sports injury

Robert Williams, MD, a Chelsea Orthopedic Specialist, will talk bones, stretching, stance, along with training tips to keep you playing this spring, whether you're running track, playing baseball or softball, or training ahead for a fall sport. He will discuss the various types of sports injuries, and will share things you can do to keep from getting sidelined.

Check out library materials Running Anatomy which gives you tips for improving your performance through strengthening exercises, thus reducing injuries or Sports Injuries Guidebook. Be sure to come with questions on March 22, at the Traverwood branch from 7:00 to 8:30pm. Grade 6-Adult.

As a student of applied linguistics, I often find myself in the language learning section of our collection. Here at AADL, we have a variety of language learning tools, which employ books, CDs, DVDs, or a combination of these. I have always learned languages in the classroom or by immersion, so I was intrigued by the audio-only courses. I wondered: how well could you learn a language in your car, by yourself? I investigated with the Pimsleur courses.

I have had a fair amount of exposure to Egyptian Arabic, and that Pimsleur course was just what I needed to dust off my basic conversation skills. Every language learner is different, but I personally had less success with the Mandarin Chinese course. The reason for that, I believe, is that I have no experience whatsoever with that language. I lacked basic knowledge of the writing and sound system, which I have in Arabic. I found myself wanting more context and visual input as I listened to the Mandarin lessons. Auditory learners may have more success at learning a totally new language with this method than I did, being a visual learner.

I think anyone with at least some rudimentary knowledge of a language, however, could be successful with the Pimsleur courses. I would recommend it to anyone who needs to refresh their memory of a language once learned, and has some time to kill in the car.

filmfest
The Ann Arbor Film Festival, the longest running independent film festival in the U.S., will hold its 48th festival on March 23 - 28. At this pre-Festival event, Saginaw Valley State University Associate Professor Mike Mosher will discuss Bison Boys & Famous Monsters of Michigan: the 1970s Super-8mm Films of Jimm Juback and Cary Loren. Loren and Juback were teenagers in the early 1970s, as well as eager viewers of the Ann Arbor Film Festivals.

The discussion will take place in the Downtown library from 7:00-8:30 p.m. downstairs in the Multi-Purpose Room.

PEEPS It's our 1st Annual PEEPS® Photo Contest! Preschoolers all the way up to Adults can enter a photo of a PEEPS® diorama they have created. Gift Cards to Target will be given out in six age categories. Read a little about the origin of the contest at annarbor.com. For full details, rules and guidelines click here! Have fun and celebrate spring!

deadline

With only two weeks to go, we at AXIS Coffeehouse are doing our best to send you to summer with a bang. Last Friday we got a visit from Detroit rap artist The Chozn Bravesoul, and this Friday we will host another special guest -- Maggie Hanks of Ann Arbor Word Works! Don't miss this chance to get some writing advice from a poet described as "bold and insightful".

Also, our last day at AXIS Coffeehouse, March 26th, will be recorded for for the AADL podcast, so bring that poem you've been working on for a chance at library fame!

As always, AXIS Coffeehouse will offer food, drink, good writing and good company -- as well as $5 fine forgiveness coupons and free books for those who present at the mic. Join us at Mallett's Creek this Friday, from 6:30-8 for a great time!

Did you love Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials? I got on the Golden Compass bandwagon a few years ago when the Amber Spyglass came out, and like so many others, I just loved it. This put Pullman on my radar screen, and I knew that he had written another series about a character named Sally Lockhart, but only recently did I finally take the time to enjoy the audio versions of The Ruby in the Smoke, The Shadow in the North, and The Tiger in the Well. I can't believe I waited this long.... boy are these great stories. They are gripping and imaginative just like His Dark Materials, but what is truly striking is how thoughtfully Pullman weaves historical and social themes into the story. I was not expecting to see characters participating in the early development of photography and motion pictures... or wrestling with drug addictions.... or fighting for the rights of workers and immigrants. One of the lighter motifs of the stories is the character Jim's love of penny dreadfuls: pulpy adventure novels published in serial form. Much like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg's inspiration for the Indiana Jones stories, it's clear that Pullman had this kind of storytelling in mind when he wrote the Sally Lockhart stories. The fact that he adds so much thought to their telling is a testimony to what a good writer he is. Pullman says on his website that he will write more in this series, and I hope that he means it.

PS. The reader of the audiobooks, Anton Lesser is quite fantastic. He achieves the benchmark of good audiobook storytelling: he reads all genders and ages quite convincingly.

prom night take 2

In 1997, Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman offered to pay for the senior prom at Charleston High School in Mississippi under one condition: the prom had to be racially integrated. His offer was ignored. In 2008, Freeman offered again. This time the school board accepted, and history was made. Adults and teens (grade 9 and up) are invited to the Downtown Library Multi-Purpose Room for a special screening of the award-winning documentary which chronicles the events leading up to the ground-breaking prom.

Prom Night in Mississippi will be presented on Thursday, March 18 from 6:30-8:30 pm, and will be followed by an audience discussion led by the film's director, Paul Saltzman. This event is co-sponsored by the UM Community Scholars Program.

Time Bomb

AXIS Coffeehouse only has three weeks to go before we break for the summer, so we are going to make the most of it!

This Friday, March 12, local rap artist The Chozn Bravesoul will be visiting to talk a little about rap and poetry. And next Friday, March 19, we will host special guest Maggie Hanks of Ann Arbor Word Works, who will surely have some interesting writing ideas herself.

This free event offers snacks and great conversation as well as $5 library fine forgiveness coupons for those who present at the mic. Don't miss out on these awesome opportunities! Mallett's Creek, 6:30-8:00 pm. Be there!

Teens from the Neutral Zone Short Story Workshop will read new stories on the theme of "impostors." The Short Story Workshop brings together young authors from Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti each Friday afternoon to work on the craft of short fiction. Their latest book is The Lizards Are Crawling Back through Your Window. Teens and adults are welcome to this special reading! Friday, March 26, 7:008:30 PM at the Downtown Library Multi-purpose Room.neutral zone

short story

Go ahead and put those finishing touches on your Short Story. The LAST day to turn in your story is March 19th/Friday by 9pm at any of the AADL locations, or, if you're emailing us your entry, you have until midnight! You can email your stories to allwrite@aadl.org

Guidelines are here. First, second and third place prizes will be awarded in three categories: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-10, Grades 11-12. "It's All Write!" features $1500 in prizes to be distributed among nine lucky winners. You can read the winning stories from last year. Click here.

We're lining up an amazing slate of judges, who are all published authors. Among the panel this year, Kathi Applet, who received a Newbery Honor Award last year, David Lubar, with witty books like Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie and My Rotten Life to his credit, and teen guru, Patrick Jones, author of Tear Collector
Good Luck!!