Blog Post
Ten Best World War II Movies?
by amy
Looking for something special to watch Memorial Day weekend? It's the right time to catch Clink Eastwood's recent Flags of Our Fathers or one of these other classic WWII films--my personal top ten (in abc order): Das Boot, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Casablanca, From Here to Eternity, The Great Escape, The Longest Day, Patton, Saving Private Ryan, The Train, Tora, Tora, Tora!. Which titles would make your top ten list?
Blog Post
Duke's 100th Birthday
by Debbie G.
Saddle up, pardner and celebrate the original dudester's 100th birthday this Saturday, May 26th. John Wayne started in movies in 1926 and starred in some of the best American movies ever made, especially when the Duke teamed up with John Ford. Don't miss The Searchers, Red River and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. Your favorite?
Blog Post
Grey's Writers on Grey's Anatomy
by anonymous
See the season finale of Grey's Anatomy? Wondering why those writers do what they do? Check out their blog. Shonda Rhimes, creator of the series, spends time reflecting on last night’s episode and on the journey each character took in season three. Whether you love the series or not, it also gives viewers a place to comment on storylines and characters. In the meantime, be sure to catch up on season one and two and listen to some of the music found on the soundtracks, Grey’s Anatomy and Grey’s Anatomy, Volume 2.
Blog Post
A Dangerous Mind Comes to Town
by amy
Part secret agent, part talent scout - Chuck Barris has lived a life most of us only dream about. Host of The Newlywed Game, The Dating Game, and The Gong Show, and a one-hit wonder with the 1962 hit "Palisades Park," Barris also wrote Confessions of a Dangerous Mind: The Unauthorized Autobiography, ("a remarkably well-crafted and entertaining book" Publishers Weekly) which includes a dubious "confession" of his double life as a decorated CIA assassin. (The book was later made into the 2003 film directed by George Clooney). Barris' most recent effort is the novel The Big Question.) Bang a gong with one of the more inventive minds of the television era next Tuesday, May 22, at 7:00 p.m. in the Downtown Multi-Purpose Room.
Blog Post
Life Journeys
by ryanikoglu
Were you 20 something in the 70’s? Are you 50 something in the new millennium?
These stories are good ArmChair travels with people finding their way since coming-of-age in the 1970s.
Better Off: Flipping The Switch On Technology is the story of an MIT graduate who decided to step away from a high-tech future and work an Amish-style farm life for the first two years of marriage. Same River Twice is a documentary on the “grown-up” lives of five Colorado River Guides “since they left the summer river life” of their youth. William Least Heat Moon wrote Blue Highways in 1982 while traveling county roads (the blue highways on maps) across the US, and visiting with residents all along the way. Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain’s Journey is written by Linda Greenlaw, the only female Swordboat Captain off the east coast of Main.
Blog Post
Take it to the top
by Maxine
On May 16, 1975, Japanese climber, Junko Tabel was the first woman to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Later, in Japan, reflecting on the trip, she commented,"I can't understand why men make all this fuss about Everest- it's only a mountain." Since then, more women have met or want the challenge including a group of Nepalese women who call themselves Daughters of Everest. These are Sherpa women who want to climb but are held back by traditional customs and financial constraints.
If you're preparing to challenge some summits this summer, you'll find some great inspirational and reality testing reading at the library in our books on mountaineering.
Blog Post
The Best Of Youth
by french_film_grl
Best Of Youth is a wonderful Italian film that tells the tale of two Italian brothers' lives. The film setting starts out in the 1960s and follows the brothers through the next 40 years of their lives. This film encompasses every aspect of themselves and the world they live in including; politics, love, passion, family, hope, regret, death, loss, and searching. This movie is particularly wonderful because the characters could be us or anyone we know. The sincerity of this film is brought even more to heart via the wonderful acting performances throughout the movie. This movie begs the question, "Why isn't anyone in America making films like this???"
The official FFG rating for this movie is an 8.
Roger Ebert shares his thoughts on this film, if you want to get his take on it Roger Ebert Reviews "Best Of Youth"
Blog Post
The lives of others
by Maxine
May 16 is Biographers Day, the anniversary of the meeting in London on May 16, 1763 between James Boswell and Samuel Johnson. Boswell is one of the first
writers to be known primarily as a biographer and his work, Life of Samuel Johnson, is regarded as a model of biographical writing. It is also a testament to his fortitude in pursuing Johnson who was known for his biting wit and sullen nature as evidenced by this characteristic quote: "Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully."
The Library has many biographies and autobiographies for all ages. Two new ones of note are a new youth book, Albert Einstein: With Profiles of Isaac Newton and J. Robert Oppenheimer by Naomi Pasachoff and Mahler: His Life and Music by Stephen Johnson.
Blog Post
National Bike Month and Bike to Work Day
by amy
Need inspiration to participate in getDowntown's Commuter Challenge beginning May 1? May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Awareness Month. It's also National Bike Month and May 18 is Bike to Work Day. Get ready by reading The Bicycle Commuting Book or any of our many books on bicycle maintenance and repair, such as last year's Bicycle! A Repair and Maintenance Manifesto. For additional inspiration, watch The Bicycle Corps: America's Black Army on Wheels, Breaking Away or Curious George Rides a Bike.
Blog Post
Bernard Malamud
by Maxine
Today, April 26 is the birthday of novelist and short story writer, Bernard Malamud who was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1914. The son of Russian Jewish immigrants who owned a grocery store, he was still able to graduate from college in the middle of the Depression. In 1940,
Malamud got a job with the U.S. Census Bureau. After checking drainage ditch statistics, he wrote stories on company time.
During World War II, he was horrified to learn about the Nazi death camps and although not formerly an observant Jew, began to study Jewish history and traditions. These themes became paramount in his work. He also was a great fan of baseball as evident in his highly successful novel about the rise and fall of baseball player, Roy Hobbs in The Natural.