Burl C.'s blog

Our library's blog is now more than a year old. So far, most of our post's have been more about movies than music so I thought this would be a good time to introduce Freegal. Freegal is a Sony Music based website that allows valid library card holders in good standing to download free and legal music hence the name Freegal. Read more »

Henry Louis Gates is well known for the documentaries that he produces for PBS television. The latest one is called "Black in Latin America". In this series, Gates explores the history and roots of Black African slaves in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Mexico and Peru. This documentary is about 240 minutes long but is well worth viewing. Gates poses the question in each country, "Who are we first and foremost?" Is racial identity more important than national identity? For some the answer is yes. For others the answer is no. For most people the answer is a complex mixture of both. I found it both fascinating and disturbing, especially the Memín Pinguín discussion. Here's a preview of the documentary below. If you think you might like it, the library has one copy.

Imagine that you had a group of people in a room; let’s say twenty people. Then let’s say that you held up a twenty dollar bill and that you were going to auction it off to the lowest bidder. Finally, you allow the participants to begin bidding. What would you expect to happen? Of course some people would bid one dollar for a twenty dollar bill. Other bids would come in as high as ten or nineteen dollars. Even at nineteen you still stand to gain a dollar if you win the bidding war. What would you say if participants bided as high as twenty-seven dollars for a twenty dollar bill? That is exactly what this documentary explores. We are used to a theory of economics that says that we all pursue our rational self-interest, but then how to do we explain the obvious irrational behavior in the experiment above? If you want to find out answer to this question then you’ll want to see a new PBS documentary called, Mind Over Money.

When it comes to focusing on body image and self esteem the media often discusses how this impacts women in negative ways. There’s not a whole lot out there that focuses on men and their self image. Bigger, stronger, faster is a documentary that tries to do exactly that. By talking to various body builders, weight lifters and athletes we find that there exists this childhood yearning in some grown men to become the superheroes that they read about and admired when they were children. But what if those superheroes became number one by injecting themselves with anabolic steroids? If you found out that your favorite athlete was taking anabolic steroids would that change your opinion of him or her? Would you think of them as cheaters? These are some of the questions that this documentary tries to answer along with why people feel the need to alter their bodies to feel good about themselves. Check out the trailer below and if you like it, our library has two copies on dvd.

This is a documentary film about a group of volunteers who risk their lives in the antarctic ocean to protect whales from hunters. Whale hunting has been illegal since 1982 with the only exception being for research purposes. Some fishermen boldly display the words "RESEARCH VESSEL" on their ships so that they may hunt whales illegally. The volunteers feel that they are the last line of defense for the whales because there is no other country or equivalent world force akin to a coast guard that will enforce the international whaling ban.

It's a dangerous game of cat and mouse in the antarctic ocean between the hunters and the hunted and the scenery is absolutely beautiful. If you think that you might interested seeing this, out library has a copy on dvd.

Our library had a few copies of this on our BSE shelves. In case didn't know, the library now has Best Seller Express or BSE dvds available for checkout for three days and limited to one per person. The BSE dvds are new dvd's that the library purchases to make available to the public for walk-in customers only. They can not be held or transferred. After their newness wears off, the BSE dvds are put into regular circulation with all the other feature films. This allowed me the chance to check out For Colored Girls.

This is a powerful film that examines the lives of different African American women as they struggle to survive overwhelming hardships to maintain a balance between love, work, family and life. I'm surprised that Tyler Perry actually took on something serious for once. He is the director of this film but he usually makes outrageous comedies. In fact, this film is so serious that I need to issue a strong trigger warning because there are disturbing images of abuse, violence, rape and sexual assault.

About two years ago in the summer of 2009 I watched the entire television series called "The Shield." Our library had the first three seasons and I rented the other four elsewhere. I always ranted and raved about how great the show was to other people so imagine my surprise Read more »

view in catalog

August 29, 2005 is a date that some will remember more than others. This is the day that hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana. Most of the documentaries about hurricane Katrina have been about the storm itself: the winds, the rains, the intensity, the levees and the flooding. Trouble the Water is a first-hand account of the storm told through the perspective of two local residents of the ninth ward, a husband and wife. They stayed in their attic throughout the storm and managed to film as much of it as possible. The scenes in this documentary are absolutely real as well as the hardships and tragedies of the couple involved. Be prepared to laugh and cry as this documentary piques a full range of emotions. If you click on the link above you'll find that the library's catalog has another embedded link to click on which will take you to the official website of the documentary and you can view the trailer there.

I've been on this documentary kick for the last six months because there really are some interesting topics being covered out there. Our library has one copy of Rank.

This is a documentary about world championship bull riding and its top three main contenders as they compete for a prize of one million dollars and the solid gold belt-buckle.

This is more than just a film about a bull riding competition. It delves into the personal lives of each of the competitors and the ranchers that raise the bulls for the competition. Take a peek into the lives of Justin McBride, Mike Lee and veteran bull rider Adriano Moraes as they suffer injures, broken bones, strained relationships and all the highs and lows of winning and losing.

Historically, whenever I’ve tuned in to the BBC it’s been for something serious- a Jane Austin adaptation, documentary or special news program. I was surprised and delighted to discover Coupling, a half-hour sitcom centered around six thirty-something singles (three men and three women). Written and produced by Stephen Moffat and Susan Vertue, it widens the dating perspective of comedies like Bridget Jones to give both men and women a chance to laugh about why finding a match can be such a difficult process. Read more »