If you've ever been to Brazil you know it's that time again. Yup, that's right. It's time for the world's biggest party! Brazilian Carnival starts tomorrow. Can’t make it to Rio de Janeiro? Perhaps these sounds can take you there:

Compilations by Putumayo World Music: Acoustic Brazil and Brazilian Groove
Bossa Nova: Bebel Gilberto by Bebel Gilberto
Funk/rock: Cru by Seu Jorge, who starred in City of God
Classic collections: The Best of Caetano Veloso and The Best of Antonio Carlos Jobim

Have an interesting Carnival story? Post it here!

‘Using the often fragile and fleeting objects and elements of the natural world — snow, stones, twigs, streams—sculptor and photographer Andy Goldsworthy has emerged as among the most respected and influential artists working today.“

The Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park’s newest treasure - The Grand Rapids Arch, is now permanently in place.

Check out Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time and images of his other installations the world over. Looking for a little outing over spring break? Bring the family.

Last night on Survivor, the La Mina tribe attempted to catch fish to eat, but all they could catch were poisonous puffer fish.
However, there was a close-up shot of a porcupine puffer in the water that could have been Porky's cousin.
You don't know who Porky is? He's our friendly resident porcupine puffer in the Downtown Youth Department.
Anyone else see this episode and can back me up?

When pre-teens from New York City schools learn and compete in ballroom dancing, the visual results are magnificent. Simply the expressions on the kids' faces make this film worthwhile, but there also are plenty of rich, human stories. On a winter night at home, this DVD could provide family entertainment for children about 8 and older. Enjoy Mad Hot Ballroom!

Some music created for children puts my brain right to sleep. But What kind of cat are you?! by Billy Jonas, is one of the many good ones. The title song asks questions and answers them with challenging words. Later on, the disc offers songs such as "Alien in my lungs" and "Bear to the left." If you're running low on stimulating music for your car or home CD player, this one is lively and fun.

What if a boy in Flint stumbled on a quadrillion-dollar bill, and the government wanted it back? And what if the face on that hot bill was soul father James Brown? Well, then you would have a rocking fun book for children age 9-12, a book that is so clever that you can read it aloud to the entire family. Christopher Paul Curtis also wrote The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 and Bud, Not Buddy, both award winners, and both great choices for young readers.

Fluxus member and collaborative video, electronics, and performance artist Nam June Paik passed away January 29th, so it seems appropriate that University of Michigan art, dance, ethnomusicology, and electrical engineering professors are collaborating on "vidGod" February 10 & 11. Billed as an "electronic opera," this twenty-first century piece fuses the immediacy of live human performers with the possibilities of electronics and computer-generated sound and images. Two free performances on Friday, February 10th and Saturday the 11th at 8 PM. "vidGod" will be performed at the Duderstadt Center Video Studio, 2281 Bonisteel Boulevard at Murfin, North Campus. For more information please call (734) 615-3726 or see this news article from the Duderstadt Center.

Who couldn't use a giggle or two during these gray days of winter?

Two recent picture books that both take place in the barnyard are sure to provide laughter for both children and the adults that read to them.

Punk Farm by Jarrett Krosoczka is about a rock band (cow, pig, goat, sheep and chicken) that swings into action when Farmer Joe goes off to bed. The concert will have all readers and listeners singing along.

Chicks and Salsa by Aaron Reynolds will have readers rushing off to the kitchen in search of munchies. This is the story of what happens to a normally quiet barnyard after the rooster sneaks up to the farmhouse and sees an episode of a cooking show on television.

For more barnyard antics, also check out Doreen Cronin's classics Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type and Giggle, Giggle, Quack.

Looking for Alaska by John Green introduces you to 16-year-old Miles “Pudge” Halter who heads off to seek his Great Perhaps at an Alabama boarding school, where new-found freedom, guilty pleasures and an enigmatic girl named Alaska hurl him into life.

Honor books include Black Juice by Margo Lanagan, I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak, John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth by Elizabeth Partridge, and A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson.

Below are some recommended titles by AADL staff in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 16:

For Kids
The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students, by Suzanne Jurmain
The School is Not White!: A True Story of the Civil Rights Movement, and Martin's Big Words, by Doreen Rappaport
Singing for Dr. King, by Angela Shelf Medearis
A Sweet Smell of Roses, by Angela Johnson

For Adults
The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. (5 volumes)
Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63 and...
Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65, by Taylor Branch.
Also on order is Branch's At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years 1965-68.

Also available: a list of MLK Day books for teens
and a list of DVDs.