Friday, 7 August 2009

Top 9 DVD titles from last year

To qualify for this list, titles had to be checked out 30+ times between July 1 2008 and June 30 2009.

1. The devil wears Prada

Miranda, editor of "Runway" magazine, is a terror to everyone around her. Her first assistant strives to please her, but can't quite pull it off. Enter Andy, a young woman who knows nothing of the fashion industry and has never read the magazine. Nonetheless, Miranda, hires her as second assistant. When Miranda demands that she obtain the next unpublished Harry Potter manuscript, it forces Andy to dig it up in order to please her boss. With the help of one of the magazine's fashion editors, she gets a complete makeover and new security, and as she is whisked away to Paris with Miranda, Andy faces all of the glamor that could be hers and is forced to make the decision of where she wants to be in her life.

2. Little Miss Sunshine

Olive Hoover is supported by her dysfunctional family when she goes to California to compete in the "Little Miss Sunshine" pageant.

3. Babel

A wealthy American is touring Morocco with his wife. The two become the focus of an international incident also involving a poor Moroccan farmer who is struggling to keep his two young sons in line and his family together. A San Diego nanny, with her employers absent, makes the disastrous decision to take her charges with her to a wedding in Mexico. A deaf-mute Japanese teen tries to deal with a relationship with her father and the world in general that has been upended by the death of her mother. It's about a gun. It's about communication - or the lack of it - both intercultural and intracultural. Raises issues like terrorism and immigration, and is as basic as husbands talking to their wives and parents understanding their children.

4. Happy feet

Emperor Penguins from Antarctica each express their true love with a special heartsong of their own that expresses their very being. However, the misfit Mumble cannot sing. Instead he has an extraordinary talent to tap dance with almost magical energy and expression. Nevertheless, the leadership of the colony fearfully blames the young penguin's unorthodox ways for the lean fishing that threatens them all. Defiant in the face of unjust rejection, Mumble and his true friends set out to find the true cause of the famine. Through the friends trials and perils, Mumble learns many things about his frozen world, not the least of which being that his toe tapping talent may be what he needs to save his people.

5. Miss Potter

In an effort to give their younger brother, Norman a project to keep him busy now that he has joined the family publishing house, the older Warne brothers agree to publish Miss Beatrix Potter's first children's book. They don't expect the book to sell well, but they need to keep Norman busy. As a single woman living in Edwardian London, Beatrix suspects this endeavor may provide her with a small measure of freedom. But she also has very specific ideas about how the book should be published. As they work together, Norman and Beatrix become close. After the first book is published, Beatrix goes on to a second book and that sells well. One day at lunch, she meets the rest of Norman's family, including his sister, Millie and the two women become fast friends. Norman proposes, but Beatrix's parents object to the marriage proposal. After much argument, they agree to let Beatrix marry Norman provided they wait until the end of the summer.

6. The secret

Documentary-style film about manifesting and using the Law of Attraction to create whatever you want in your life. Helps you understand how important it is to consciously choose the thoughts you hold each day and to keep your thoughts and actions focused on what you really want to attract into your life.

7. The white Masai

Based upon an autobiographical novel by Swiss writer Corinne Hofmann, the film tells of a girl, Carola, whose vacation in Kenya takes an interesting turn when she becomes infatuated with a Masai. Carola decides to leave her boyfriend to stay with her lover. There, she has to adapt to the Masai's way of life and get used to their food which includes milk mixed with blood. She also has to face her husband's attitude towards women and what he expects from a wife. Nonetheless, Carola is welcomed warmly into the tribe she has chosen to join.

8. Casino Royale

Casino Royale introduces James Bond before he holds his license to kill. But Bond is no less dangerous, and with two professional assassinations in quick succession, he is elevated to "00" status. "M" (Judi Dench), head of the British Secret Service, sends the newly promoted 007 on his first mission that takes him to Madagascar, the Bahamas and eventually leads him to Montenegro to face Le Chiffre, a ruthless financier under threat from his terrorist clientele, who is attempting to restore his funds in a high stakes poker game at the Casino Royale. "M" places Bond under the watchful eye of the Treasury offical Vesper Lynd. At first skeptical of what value Vesper can provide, Bond's interest in her deepens as they brave danger together. Le Chiffre's cunning and cruelty come to bear on them both in a way Bond could never imagine, and he learns his most important lesson: Trust no one.

