75th Anniversary of Gone with the Wind

Today marks the 75th Anniversary of the novel by Margaret Mitchell. Gone With the Wind was published in June 1936. Mitchell was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her sweeping novel the following May. It was made into an equally famous motion picture starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable. The movie had its world premiere at … Continue reading “75th Anniversary of Gone with the Wind”

Today marks the 75th Anniversary of the novel by Margaret Mitchell. Gone With the Wind was published in June 1936. Mitchell was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her sweeping novel the following May. It was made into an equally famous motion picture starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable. The movie had its world premiere at the Loew’s Grand Theater in Atlanta December 15, 1939.

Check out this little video about Margaret Mitchell.

Of course, Gone with the Wind is part of the Media Services Home Use Collection. Check it out this month!

Gone with the Wind – HU DVD 9

Ethnographic Video Online – Hundreds More Titles Added!!

Ethnographic Video Online of Alexander Street Press provides the largest, most comprehensive resource for the study of human culture and behavior – more than 750 hours and 1,000 films at completion. The collection covers every region of the world and features the work of many of the most influential documentary filmmakers of the 20th century, … Continue reading “Ethnographic Video Online – Hundreds More Titles Added!!”

Ethnographic Video Online of Alexander Street Press provides the largest, most comprehensive resource for the study of human culture and behavior – more than 750 hours and 1,000 films at completion. The collection covers every region of the world and features the work of many of the most influential documentary filmmakers of the 20th century, including interviews, previously unreleased raw footage, field notes, study guides, and more.

Ethnographic Videos Online is always adding to their vast collection, so check back from time to time. You can find them by clicking on the Search Databases link under Research on the American University Library homepage. The Ethnographic Videos Online link will take you to their homepage where you can do searches, browse titles, and watch videos right on their site. The only catch is that the library bought a subscription, so if you’re not in the library, you will be asked to authenticate, to prove that you’re a current AU student.

Check ’em out!

Remove Scratches from DVDs with Liquid Metal Polish

The Consumerist blog lead us to an old post on the Wise Bread blog which discusses several interesting methods for removing scratches from CDs or DVDs. Suggested methods include using tooth paste, a banana, chewing gum, and most effectively – Brasso, or any liquid metal polish. This video shows you how it’s done, but as … Continue reading “Remove Scratches from DVDs with Liquid Metal Polish”

The Consumerist blog lead us to an old post on the Wise Bread blog which discusses several interesting methods for removing scratches from CDs or DVDs. Suggested methods include using tooth paste, a banana, chewing gum, and most effectively – Brasso, or any liquid metal polish.

This video shows you how it’s done, but as a reminder, never try this at home with an American University Library Media Services DVD. Just return and report any problems you have, and leave the repairs to the trained professionals: us!

DC is now down to one Blockbuster

[This Blockbuster is located at 410 8th Street, SE Washington, DC ] Now that spotting an open Blockbuster location is a novelty that merits a double take, and scores of other video rental chains have vanished, movie fans who want to rent some DVDs for the road have had to change the way they operate. … Continue reading “DC is now down to one Blockbuster”

[This Blockbuster is located at 410 8th Street, SE Washington, DC ]
Now that spotting an open Blockbuster location is a novelty that merits a double take, and scores of other video rental chains have vanished, movie fans who want to rent some DVDs for the road have had to change the way they operate.

According to a Washington Post trend story, the lack of DVD rental stores complicates road trips. Noting that D.C. is now down to its last Blockbuster, the reporter talks to renters who lament the changing times.

Read more here.
[As seen on the Consumerist blog]

Copyright Settlement of the Day

Back in 2009, Waxy.org’s Andy Baio produced Kind of Bloop, a chiptune tribute to Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. It was one of the biggest early success stories for crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. Today, Baio announced he had paid $32,000 in a copyright settlement — not over the music, which he licensed from the publisher, but … Continue reading “Copyright Settlement of the Day”

Back in 2009, Waxy.org’s Andy Baio produced Kind of Bloop, a chiptune tribute to Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. It was one of the biggest early success stories for crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.

