That's a dealbreaker: Songs inspired by babies and parenthood

Perhaps it's my Grinch-like disposition (before he went all soft), but babies don't really give me the warm and fuzzies.  I don't dislike babies, though they do cry a lot and aren't potty trained, but I'm not one to break out in "coochie coos" at the site of a diapered tot either.  So, unsurprisingly, listening to people (especially new parents) talk about their kids is about as interesting to me as watching paint dry.  I'll listen to it and pretend to nod interestedly (I'm so polite), but it's one of my least favorite conversation topics.*  Anyway, since I can barely tolerate hearing about friends' and family members' tykes, I really don't want to listen to some person I've never met sing about their kid.   Especially when they have to be all sentimental, smug and saccharine about it. 

I prefer music that is on the gloomier side.  So some of my aversion comes from the fact some of the songs are so irritatingly joyful. Perhaps this is why I am the most tolerant towards Paul Simon's songs about his children, which tend to be less cloyingly sweet.  For instance, "That Was Your Mother" from Graceland, which contains these lyrics:

That was your mother

And that was your father

Before you were born, dude

When life was great

You are the burden of my generation

I sure do love you

But let's get that straight

Wouldn't you just love to be Paul Simon's kid?

On the flip side, I really can't stand Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely?"  Yes, Songs in the Key of Life is mostly a good album (even though it's a double album), but did he really need to start the song with the sound of his baby cooing? And the lyrics are sweeter than a packet of sugar:

Isn't she lovely

Truly the angel's best

Boy, I'm so happy

We have been heaven blessed

Is it anyone wonder that someone like me, whose heart is two sizes too small, just can't stand that song? 

Anyway, lest you think I have no cockles on my heart to warm, I do like a couple baby-inspired songs.  Most have a slightly more nuanced take on parenthood, though some just have a pretty killer beat:

Have you tried a PlayAway yet?

A PlayAway is the size of an MP3 Player. The PlayAway holds an entire audiobook no matter what the size. A lanyard is included for you to hang around your neck so you can listen while doing housework, gardening or just relaxing. Just plug in your headphones and go. Easy instructions are on the inside cover.

Our Children's Dept. now carry PlayAways. Some of the new titles are:
Hanna's Suitcase, Hoot, Monsters of Otherness and Sword Thief.

New titles in the Adult Dept. are: Glass Castle, Red Thread, Rembrandt Affair, Nail the Job Interview and 100 Ways to Motivate Others.

PlayAways are also great for learning a new language. We have German,
Polish, Chinese, English and Spanish.

If you haven't tried a PlayAway, try one today!

August and September Audiobook releases

We have some really good additions to our audiobook collection. August brought us:

• Burn by Nevada Barr
• Queen of the Night by J.A. Jance
• Crossfire by Dick Francis
• Postcard Killers by James Patterson
• Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
• Bearers of the Black Staff by Terry Brooks

Some of the audiobooks to look forward to in September are:

• Don't Blink by James Patterson
• Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich
• Ape House by Sara Gruen
• Fall of the Giants by Ken Follett
• Lost Empire by Clive Cussler
• Warlord by Ted Bell

Don't forget...if an item is checked out, you can always put a hold on it.

Twilight in Forks: The Saga of the Real Town

This documentary interviews people from Forks, Washington, the city where author Stephenie Meyer set the Twilight series, in addition to Twilight aficionados. Interviewees include Twilight Moms, the Twilight Guy, and shrieking Twilight fans. What appears to be a theme in all the fans' comments is that they connect with the love story in Meyer's books. The story has affected fans in different ways. For example, after reading the books a 46-year-old father speaks differently to his wife and is closer to his daughter.

Most interesting is when locals talk about how the Twilight series has affected the town. Many shops sell memorabilia for the thousands of fans from around the world who now visit each year. The Twilight-related visits have helped local businesses, as the increased tourist traffic acted to offset the struggling timber industry. Also emphasized by several interviewees is the energy of fans all over the world and how well Meyer described the town in the novels. More fun trivia tidbits: the city of Forks celebrates September 13, Bella's birthday, and the town (and high school) receives mail for the Cullens. This is an interesting documentary for Twilight fans to check out, and it's only a little annoying having to listen to shrieking teenagers describe the time they traveled to the movie set and got to meet Rob Pattinson.

