Blog Post
Yes! The Earth DOES revolve around the Sun.
by Maxine
On April 11, 1633, Gallilco Galilei was put on trial by the Inquisition for his preposterous claim, originally stated by Copernicus that the Earth revolved around the Sun. When Galileo wrote a book titled, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, he angered Pope Urban VIII who contended that any theory not seeing the Earth as the center of the universe went against scripture. Galileo was placed on house arrest for the rest of his life at his home in Florence where he eventually went blind and died in 1642. It wasn't until 1835 that the Vatican removed the book from its list of banned books and in 1992, the Catholic Church formally admitted that Galileo was right.
Blog Post
Celebrate on Behalf of Young Children!
by Beth Manuel
April is The Month of the Young Child. Come celebrate with Child Care Network at Cady’s Grill in historic Depot Town. On April 29 from 6-9 pm 20% of the night’s sales will go to Child Care Network to use for training of staff and caregivers. Eat and drink for a great cause!
Blog Post
Jean Nouvel – the 2008 Pritzker Prize Winner
by muffy
French architect Jean Nouvel snatched this year’s top honor in architecture. The prize which includes a $100,000 grant and a bronze medallion, is to be presented on June 2nd at the Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
The Pritzker Prize “honors annually a living architect whose built work demonstrates talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.”
Nouvel, respected for his inquisitive and agile mind, takes great risks in each of his strikingly distinctive projects, expanding the vocabulary of contemporary architecture.
Examples of Nouvel’s works include 40 Mercer (SoHo), a luxury residence; Abgar Tower in Barcelona; the Guthrie Theater (photo at left); and the Quai Branly Museum in Paris.
Blog Post
William Christenberry Photographs: 1961-2005
by muffy
William Christenberry Photographs: 1961-2005 is the coming attraction at the UMMA off/Site.
The exhibition is a retrospective of nearly half-century of Christenberry’s work exploring the American South. From the early Brownie photographs to his recent large-format camera work, they are poetic documentation of Southern vernacular architecture, signage, and landscape, “capturing moments of quiet beauty in a sometimes rustic terrain”.
On Sunday, April 6th, at 3 p.m. William Christenberry will speak at the Rackham Amphitheater (915 East Washington) on his work and life in the American South.
William Christenberry runs from April 5th to June 1st, 2008.
Blog Post
Sancho's Scene: Only a 'fool' would miss this!
by Sancho Panza
Feeling foolish? The annual Festifools parade may only be a week away, but there’s still time to get involved in the behind the scenes process. For bigger people, the folks at Festifools are looking for help in their studio and volunteers to assist on the day of the event. Little ones can join in, too, with a special Library program next Sunday afternoon—preschool and elementary school-aged kids can create wild and crazy noisemakers before marching off to join the fun! For those keen to observe, the silliness begins at 4pm next Sunday, April 6 on Main Street in Downtown Ann Arbor.
Blog Post
Poetic Picture Books
by ErinDurrett
The Children's Picture book The Wizard can only be described as "An illustrated, rhyming tale of a wicked wizard and his evil deeds, as he uses 'elemental sorcery' to change a bullfrog into a series of objects, from a flea to a flame." The author of the the book, Jack Prelutsky, was named the first Children's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation in 2006. His verse along with the enchanting illustrations by Brandon Dorman, make The Wizard a truly delightful find. Other interesting books of his include Dragons are Singing Tonight, Gargoyle on the Roof, and Wild Witches Ball.
Blog Post
The Arrival
by anned
In the universal language of images, Shaun Tan perfectly conveys the displacement and confusion of the immigrant experience. A lone man leaves his family behind, in a dark world filled with oppressive shadows, and enters a surreal new world full of fantastical beasts, bizarre vegetables, and friendly people. Tan pulls from every culture and multiple time periods while also making the new land completely foreign to everyone--thus setting the reader up to share in the protagonist's struggle to understand his new surroundings. The Arrival is masterfully told with beautiful realistic illustrations. A superlative example of the genre.
Blog Post
Happy 323rd, Johann
by Maxine
Today, March 21st, is the birthday of composer and musician Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach was born in 1685 in Eisenach, Germany. He came from a family of musicians, learned the violin at an early age and was a member of his church choir. The organ, however, was always his favorite instrument. Bach moved from church to church as either choir director or organist. Sometimes his passion for music interfered with fulfilling expectations of his employers. While employed at Arnstadt, he asked for a month off to visit the famous organist, Dietrich Buxtehude who lived 200 miles away. Bach decided to stay another 3 months without letting anyone at Arnstadt know.
He married twice and from these two marriages produced twenty children. As a court organist for Duke Wilhelm Ernst, he produced some of his famous works including Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. His work matured and developed new tonal elements like counterpoint in which two melodies were played at the same time. While a choirmaster in Leipzig, he produced most of his choral music including The Passion According to Saint Matthew which is being performed tonight at Hill Auditorium.
Alan Rich said of Bach: "No composer in history...has been so widely jazzed up, watered down, electrified and otherwise transmogrified, debated and admired as this German provincial.
Blog Post
Wii Sports Tournament on Saturday
by lola
Bring a partner or find one here and play in our Doubles Tennis Tournament on the Wii console. Show off your backhand or serve up an ace. Prizes will be awarded to the top two teams. See you on Saturday, March 22nd at 1 PM at the Downtown Library Multipurpose Room. All ages are welcome. We’ll battle across the net until 5 PM.
Blog Post
Join An Online Book Group!
by ErinDurrett
Do you enjoy reading book jackets and covers? Do you have five minutes in your day to enjoy a excerpt from a book in your favorite genre? Well then a Online Book Group is for you!!!
A few months back, I joined 3 online Book Discussion Groups. Each Week (Monday-Friday), you start a new book and read a few pages a day, so by the end of the week you have read a chapter or two of a book that may become one of your favorites. Choose from: Business, Non-fiction, Classics, Fiction, Romance, Mystery, Horror, Teen, Science Fiction, and more!
Readers can comment about book selections several places throughout the site and are encouraged to email Suzanne (the leader of the groups) with any suggestions or questions.
Join a Book Group Today!