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What is this Christmas thing anyway?

by RiponGood

Are you concerned about what Christmas has become. Charlie Brown sure was. If you want to learn about the true meaning of Christmas, sit back and relax with your family as you watch A Charlie Brown Christmas.

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And the best Christmas Carol is...

by amy

'Tis the season for the inevitable take on the perennial Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. We have at least eight video versions--from a 10-minute silent film in a collection of rare holiday shorts to the vastly underrated Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol. The rest are listed below. (Our apologies to fans of the 1999 film starring Patrick Stewart and the excellent 1938 version starring Leo G. Carroll; both are on order but, alas, won't be here by Christmas.) My favorite is still the 1951 version. What's yours?

A Christmas Carol (1951), starring Alastair Sim
A Christmas Carol (1984), starring George C. Scott
A Christmas Carol (2004), starring Kelsey Grammer
A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), with Michael Caine as the voice of Scrooge
Scrooge (1970), starring Albert Finney
Scrooged (1999), starring Bill Murray

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Poetry takes its rightful place

by Maxine

On December 20, 1985, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill into law empowering the Library of Congress to name a Poet Laureate each year. From 1937-1986, the position existed under the name, Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. The stipend awarded to this poet/consultant requires the publication of at least one major new work as well as appearances at selected national ceremonies. Poet Laureates have also taken as their charge innovative projects that broden the appeal of poetry to the general public.

The current poet laureate is Donald Hall, professor emeritus of the University of Michigan. Some previous poet laureates have been Robert Pinsky who created the Favorite Poem Project and Ted Kooser who developed the American Life in Poetry columns that appeared in many newspapers throughout the country. The position has provided established poets the opportunity to creatively spread the words of the muse and connect people with the pleasures of poetry.

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Dattebayo!

by joy k

Ann Arbor ninja rejoice! The first set of Naruto anime dvds (Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3) has just landed at the library. You can always read the manga while you’re waiting for your copy to come in, or you can investigate some of the library’s recent teen novels about ninja, such as Blue Fingers: A Ninja’s Tale by Cheryl Aylward Whitesel and In Darkness, Death by Dorothy Hoobler.

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American Roots Music

by ryanikoglu

What a treat! If you Listen to NPR and "American Roots" music program, enjoy a collaboration between the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum with the DVD series American Roots Music. You'll find a wonderful collage of regional "roots music" including historical clips and contemporary performance clips. This volume features Chicago Blues; Folk Music of the 60's counter culture; Gospel; Tejano; and Native American with Nakai & Mirabel.

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DVDs to Save the Planet

by amy

In recognition of the Air Quality Act, passed by Congress on December 17, 1967--the first legislation to place pollution controls on the automobile industry--here are a few recent DVDs about the environment:

Blue Vinyl: Skeptical of her parents' decision to re-side their home with polyvinyl chloride, Judith Helfand set out to find the truth behind the toxic effects of the material.
An Inconvenient Truth: A passionate and inspiring look at former Vice President Al Gore's campaign to expose the myths and misconceptions of global warming, and to create public awareness on the subject.
Who Killed the Electric Car: An investigation into the birth and death of the electric car, as well as the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in the future.

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Globalization

by Ben P

The benefits of globalization debate is a constant one. Nobel Prize winning economist and professor at Columbia University Joseph E. Stiglitz writes in Making Globalization Work of the possibility that globalization can work for everyone. For an interview with the author you can listen here in the last hour of the show.

The Independent Media Center has put together a video to express their view of globalization and what happened in Miami during the FTAA meeting.

For other selections in the AADL collection click here. PBS has three DVDs in a series titled Commanding Heights, the battle for the world economy DVD 1 DVD 2 DVD 3 discussing the effects of globalization.

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Eureka! Land in sight.

by Maxine

This week is the anniversary of the discoveries of two significant land masses. On December 13, 1642, Captain Abel Tasman of the Dutch East India Company first sighted New Zealand. In 1769, Captain James Cook landed and took possession for Great Britain. To read more on New Zealand, try Traveller's History of New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands by John H. Chambers.

On December 14, 1911, the South Pole was located and visited by Roald Amundsen. Although more has been written about Ernest Shackleton, his expedition to Antarctica was in 1914, a few years after Amundsen's discovery. Last Place on Earth is a book by Roland Huntford and then a film based on the rivalry between Amundsen and Scott who came one year apart to the Pole.

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Dragons and destiny

by joy k

Hitomi is a perfectly average high school student, aside from her gift for reading tarot cards. A magical accident involving a dragon sweeps her away to the hidden world of Gaea, where she falls into the company of Van, a boy prince with a mysterious past. There the dangerous Zaibach Empire is doing its best to conquer all the surrounding countries, and Van’s homeland is next on its list. Soon Hitomi’s ability to predict the future is a power that everyone wants to use.

In the ten years since it first aired in Japan, The Vision of Escaflowne tv series has become an anime classic. The Japanese language track features some of anime industry’s best voice talent. Maaya Sakamoto, who is now winning new fans for her recent performance of Haruhi in Ouran High School Host Club, had her first major role in Hitomi; she also sings the opening theme song.

Volume 1 (episodes 1-4)
Volume 2 (episodes 5-8)
Volume 3 (episodes 9-11)
Volume 4 (episodes 12-14)
Volume 5 (episodes 15-17)
Volume 6 (episodes 18-20)
Volume 7 (episodes 21-23)
Volume 8 (episodes 24-26)

The movie version of Escaflowne features the same voice actors but retells the story from the tv series from a slightly darker perspective.