Today, Baio announced he had paid $32,000 in a copyright settlement — not over the music, which he licensed from the publisher, but over the album cover, a pixel art version of the iconic Kind of Blue cover photographed by Jay Maisel.

Maisel sued Baio for copyright infringement, seeking “either statutory damages up to $150,000 for each infringement at the jury’s discretion and reasonable attorneys fees or actual damages and all profits attributed to the unlicensed use of his photograph, and $25,000 for Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) violations.”

Baio believed he had a “fair use” defense, based on the fact that the pixel art could be considered a “transformative work” that comments on the original. Unfortunately, proving that in court would likely have cost him more than 10 times as much as he paid in the settlement.

“My lawyers and I firmly believed that I was legally in the right,” he told Gizmodo. “But it doesn’t matter, fair use doesn’t protect you unless you’re willing to pay to defend yourself.”

–taken from thedailywh.at

Eva Gabrielsson on the Diane Rehm Show

Eva Gabrielsson: “’There Are Things I Want You to Know’ About Stieg Larsson and Me” Seven years ago, Swedish journalist and author Stieg Larsson suffered a heart attack. He died without ever knowing the success of his Millennium trilogy. The books – “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, “The Girl Who Played With Fire” and … Continue reading “Eva Gabrielsson on the Diane Rehm Show”

Eva Gabrielsson: “’There Are Things I Want You to Know’ About Stieg Larsson and Me”

Seven years ago, Swedish journalist and author Stieg Larsson suffered a heart attack. He died without ever knowing the success of his Millennium trilogy. The books – “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, “The Girl Who Played With Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” – have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide. Larsson’s longtime partner, Eva Gabrielsson, says the books could not have been written without her, and she’s now locked in a bitter dispute with the author’s family. They disagree on the rights and income from the books, and the publication of a possible fourth book. Gabrielsson has written a new memoir in which she details her version of the story. The book is called “’There Are Things I Want You to Know’ About Stieg Larsson and Me.”

Guest:

Eva Gabrielsson author, architect, and political activist. Her new memoir, “‘There Are Things I Want You to Know’ About Stieg Larsson and Me” details her more than 30 years with Swedish
novelist Stieg Larsson.

[As seen on the WAMU Diane Rehm Show site.]

Listen to today’s show here:

Diane Rehm Show 6.22.11

The film version of Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy can be found here in Media Services.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – HU DVD 7891
The Girl Who Played with Fire – HU DVD 7892
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – HU DVD 7893

AFI SilverDocs Film Festival 2011 Kicks Off Today in Silver Spring, MD

The AFI Discovery Channel SilverDocs Film Festival kicked off today. It runs from June 20 – June 26. There are many ways to keep up with the film festival. They have the SilverDocs web site, which also contains the “festival genius”, a guide to all the films that includes brief summaries, Youtube trailers, and show … Continue reading “AFI SilverDocs Film Festival 2011 Kicks Off Today in Silver Spring, MD”

The AFI Discovery Channel SilverDocs Film Festival kicked off today. It runs from June 20 – June 26. There are many ways to keep up with the film festival. They have the SilverDocs web site, which also contains the “festival genius”, a guide to all the films that includes brief summaries, Youtube trailers, and show dates and times.

You can follow the SilverDocs on Twitter @silverdocs or find them on Facebook, where they have a SILVERDOCS Facebook fan page.

These guys are really covering all the bases because they’ve even got a SilverDocs tumblr, which is a blog that is currently highlighting titles in the film festival with eye-catching stills and links back to the film descriptions and show dates and times on their official site.

Finally, they have a Silver Docs Youtube Channel with video of the kick-off party and trailers for some of the films being shown this week.

Here’s the AFI SilverDocs 2011 Sizzle Reel: