New and Featured DVDs for 03/15/12:

Come and check out these and some of the other new DVDs and materials (or at least new to us) added to our library collection…

FICTION:

Sunset Boulevard

The Trip

2010, directed by Michael Winterbottom. A compilation film from a short British television series featuring comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon playing fictionalized versions of themselves, as friends and rivals, on a road trip to review restaurants in the north of England. But it’s about so much more than that. And it’s hilarious. Check out the trailer below:

And if that’s not enough for you, go to YouTube and check out the clip of Coogan and Brydon’s compete Michael Caine impressions.

Stop-Loss

The Last Starfighter

Vantage Point

To Sir, With Love

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 1

and

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Splice

Where The Wild Things Are

Julius Caesar

1953, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

L’Avventura

Under The Mountain

The Town

The Hidden Fortress

1958, directed by Akira Kurosawa

The first Star Wars movie, A New Hope, was based on this film as a primary influence. But beyond that, this is another great film from Kurosawa, and another great release from the Criterion Collection.

Cousins

Synecdoche, New York

2008, directed by Charlie Kaufman. This is a personal favorite of mine, and partly because of that, I can’t say too much about it. It’s not a film for everyone, mostly because it’s a very difficult movie, with a lot of meanings on a lot of levels. Phillip Seymour Hoffman gives the performance of his career as a playwright trying to capture the sadness and infinitely mundane aspects of every day life in a new work that seems to be growing more and more epic (that’s putting it lightly) with each passing moment. I know that’s a very vague plot description, and I apologize. I’ll just put it this way: This is one of the bleakest and most depressing movies I’ve ever seen in my life, but it’s also one of the best films I’ve ever seen, and one of the most uplifting. Check out Roger Ebert’s review and an interview with writer/director Charlie Kaufman.

NON-FICTION:

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise And Fall Of Jack Johnson

How Art Made The World

F For Fake

1975, directed by Orson Welles. This is the last major film by Welles, and it’s partially a documentary, focusing on the life of art forger Elmyr de Hory, and partially an essay work, dealing with the ideas of authorship and authenticity, and the value of art. This is a truly enchanting work, and for proof of that, check out the film’s introduction:

Mysteries Of The Garden Of Eden

Secret Origin: The Story Of DC Comics

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Please note that DVDs could be checked out between the time they end up on the blog and when you come to check them out. If you don’t see the items you’re looking for then please come up to the front desk and we’ll put your name on the reserve list for when the item returns.

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Previous New/Featured DVDs:

02/14/12.

02/07/12.

12/30/11.

Previous New/Featured books:

03/01/12.

02/02/11.

01/27/12.

12/27/11.

Reading material for 03/12/12:

Some reading material from around the internet:

Apparently tweets can now be cited as evidence in academic papers.

The massive launch of Mass Effect 3.

RIP Jean Giraud, AKA Moebius.

Wal-Mart debuts their “Great For You” seal.

The “QWERTY Effect” is changing what words mean to us.

How do you ship a horse to the London Olympics?

The picture above is by Jan van der Veken, from here.

NASA would like you to know that the world will not end in 2012.

The youngest female self-made billionaire.

Car breaks down before Consumer Reports can even test it.

A 340 ton boulder turned work of art.

Inside some of the world’s tallest buildings.

Here’s a fascinating radio documentary: “Nuclear Power After Fukushima.”

Penguins fly first class on airplanes.

They’re going to make a movie out of the theft of Nic Cage’s prized Action Comics No.1!

by Yale Stewart, from here.

The 10,000 year plan for Amazon.

Get ready to share even more on Facebook.

Apple has announced the new iPad.

Speaking of which, are Apple’s insanely high profit margins built to last?

The Navy will be testing a new firefighting robot in 2013.

RFID your stuff, then find it with your mobile phone.

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes buys The New Republic.

Why are companies ditching Google maps?

10 of the most powerful female characters in literature.

The review of 1984 that Aldous Huxley sent to George Orwell.

The paranoia of Philip K. Dick.

Audiobooks and the celebrities who were born to read them.

There’s still quite a gender bias in book journalism.

10 essential history books written by women.

The only Game Of Thrones/Song Of Ice And Fire map you’ll ever need.

A few things that Jonathan Franzen actually likes.

The trailer for the return of Community.

Also, check out this mash up Community/The Dark Knight Rises trailer.

And speaking of The Dark Knight Rises: Action figures!

Jennifer Lawrence almost said no to The Hunger Games.

A complete guide to 2012’s TV pilots.

Apparently there’s an R-rated version of Galaxy Quest out there somewhere.

A picture of Peter Dinklage as Wolverine.

A chart that helps explain just how much of “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” does Star Wars take place.

