Blog Post
He is still burning bright
by Maxine
Today, November 28 is the 250th birthday of poet William Blake. Blake was only four years old when he began seeing visions of angels. He began drawing and when his parents saw his talent sent him to art school to become an engraver. He produced engravings for works of Chaucer, Dante, the Bible and books on architecture, botany and medicine. Blake's work became more infused with his visions and not as salable. He had also been writing poetry for most of his life and began printing it on his own printing press. He wrote his poems on copper plates and engraved illustrations around them. He sold these small collections himself.
Blake never achieved fame in his lifetime but since his death, his poems have inspired generations and have been the source of musical productions of his Songs of Innocence and Experience by such luminaries as Ann Arbor composer William Bolcom. Tracy Chevalier's new novel, Burning Bright features Blake as a main character.
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #91 (Small Gems #2)
by muffy
Mr. Thundermug is the "inventive and poignant story of a baboon who acquires the ability to eloquently speak human language".
As squatters in a condemned apartment building in a fictional city (think London), Mr. Thundermug and his family face eviction. His trouble escalates when he is arrested for, of all things - cruelty to animals! "The amusing and frustrating transactions between baboon and society attain urban-legend status".
This little fable-like tale is enhanced by moody, sepia-toned photographs throughout. A noteworthy debut for British Cornelius Medvei.
Blog Post
Black Friday Pokémon Showdown!
by eli
Are you a Pokémon trainer? Do you think your Pokémon are pretty tough? Wouldn't you like to know for sure? AADL is pleased to provide an opportunity for the best and most enthusiastic Pokémon trainers from in and around Ann Arbor to come together, test their mettle, and see if they've got what it takes to make it to the finals of the most exciting Pokémon event in town. It's our first-ever Black Friday Pokémon Tournament, this Friday, 11/23, from Noon - 5 PM at the Downtown Library. Bring your DS and your copy of Pokémon Diamond or Pearl with your Pokémon ready to rumble, or try our house Pokémon if you don't have the game. A portion of this event will also be recorded and broadcast on Comcast channel 18 on Saturdays 11/24 and 12/1 at 3PM, so be sure to tune in, and read on for full details!
We'll start out with qualifying rounds in the DS union room, which means you'll need 2 Pokémon at level 30 or below to make it through the early rounds. The trainers with the most wins in their qualifyting battles will move on to 4-player, anything-goes pools, doing a double battle with 3 pokemon. We'll have prizes for the best overall players and the best level 50 and under players. We'll also be needing some Pokémon experts to do color commentary during the broadcast. Also, because the event is broadcast, please bring a signed release form if you haven't already.
As for GT updates, sorry for the delay in the Round 4 writeup... I blame Galaxy (62 stars). Round 4 and full GC details are coming next week. In the meantime, does anyone know what is up with those little bag-like guys that leave footprints and disappear whenever you get too close? WHAT IS UP WITH THOSE GUYS?
Blog Post
November Noteworthy Books to Films
by muffy
No Country for Old Men, a Coen Brothers’ adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s fast-paced thriller gives us a “disturbing look into the vortex created by drugs and violence in America and a moving meditation on good and evil, freedom and fate, time and change”, guaranteed to keep you at the edge of your seat.
The film version of Beowulf , an epic poem, is a big-budget, digitally-enhanced tale of a warrior sent to battle monsters terrorizing the countryside.
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez is an enduring classic about two star-crossed lovers. I heard the adaptation is equally engaging.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean-Dominique Bauby is an autobiographic story of the author who became completely paralyzed at the age of 43. Artist Julian Schnabel received Festival de Cannes Best Director award for this remarkable film.
Blog Post
Chicken and Cat
by anned
Comics artist Sara Varon seamlessly entered the realm of picture books with Chicken and Cat. She creates an abundantly cute and simple world in which chickens, cats, raccoons, bunnies, dogs, humans, and other creatures (all with built in pockets) can happily coexist--meaning ride bicycles and roller-skate in the same park and buy things from one another. Her illustrations are charming and amiably cluttered. One can't help but smile.
City slicker Chicken is visited by his friend Cat. Together they explore the city. Cat is a bit overwhelmed by the lack of plants and the abundance of buildings. Chicken comes up with a solution that will make Cat happy and allow them both to enjoy the city.
Blog Post
What is "throat singing?"
by Maxine
If you want to find out, go to the Ark this Saturday, November 17 to hear Huun-Huur-Tu, a male vocal ensemble from Tuva in East Asia. They are known for the other-worldly sounds they make by voicing two or three different notes simultaneously. They perform traditional nomadic songs sometimes accompanying themselves on an igil, a horse head fiddle, and other stringed instruments. Huun-Huur-Tu has made some recordings on the Shenachie label. One earlier recording is titled Voices which is in the Library's collection. Don't miss a great opportunity to hear these entrancing sounds.
Blog Post
Little House on the Prairie Tunes Come to Life
by manz
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books are noted for telling tales of frontier life. Not often mentioned are the over one hundred musical references in her books.
Happy Land Musical Tributes to Laura Ingalls Wilder is a CD that features a selection of these classic American songs that are ready to get your toes tapping if you’re not already setting off to reread your favorite Little House book. Fans of the Little House on the Prairie books might call this a soundtrack to the books that brings the sounds and music of the stories to life. Pa Ingalls would have his fiddle in high gear with this CD!
Blog Post
Tellebration!
by StoryLaura
When was the last time you treated yourself to an hour of story listening? A balm to the soul. This is the weekend, with tellebrations happening all over the country and in your own Ann Arbor. The family story fun for ages 5 and up will be this Sunday, November 11 at 2:00 pm at the Pittsfield Branch with the Ann Arbor Storyteller's Guild. As an extra added bonus, a magnificent gift is raffled off each year made by talented artist and teller Judy Schmidt!
Blog Post
The Education of Little Tree
by muffy
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey has pulled a discredited children's book, Forrest Carter's The Education of Little Tree, from a list of recommended titles on her Web site, blaming an archival "error" for including a work considered to be the literary hoax of a white supremacist, according to the International Herald Tribune. Carter, who died in 1979, was identified as Asa Earl Carter, a member of the Ku Klux Klan and speechwriter for former Alabama governor George Wallace.
First published in 1976, Little Tree was supposedly the real-life story of an orphaned boy raised by his Cherokee Indian grandparents; the book became a million seller and sentimental favorite. In 1991, the American Booksellers Association gave "Little Tree" its first ever ABBY award, established to honor the 'hidden treasures' that ABA bookstore members most enjoyed recommending.
According to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 70 percent of industry sales, Little Tree" has sold about 11,000 copies in 2007.
Blog Post
Library Lions
by muffy
Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese was honored Monday, along with historian John Hope Franklin, author Jhumpa Lahiri, and playwright Tom Stoppard by the New York Public Library as this year's Library Lions.
"Library Lions honorees were chosen for their exceptional contributions to scholarship, literature, science, history and the visual and performing arts," library president Paul LeClerc said.
The Library Lions award was first given out in 1997.