Twilight in Forks: The Saga of the Real Town
NEW DVD 917.97 TWI
Find it in the catalog!

DVDs out August 24th

Ajami: Co-directed by Palestinian filmmaker Scandar Copti and Israeli filmmaker Yaron Shani, this powerful drama focuses on the lives of a teenage boy named Nasri and his troubled family in the Ajami neighborhood of Tel Aviv, Israel. An insightful look at the human cost of violence and nationalism in the Middle East. Nominated for multiple awards, including Best Foreign Language Film at the 2010 Oscars, Ajami is highly recommended.
Find it in the catalog!

The Back-Up Plan: This romantic comedy stars Jennifer Lopez as a New York pet shop owner who happens to meet the man of her dreams (Alex O'Loughlin) the very day she undergoes artificial insemination. The film's soundtrack features Colbie Caillat, Moby, VV Brown and, naturally, Jenny From The Block herself.
Find it in the catalog!

City Island: A dark comedy centering on the dysfunctional lives of one Bronx, New York family. Starring Andy Garcia as the paterfamilias and Julianna Margulies as matriarch. Co-starring: Steven Strait, Dominik Garcia-Lorido, Alan Arkin, and the always exceptional Emily Mortimer.
Find it in the catalog!

Dancing with the Stars: Dance off the Pounds

NEW DVD 613.715 DAN
Find it in the catalog!

I recommend checking out this DVD if you are looking for a fun way to exercise. Fans of the show Dancing with the Stars will recognize professional ballroom dancers Kym Johnson, Lacey Schwimmer, and Dmitry Chaplain as the instructors. Your choices on the DVD menu are straightforward: pick from the dances Swing, Jive, Quickstep, or the Cooldown. Each dance segment lasts 15 minutes, and the Cooldown is 5 minutes. For each dance the instructor teaches you combinations of steps, adding one combination on top of the other, until you work up to a full routine. Even if the first time you try a combination you don't have the steps completely down, don't panic or allow yourself to get too frustrated. Because the routine keeps returning to the beginning after you learn something new, the repetition helps you master the steps. Or, if a certain combination really has you stumped you can always rewind that part of the instruction so you can focus on that area. I'll admit that out of all the routines it took me the longest to get down the shuffle-hops in the Quickstep.

Kym does a great job of teaching you the steps in each combination in the Swing. When you go through the entire routine from the start to incorporate the new combination, she often reminds you which leg to start on, which is helpful. If you haven't gotten up to speed with the Swing portion, the Jive will be a challenge. Lacey runs through the Jive at a quicker pace, which you'll notice right from the start with the speed of the triple step-rock step combination. I do enjoy that this routine is more difficult, because you definitely feel the workout from the quick footwork. Just be prepared to sweat. When this segment is about 14 minutes or so in I'll think Lacey is taking us through the routine for the final time, but guess what? "Let's do it again!" she yells. While this may sound funny, the encouragement from Lacey (and Kym and Dmitry) does help me to push on during the routines instead of giving up and stopping. Whenever the Quickstep is performed on shows like Dancing with the Stars or So You Think You Can Dance you hear about how much the contestants hate it, so I wasn't expecting to have fun doing these steps. Well, after going through the routine once I was hooked. Dmitry does a good job of explaining the steps and the Quickstep is a great workout for your legs. The kicker is that Dmitry has you do squats at the very end of the routine, and usually by that time my legs are about to turn into jelly. But instead of thinking of the pain I just think about how good-looking Dmitry is.

Even if you are a dance novice you will be able to pick up the steps in these routines. I like to do the routines in different combinations-- sometimes I'll repeat Swing or the Quickstep twice before going on to another routine. Instead of following the order on the menu I like to start with the Quickstep and then continue on to the Swing and then the Jive. If all you do is just go through each dance once, that is 45 minutes of aerobic activity. Every time I've worked out to this DVD I'm sweating buckets by the end, so I think this DVD helps you get a worthwhile workout!