Speaking of Star Wars: Topher Grace has edited all the prequels into one concise 85 minute long film that is supposedly fairly good.

Your first look at Johnny Depp as Tonto in Gore Verbinksi’s The Lone Ranger adaptation.

by Scott Ferguson, from here.

The many dimensions of Catherine the Great.

Kids found living in abandoned bus.

Fiona Apple reveals her new album title, and it’s 23 words long (as opposed to 90 words).

Disturbing school lunch menus.

What visions of the future do high speed rail lines provide us?

Is this the nicest Taco Bell on the planet?

A 7 year old makes an awesome Rube Goldberg machine.

This will be an interesting week, since it contains both Pi Day and the Ides of March. Beware!

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Previous online reading material:

03/05/12.

02/27/12.

02/20/12.

02/13/12.

02/06/12.

New and Featured Books for Young Adults for 02/21/2012:

Come and check out these and some of the other new books and materials (or at least new to us) for Young Adults added to our library collection…

FICTION:

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and illustrated by Maira Kalman

Daniel Handler writes fun and interesting novels for all ages, including books for adults and young adults under his own name, and the popular A Series Of Unfortunate Events books he wrote for kids under the name Lemony Snicket, and so I’m expecting his new book to be a winner. And to help promote it, he’s started The Why We Broke Up Project, which allows users to log in and share and read their own stories of romantic woe.

Pretty Bad Things by C. J. Skuse

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

Virals by Kathy Reichs

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Ultimate Spider-Man: Death Of Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Mark Bagley

Takio by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming

The Only Ones by Aaron Starmer

Never Have I Ever by Sara Shepard

Two Truths And A Lie by Sarah Shepard

Pretty Little Secrets by Sara Shepard

New books in the Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game series.

Daughter Of Smoke And Bone by Laini Taylor

Jefferson’s Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

A touching, sweet, and fascinating love story about a boy and girl who meet at a cancer patients support group, and already one of the most well reviewed novels of the year, and one of the most cherished, and before that it had been one of the most anticipated.  John Green has proved to be one of the most popular authors amongst our young adult readers, and we don’t think this book will disappoint his fans in the slightest. The book, of course, has already been optioned for a film treatment. Check out this interview the author did with The Wall Street Journal.

NON-FICTION:

Inside The Olympics by Nick Hunter

Can I See Your I.D.?: True Stories Of False Identities by Chris Barton and illustrated by Paul Hoppe

Booklist has called this book “thoroughly researched and grippingly presented,” and author Chris Barton brings you ten vignettes that are insightful and exhilarating. The stories are true, and fascinating, and presented in a way that’s easy for the reader to get into the mindset of the historical person whose masquerade and adventure is being read about. One of the subjects included is Frank Abagnale, who was a confidence man, forger, skilled impostor, and escape artist who later reformed and went on to work as a security consultant after he reformed. His autobiography, Catch Me If You Can, was later turned into a film starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hanks and directed by Steven Spielberg. You can find author Chris Barton talking about his book below:

Money And Banking (Dollars And Sense: A Guide To Financial Literacy) by Jonah Wallach and Clare Tattersall

Savings And Investments (Dollars And Sense: A Guide To Financial Literacy) by David W. Berg and Meg Green

Sojourner Truth, A Self-Made Woman by Victoria Ortiz

Black Gold: The Story Of Oil In Our Lives by Albert Marrin

Beyond Bullets: A Photo Journal Of Afghanistan by Rafal Gerszak with Dawn Hunter

Author/photojournalist Rafal Gerszak first went to Afghanistan in 2008 and spent a year embedded with an American military unit, documenting the life of U.S. soldiers in the country, seeing what they saw and experiencing what they experienced. Later, Gerszak came back to Afghanistan, with no escort, completely on his own, with the goal of documenting the daily life of the people of Afghanistan, to see what their lives are like during this wartime. This book provides not just one fascinating perspective on a country mired in conflict, but two perspectives. It’s an amazing look at war, one that is humanized, but never romanticized.

Malcom X: A Graphic Biography by Andrew Helfer and illustrated by Randy DuBurke

Into The Unknown: How Great Explorers Found Their Way By Land, Sea, and Air by Stewart Ross and illustrated by Stephen Biesty

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Please note that books could be checked out between the time they end up on the blog and when you come to check them out. If you don’t see the items you’re looking for then please come up to the front desk and we’ll put your name on the reserve list for when the item returns.

* * *

Previous New/Featured books for Adults:

02/14/11.

02/02/12.

01/27/12.

12/27/11.

12/23/11.

And for Young Adults:

02/09/12.

01/31/12.

And for Kids/Juvenile Readers:

02/16/12.

01/28/12.