Burl C.'s blog

Kumare is a 2011 documentary about a guy from New Jersey who tries to discover the meaning of spirituality. His methods of doing so are very questionable and I disagree with them but this documentary is redeemed in the end because Vikram tells his followers the truth. Vikram dresses up as an Indian Guru and cultivates a cult following. He does not reveal to his followers that he is a fake until after he leaves town. In the end both Vikram and his followers learn that happiness comes from within. The library has one copy of this on dvd.

Benji is a new ESPN documentary covering the legendary rise and fall of high school basketball star Benjamin Wilson. In 1984 Benjamin "Benji" Wilson was ranked as the number one high school basketball player for that year. There seemed to be no doubt about his ability to succeed as one of the greatest basketball players of that time.

Having grown up on the tough streets of Chicago's south side, Wilson faced formidable challenges such gang violence, drugs and poverty. Despite it all, it was rumored that Bob Knight had traveled to Illinois to recruit the teen for Indiana University. As you could imagine there were many other competitive offers. All seemed well as Wilson was set to go to college and perhaps end up in the NBA but all the changed on November 20^th, 1984.

This is a documentary takes you on a trip down memory lane as you go back in time to the 1960's. If you love basketball and its rich history, then you'll love this documentary. The ending is both sad and hopeful. The library has one copy of Benji available for check-out.

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Raccoons are smart. If you've ever had to deal with them then you'll probably agree that they are some of the smartest creatures on Earth. In 2011, PBS did a one-hour documentary on raccoons and their nocturnal behavior. The raccoons were tagged with GPS collars and studied for three months. The information gleaned from the researchers begged the question, "Are humans making raccoons smarter?" It seem as though every attempt to keep them out of our trash bins present them with a new and interesting puzzle to solve which in turn creates smarter raccoons that survive and pass on their genes. It sounds like a ridiculous theory but take look at the documentary before you make any judgments. The library owns one copy at the main branch.

This was the shortest film I've ever seen. It was based on Kurt Vonnegut's short story called "Harrison Bergeron". The original story was published in 1961 and this twenty-six minute film adaptation was published in 2009. The film was meant to be dystopian science fiction but it could pass for just about anything. It's the year 2081 and there have been an additional 185 amendments to the US Constitution to remove all inequalities in American society. Harrison Bergeron the lone anarchist rebels against this idea and plants a bomb to mount an insurrection. That's it. If there are any fans of V is for Vendetta then they will probably like this film. The themes are exactly alike; see trailer below. The library has two copies of 2081 on dvd.

National Geographic has produced three television episodes on the biology, psychology and other interesting parts of the human brain. Each episode has several tests to follow along with on the screen. After completing each test the viewer learns why the human brain behaves in the way that it does. There is no need to feel embarrassed about what we don't know since this is a characteristic of all human beings. It seems that we all have blinds spots and things that we miss in our every day interactions. It turns out that the reality that we construct is an illusion and is filled with many gaps and misunderstanding. Each fifty minute episode focuses on a different aspect of reality and how our brains work to construct them. Towards the end of the program there are a few suggestions to help you improve your long term memory. The library has one copy on DVD.

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What would you do if someone left a puppy or a kitten on your doorstep? I imagine most people would adopt it, put it up for adoption or take to the nearest humane society for safe shelter. Now consider what you would do if someone left a bowl full of (fertilized) wild turkey eggs on your doorstep. This happened to a Florida man named Joe Hutto.

This is the unexpected but fascinating documentary story about Joe Hutto's experience of raising sixteen turkeys from birth to adulthood. Joe allows himself to be imprinted upon and thus become the full-time mother of all sixteen turkeys. As is the case with all nature documentaries, some of them survive and some of them don't. Some of them are friendlier than others and they all have very different personalities. The ending will leave you a little shocked and sad but don't let that frighten you.

This is a one hour PBS nature-film presentation. This film is rated PG. The library has one copy on DVD.

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A few days ago I came across two Lifetime movies adapted from Patricia Cornwell's Win Garano series. The first movie is called "At Risk" and the second movie is called "The Front". I have not read the books but as far as the movies go they are pretty good. They follow that classic mystery narrative: A murder, an investigation, an innocent person taken into custody, a short love story, the resolution and the end.

Since Patricia Cornwell's books focus on crimes, there are some bloody and violently graphic scenes and this may not be suitable for all viewers but it may be perfect for those mystery lovers out there. The library has one copy of each dvd. Also, she has one of the best interactive websites that I've seen in a long time.

I'm in the middle of season one of Nurse Jackie. This is a television show about the day-to-day life of Jackie Peyton who is a nurse in New York's All Saints' Hospital. This television show is half drama and half comedy. I don't recognize any of the actors except for Eli Wallach (Wall Street) but they are very convincing in their roles. There's quite a bit of blood and visual depictions of traumatic incidents that may bother some viewers but if you can handle that then you'll enjoy it. What keeps me hooked on the show is trying to understand Peyton's character. She's a complex union of opposite characteristics. She's happily married but having an affair. She counsels on addiction but is addicted to codeine. She's nice and shows exemplary compassion towards her patients except for the ones she hates. She's definitely a complex person. Read more »

Fringe is a fairly new (2009) science fiction television series. The show is currently in its fourth season on the air. The library has the first three seasons of this show in its collection.

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That is the question I asked myself when I looked at this week's top ten downloads from Freegal. Freegal posts the top ten most downloaded songs on its website. These are the songs that our library patrons want the most. This week's top download is "Mama' s Broken Heart" by Miranda Lambert.

Born in 1983, Miranda's is from Longview, Texas. Her music can best be described as "country rock". So far she has Read more »