein, a Jewish singer, is living with a Gentile family in the countryside towards the end of World War II. She flees to the Hague when Allied forces bomb the area, changes her identity and joins the Resistance. Both a thriller and a tribute to Holland's Jewish population.

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Travel Europe with Rick Steves

by anonymous

Rick Steves could be considered a travel guru. He publishes travel guides, hosts a travel show, and writes an online column about travel. He even runs a tour company! Benefit from his advice and check out the library’s collection of books and DVDs. In particular, look for the DVDs that collect his series from 2000-2007 on such regions as France, Austria, England, Eastern Europe, and more. So, whether you want to research your next overseas trip or experience the world vicariously, Rick Steves is entertaining and informative.

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10 Documentaries that Shocked the World

by Ben P

The September 2007 issue of Sight and Sound: The International Film Magazine has a list of 10 Documentries that Shocked the World and AADL has some of them.

Heshang - The River Elegy (Jun Xia, 1988) China
Minamata: The Victims and Their World (Tsuchimoto Noriaki, 1972) Japan
Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore, 2002) US
The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988) US
Death of a Nation - The Timor Conspiracy (John Pilger and David Munro, 1994) Britain
BBC News Ethiopia Report (Michael Buerk and Mohammed Amin, 1984) Britain
McLibel (Franny Armstrong, 2005) Britain
Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl, 1936) Germany
The Sorrow and the Pity (Marcel Ophuls, 1970) France
For Freedom (Hussein Torabi, 1980) Iran

Then some more that need to be plugged.

The Corporation 2005 US
21 days to Baghdad 2003 US
Before Stonewall 1995 US
After Stonewall 2005 US
The Agronomist 2005 US
Born into Brothels 2005 Inda
Calcutta 1969 Inda
Bus 174 2005 Brazil
The Atomic Cafe 1982 US
The Boys of Baraka 2006 Kenya

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The Only Band That Matters

by John J. Madonna

The Band went from backing Ronnie Hawkins as The Hawks to backing Bob Dylan when he did his electric tour to being the most unsung band out there. While they achieved popularity in their time, scored hits, and certainly had the respect of all of their contemporaries, history unfortunately hasn’t yet brought Music From Big Pink and The Band to the forefront of classic rock must-haves like Let It Bleed, Who’s Next, or any The Rutles record.

Their first record, Music From Big Pink, broke ground with its traditionalism. Odd as it may be, The Band released their record in 1968, a time when psychedilia was transitioning to harder rock. Big Pink opens up with the slow song “Tears of Rage,” unheard of in 1968 when the conventional wisdom was opening with a rocker, and presents a return to folksy, roots-rock. The band of Canadians really knew American folk music and knew how to write songs about the American experience. While The Band initially drew attention because they featured several songs written by Bob Dylan (which were recorded earlier and appeared in an alternative from on The Basement Tapes,) people soon realized Robbie Robertson was a gifted writer himself, as it also held The Band’s most remembered and celebrated recording, “The Weight.”

The follow-up, The Band, didn’t have the standout hit like “The Weight” (though it did have “Up On Cripple Creek,”) but the music continued in its Americana tradition with songs of the Civil War like “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” as well as the fiddle masterpiece “Rag Mama Rag.” My personal favourite on the record is “When You Awake.”

The Band consisted of five very talented musicians, with Robertson in the upper echelon of guitarists and with a sparse, economical playing style similar to George Harrison. They released albums together for eight years before calling it quits, and in between Music From Big Pink and The Last Waltz, they left a deep footprint on the musical landscape.

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International Day of Peace is this Friday

by StoryLaura

There is no better time to think about peace than now, and one way to do it is to read the book Peace One Day about one young man’s dream and how he made it come true. Jeremy Gilley, a filmmaker from England, convinced world leaders and the United Nations to declare a fixed date for the International Day of Peace. This is his account of filming his travels and adventures. Pulitzer Prize-winning Karen Blessen’s powerful illustrations, along with Jeremy’s honest prose, remind us that peace will only come if we all do what we can to make it happen.

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Ahoy, me hearties! It's Talk Like a Pirate Day!

by amy

Celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19 with all things piratical here at AADL. Weigh anchor with this merry yarn; indulge in some Captain "Jack", or read a modern-day pirate's take on life at 50. Shiver me timbers! Ann Arbor even has a local connection!

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Here comes Youmacon!

by joy k

Youmacon, “Metro Detroit's first and only anime con,” is being held November 2-4, 2007 at the Hilton Detroit/Troy. Featured guests include Stephanie Sheh (voice actor for Orihime in Bleach and Hinata in Naruto and ADR director for Paradise Kiss) and Johnny Yong Bosch (voice actor for Ichigo in Bleach and the Black Ranger in Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers). There will be panels, cosplay, gaming, AMVs, and more. Pre-register by September 30 and save, but don’t worry too much if you miss the date! On-site registration will be available as well.