November is National Adoption Month

Wed, 11/01/2006 - 10:41am by Maxine

If you're an adoptive parent, birth parent, thinking about adoption, an adopted child or someone interested in learning more about adoption, here are some new titles that may be of interest:

For teens and adults:
A Brief Chapter of My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt
Simone, 16, has always known she was adopted but now, with the encouragement of her parents, has a chance to meet her birthmother, Rivka who helps her through a tough period of her life.
Store-Bought Baby by Sandra Belton
Leah mourns the death of her beloved older adopted brother Luce in a car accident. An unusual take, this is an adoption story from the biological child's point of view.
Peck on the Cheek, a film by Mani Ratnam tells the story of Amedha, of Sri Lankan and Tamil parentage, who is told of her adoption on her ninth birthday and goes with her family to war torn Sri Lanka in search of her birthparents.
Complete Book of International Adoption: A Step by Step Guide to Finding Your Child by Dawn Davenport. This up to date book covers everything you need to know about the adoption process, practical, legal and emotional aspects as well as poignant accounts of adoptive parents. A comprehensive resource guide is included. (On order).

For children:
Megan's Birthday Tree: A true Story About Open Adoption by Laurie Lears Kendra, Megan's birth mother sends Megan photos every year of the tree she has planted when Megan was born. Now that Kendra's moving, Megan worries if she will forget her without the tree as a reminder.
Just Add One Chinese Sister by Patricia McMahon. The story of an American family's adoption of a Chinese toddler is told in scrap book fashion. Imaginative and playful illustrations make this a great book to share with all members of an
adoptive family.

125th Anniversary of the Gunfight at the OK Corral

Wed, 11/01/2006 - 9:40am by andrewjmac

Last week marked the 125th anniversary of the gunfight at the OK Corral. The shoot-out that pitted the Earps and Doc Holliday against the Clanton and McLaury boys is one of the most famous events in the history of the old west. Scores of books and movies have been created based on the event. About a decade ago, two films about it came out that offer very different interpretations and are definitely worth watching, especially together.

Wyatt Earp was directed by Lawrence Kasdan and was nominated for several awards—although one of these was a Razzie Award for Worst Actor for lead Kevin Costner as Earp.

Tombstone, my favorite, has Kurt Russell as Earp. This one is worth watching just to see Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday sporting an unidentifiable accent that Kilmer seems to have invented just for the part.

For a deliciously scary time....

Tue, 10/31/2006 - 4:51pm by anned

In honor of Halloween, why not check out a Vincent Price movie from our collection? The Fly is always a good choice.
There is also the Edgar Allan Poe Audio Collection narrated by Vincent Price and Basil Rathbone.
If you’re not in the mood for a good scare, why not try a gourmet cookbook?
Many people equate Vincent Price with camp horror classics, but few know that he was also a gourmet. In 1965, he and his wife published "A Treasury of Great Recipes". This book contains 456 pages of wonderfully delicious recipes, most containing at least 1 stick of butter. Unfortunately, this great book is out of print, but available used through amazon.

New DVDs

Mon, 10/30/2006 - 10:49am by amy

Recently available on DVD is the 1962 winner of the Academy Award for best documentary The Black Fox: The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler and this year's The Goebbels Experiment. Three stellar films exploring Nazi occupation and the Holocaust are the recently restored Czech masterwork The Fifth Rider is Fear, about an aging Jewish doctor who is forbidden to practice medicine in Prague during the Nazi occupation; Image Before My Eyes, a photographic history of Jews in Poland between the two World Wars; and Volker Schlöndorff's The Ninth Day, starring the remarkable Ulrich Matthes--he played Goebbels in 2004's Downfall--who, "with his spooked, black-eyed stare burns with rage and mortification" (New Yorker) as an anti-Nazi Catholic priest given nine days reprieve from his internment at Dachau in 1942 to return home for his mother's funeral.

"Give me your tired..."

Sat, 10/28/2006 - 3:34pm by Maxine

On October 28, 1886, the The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor. Originally conceived by the French sculptor, Frederic Bartholdi who titled it "Liberty Enlightening the World," the statue symbolized immigrants' dreams of freedom and prosperity. Emma Lazarus' poem, "Collossus" contains the famous words inscribed inside the pedestal of the statue.

Shakespeare Goes to the Movies

Thu, 10/26/2006 - 3:41pm by amy

Here's another way to celebrate the Royal Shakespeare Company's Michigan Residency: On Thursday, October 26, UM professors Barbara Hodgdon and Jim Burnstein will consider the cultural phenomenon of Shakespearean films in "Shakespeare Goes to the Movies: The Two-Dimensional Bard." The talk will include film clips from Trevor Nunn's 1972 Antony and Cleopatra, Fred Wilcox's 1956 Forbidden Planet, and Peter Greenaway's 1991 Prospero's Books. Join us for the discussion, 4-6 p.m., in the Lower Level Multi-Purpose Room.

Edo-era Japan + Hip-Hop = Samurai Champloo

Tue, 10/24/2006 - 3:05pm by joy k

Samurai Champloo follows the journey of an unlikely trio through Edo-era Japan. After Fuu, a young waitress, saves Jin and Mugen, two wandering swordsmen, from execution at the hands of a corrupt magistrate, she ropes them into becoming her bodyguards during her search for the mysterious samurai who smells of sunflowers.

“Champloo” is an Okinawan word that means to mix or to blend, and that’s exactly what this series does: it combines historical detail and samurai swordplay with music by Japanese and American hip-hop artists. The show’s creative use of anachronism goes well beyond the score, influencing everything from the characters’ attitudes to their wardrobes.

If you’ve already watched the series, you might also be interested in the companion manga.

A Timeless Tale

Mon, 10/23/2006 - 11:53am by ryanikoglu

Don't ask why. Serendipity.
The stories are timeless; the issues perennial; simple parables, and I share them here. A book, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, was written in 1959. It resonates as if written today. A movie, Black and White in Color, was produced in 1976. This story happens, wherever people and power exist.

Zoom Lends DVDs now available at all AADL locations

Fri, 10/20/2006 - 6:35pm by amy

Now you don't have to get in line to see the hottest movies! Beginning Friday, October 20, a selection of popular DVD titles will be available for rental at all AADL locations for $1 per week. All Zoom Lends copies are available on a first come, first served basis.

The Music of Yoko Kanno

Wed, 10/18/2006 - 7:11pm by joy k

We don’t often think about the composers behind the music of our favorite anime series and films, but many of them just wouldn’t be as wonderful without their memorable scores. Yoko Kanno is one of the most accomplished composers of music for anime tv series and films. She’s perhaps best known for her music for the Cowboy Bebop tv series and film, but she’s worked on many other projects. Some of the other anime in the library's collection that feature her music are:

Escaflowne: The Movie
Macross Plus (film)
The Vision of Escaflowne (tv series)
Wolf’s Rain (tv series)