These days anyone who owns a digital video camera and fiddles around with iMovie can call themselves a filmmaker, but in order to do it right you really should do some studying. After all, even close friends and family members wouldn't mind a little more quality (and a little less quantity) the next time you show one of your home movies. All wannabe filmmakers, especially aspiring cinematographers, would be smart to check out Visions of Light, an excellent documentary film on the art of cinematography. See how master cinematographers such as Gregg Toland, Conrad Hall, and Gordon Willis approach their work and prepare to be inspired!

Check out a poetry slam at the Neutral Zone this year or read Listen Up!:Spoken Word Poetry. Even rockers are getting in on the act. Henry Rollins from Black Flag and The Rollins Band has become a popular spoken word performer who will present his sarcastic socio-political work at the Michigan Theater on October 26th at 7:30 pm.

Ramadan will begin next week. Click the link to see
some Youth books that cover the subject of Ramadan.

Spartan fans of the World Unite! And while we’re waiting for the big game, read up on it’s history in Backyard Brawl: The Storied Rivalry of Michigan-Michigan State Football. Sparty also recommends The Spartans: A Story of Michigan State Football. Hungry for more? John Madden’s Ultimate Tailgating will give you the edge off the field as the Spartans march down the field to Victory!

Stretch your body as well as your mind with a yoga book on audio. The Beginner’s Guide to Yoga will get you started, Yoga Stretch for Fitness will keep you going and Lilias Yoga Complete will guarantee your status as a yoga master.

Siblings Martha and Rufus Wainwright and their parents Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle all contributed to the McGarrigle Hour, a folk album that guest-stars Emmylou Harris. While the other McGarrigle and Wainwrights tend towards the traditional and folk side of things, Rufus Wainwright is known for his ”baroque pop” songs rich with harmonies and intimate lyrics. He’ll be appearing at the Michigan Theater on October 9th.

49 years ago today the earth stood still when this alien command was spoken in theaters across the country on the opening day of the Cold War, sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still, directed by recently deceased director Robert Wise. But America was also mesmerized by the new sound of the theremin, which earned its place in the pantheon of good (and bad, see: Ed Wood) movie soundtracks, reaching its quivering peak in 1966 with the Beach Boys' unrivaled "Good Vibrations". For more on this unusual instrument, the Library owns the compelling documentary Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey.

M. Scott Peck, author of the bestselling The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values, and Spiritual Growth (1978), died September 25, 2005.

A Harvard graduate with a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Dr. Peck launched his literary career after ten years as a practicing psychiatrist. His very first sentence in The Road Less Traveled, “Life is difficult,” is at the heart of his belief that once people accept that fact, they can experience a life of deep rewards and valuable lessons.

Dr. Peck, who was 69, was the author of more than 15 books, including A Bed by the Window: A Novel of Mystery and Redemption (1990), Further Along the Road Less Traveled: The Unending Journey toward Spiritual Growth (1993), and The Road Less Traveled and Beyond: Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety (1997)

Gregory Maguire, whose Wicked (1995), is enjoying a second life as a big-budget Broadway Musical will release its much-anticipated sequel Son of a Witch on Sept. 29th.
The story picks up where Dorothy did in Elphaba Thropp, the Wicked Witch of the West and brought about spectacular changes in the Land of Oz – not all of them pleasant. A caravan leader stumbled upon a badly hurt young man, Liir, who might be the dead witch’s rumored secreted son. The ensuing tale is one of great drama, eccentric characters and object lessons.

Leap back 100 years with Brown Angels:an Album of Pictures and Verse. The book displays sepia-tone photos of African-American children from the turn-of-the-century, in companion with poetry by Walter Dean Myers. Bring the timeline forward to today and read So Much about an exciting birthday within an extended family and Yo! Yes?, the first conversation of a budding new friendship.