9. Night at the museum

Larry Daley is a divorced father who can't seem to keep a job for more than a week. He applies for a job at the Museum of Natural History and is assigned as a night guard. However, a seemingly easy job turns out to be an adventure when he finds that an ancient curse has caused the "inhabitants" of the museum to come to life.

Thursday, 6 August 2009

Beach alert (via RDc)

The public are urged to take care following recent reports of dog and sea life deaths on eastern beaches and within the Hauraki Gulf. Various agencies are investigating these deaths to determine the cause.

Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS), will be unable to rule out risk to the public until results are received, . Therefore, ARPHS strongly recommends that the public follows this advice:
• People should avoid contact with sea water and sea life in the Hauraki Gulf

• People should avoid exercising pets along Hauraki Gulf beaches
• Children should not be taken to Hauraki Gulf beaches
• People should not collect shellfish from the Hauraki Gulf

Pet owners are advised to contact their local veterinary clinic should their pet develop symptoms from exposure on the beach. People developing any symptoms within approximately an hour of exposure to sea water or sea life should also see their GP and inform ARPHS.

Further questions relating to public health issues and water safety can be directed to Auckland Regional Public Health 09 623 4600.


Oringal location Rodney District Council website

Wednesday, 5 August 2009

Magic is a slippery fish at the best of times

Mostly I spend a reasonable amount of time crafting my blog posts. Researching sources, tracking down links from various places etc all takes time. Every so often though I stumble across an article or a website that doesn't need anything other than a link.
Therefore I present to you...

Gandalf v Dumbledore: who is the greatest wizard of all?
by Damien G Walter from the Guardian.
"Gandalf and Dumbledore may have legions of fans behind them, but the time has come to decide who wields the most power under their pointy hat."

Thanks to Bookman Beattie who linked to this on his blog.


NB. The comments list several other candidates so here they are in order with links.
Gandalf
Dumbledore
Saruman
Voldemort
Rincewind
Merlin in John Boorman's Excalibur (M. Suitable for mature audiences 16 years and over. Note: Contains violence)
Paul Daniels
Dracula
Ridcully
Moses
Rothron the Wise
Pug or Milamber
Alberto Malich
Raistlin

Tuesday, 4 August 2009

What they are reading in the north

Wellsford Library provide regular book reviews to their Local Matters. Here is one of their latest.

Freedoms’s Land
By Anna Jacobs
Once again Anna Jacobs has written a ‘can not put down book’. This one has a slightly different twist to it. A great Aussie yarn.

World War 11 has just finished and families are trying to deal with the new life that has been left for them to cope with. The Western Australian Government is giving the British ex-service men and their families land to develop and farm. All that is asked from them is to be strong and willing. What they are not told, is that, nothing will be the same as what they are used to in England. Both the landscape and the weather is the going to be a challenge, which some will cope with and some will not.

New friendships will be forged and marriages will be tested. Will the main characters Norah and Andrew make it all work for them and their children?
Book cover courtesy of Syndetics via Rodney Libraries catalogue

Monday, 3 August 2009

Top 11 popular picture books

Following on from the top 12 most popular information books across Auckland a couple of weeks ago, here are the top 11 popular picture books. (Nice to see New Zealand and Australian authors well represented.)

To qualify for this list, titles had to be checked out more than 20 times each between July 1 2008 and June 30 2009.

1. Greedy cat and the sneeze by Joy Cowley
2. Where is Hairy Maclary? by Lynley Dodd
3. Harry and the dinosaurs go to school by Ian Whybrow and Adrian Reynolds
4. Hairy Maclary's hat tricks by Lynley Dodd
5. Grandma McGarvey goes camping by story by Jenny Hessell ; illustrated by Trevor Pye
6. The other ark by Lynley Dodd
7. Mr McGee and the big bag of bread by Pamela Allen
8. Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck! by Kyle Mewburn ; illustrated by Ali Teo & John O'Reilly
9. My wobbly tooth must not ever never fall out by Lauren Child
10. Where's the gold? by Pamela Allen
11. Schnitzel von Krumm : dogs never climb trees by Lynley Dodd