Rainbow of Rock: Bands with Colorful Names

Frank Black/ Black Francis*

Black Flag*

 The Black Keys/ Blakroc*

Black Rebel Motor Cycle Club

Not your average chick flicks

Just a cut above many traditional chick flicks, these stand out for their more complex and relate-able stories (not all happy, sappy endings here!). For example, in (500) Days of Summer, it's more about the break-up than the relationship. In Happy Go-Lucky, the main character Poppy (Sally Hawkins) is fervently up-beat, even when facing her abusive driving instructor. All the Real Girls features a betrayal-- but not by the character you think; Adventureland is similarly surprising.

Do you have any to add?

(500) Days of Summer (2009) 
Stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel
Find it the catalog!

About a Boy (2002)
Stars Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, and Rachel Weisz
(based on the book by Nick Hornby)
Find it in the catalog!

Adventureland (2009)
Stars Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, and Ryan Reynolds
Find it in the catalog!

All the Real Girls (2003)
Stars Zooey Deschanel and Paul Schneider
Find it in the catalog!


Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Stars Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, and Patricia Neal
Find it in the catalog!

Clueless (1995)
Stars Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, and Paul Rudd
(based on Jane Austen's Emma)
Find it in the catalog!

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Stars Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo, and Kirsten Dunst
Find it in the catalog!

Happy Go-Lucky (2009)
Stars Sally Hawkins and Eddie Marsan
Find it in the catalog!

Junebug (2006)
Stars Amy Adams, Embeth Davidtz, Ben McKenzie, and Alessandro Nivola
Find it in the catalog!

Juno (2008)
Stars Ellen Page and Michael Cera
Find it in the catalog!

Lars and the Real Girl (2008)
Stars Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, and Paul Schneider
Find it in the catalog!

Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005)
Stars Miranda July and John Hawkes
Find it in the catalog!

Princess Bride (1987)
Stars Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin
Find it in the catalog!

Sixteen Candles (1984)
Stars Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling, Anthony Michael Hall
Find it in the catalog!

Inception: "Dreams feel real when we're in them."

Inception stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a fugitive from U.S. law, who specializes in a very unique service: subliminal security. This complex, and very fictional, type of security involves entering the dream-world of the targeted sleeper and extracting information from their subconscious. In an attempt to buy back his freedom and be reunited with his children, DiCaprio's character accepts a job offer that takes the process even further, by planting an idea inside a sleeper's head. Thus: inception. Granted, this is high-concept, and could pretty easily be the premise of the Sci-Fi Channel's movie of the week. But, director Christopher Nolan invests the film with fully realized ideas and layers of complexity that are suspenseful from beginning to end. It's also visually audacious in its depictions of the dream-state. If you've ever wanted to see the city of Paris rise into the air and fold in on itself, well, this is the film for you. Aiding DiCaprio in his subliminal invasion, of billionaire corporate scion Cilian Murphy, are Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ellen Page, and Dileep Rao. (I'm going on record here in stating that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is almost certainly the best-dressed young actor in Hollywood. But, I'll save that list for another blog entry.) Many 'heist film' trappings are on display here, notably a hero who must assemble a group of professionals for the one big score that he so desperately needs. There is also corporate intrigue, high energy chase scenes, prolonged action sequences, and haunting psychological complexity involving DiCaprio and his wife, played by Marion Cotillard. All of these strands are artfully assembled, and at 148 minutes, the film never seemed to lag. Inception may not be the masterpiece that some critics have made it out be, but it is a stylish, inventive thriller that raises interesting questions about dreams and the nature of reality. For a mainstream movie released in the summer of 2010, that's a pretty extraordinary accomplishment.

What follows are the highlights of Christopher Nolan's filmography. I recommend all of  his previous films, but Memento is particularly relevant to Inception's themes of haunted memory and obsession. It's also just a really good movie.

Memento (2000)

Batman Begins (2005)

The Prestige (2006)

The Dark Knight (2008)

Following (1998)