This is not an official blog of the City. It is the work of Mark Kapel who is solely responsible for content.

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Friday, January 29, 2016

Nine Years in the making Cedarbrook celebrates with a gala grand opening.




Speeches and thank you's as grand as the opening


View  from second floor window. Note gazebo in courtyard below. Bright lights in top of photo  possibly St. Hugo's vestibule . Cedarbrook faces in many directions and it is  hard for the uninitiated to  determine direction,

Juke  Box  and Dino clock touting Sinclair Oil

Second floor pasta and carving station at the gala grand opening
A popular attraction for those with a sweet tooth

And a winery for those  who prefer adult beverages

 Above the high Tech fun zone  directly off  Claire Cafe
Below the Great room 

Mr. and Mrs, Damone founders of  what was once called the Demone Project.

Exterior Entrance
To learn more about Senior  living at Cedarbrook 
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Saturday, January 16, 2016

Previews of the Eight Movies Nominated For Best Picture Page 1


The Big Short




Bridge of Spies

 Brooklyn 





                                        Mad Max Fury Road


Where you can see the movies NOW 

and other considerations.

 The Bridge of  Spies is now playing at the Cinemark 16  in  
Warren at 12 and   Dequindre.  This usually means it's theater  run is coming to a close often  at reduced ticket prices. The  Best Picture nomination  may change that.. Of note is the fact that the Cinemark is currently  the only theater we know of that is  still showing the big screen 3D  version of the Martian which is also a Best Picture nominee.. You can call the theatre at 586-558 -82-15
The Big Short is now playing at  both the Birmingham 8 and the Paladium with a cast that will keep in town for months.
Brooklyn Can be seen at the Maple. Both the Maple and it's sister theatre the Landmark in Royal Oak are Oscar nominee friendly and where you will find pictures witjh Best Actor and Actress nominees rated films as well as the obvoius best picture  contestants.

Best Picture nominees previews page 2



The Martian






The Revevant


Room




Spotlight


The Martian is available on DVD (2d only)  for purchase at  Kroger's. It is also available for rent or purchase from Amazon. Often when this happens the movie becomes available as a pay per view from various computer pay per view programs like Google or Microsoft Windows 10 . You can probably find it on Red box as well. The 3D version may return to the theater  for a brief run before the Oscar's big night or turn up st Best Buy for those who have 3d TV sets.
The Revenant, The Room, and Spotlight are now showing at the Maple theater




Friday, December 25, 2015

Baldwin Library Staff Recommends Best Books of 2015


For Adults  Fiction

The Children's Crusade by Ann Packer. - This absorbing, beautifully written and poignant family saga spans five decades of the life of a Northern California family complete with a beloved physician father, free spirited mother and four children each harboring their own desires and secrets. –Lisa

A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson. - Atkinson provides a wild ride of a reading experience in this sweeping post-war follow-up to Life After Life, which follows the Todd family through the first half of the 20th century. –Denise

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by  J. Ryan Stradal. - This book weaves the main character’s life story by pulling narrative strands from other characters - some who have impacted her life directly, others indirectly, into a sweet, sad, sometimes funny story.—Linda

A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara. - The best and saddest book I’ve read in a decade is profoundly tragic, but the characters are so beautifully drawn that by the end of the novel I felt like they were my family. –Maria

The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman. - Hoffman always creates a unique plot featuring complicated characters who draw you quickly into their world.—Barby

Station ElevenMy Struggle, Book Four by Karl Ove Knausgaard. - It is difficult to explain the Knausgaard phenomenon to the uninitiated, but Book 4, covering Karl Ove's teenage years, stands out by blending Knausgaard's straightforward yet mesmerizing narrative style with a substantial dose of humor, to create another hard to put down volume in his epic autobiographical series of novels.  –Josh

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf. - Haruf's final novel gets right to the heart of what makes us human by exploring a late-in-life love affair that seems so simple to those in the relationship—but not so to the people around them. –Carol

S
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. - This brilliant novel uses an apocalyptic story line to portray a world of artistic endeavor, violence, humor and most of all, hope. –Karen

Vanessa and Her Sister, by Priya Parmar. - With journal entries, letters, notes, and various methods of early 20th century correspondence, Parmar plumbs the complicated relationship between the artist Vanessa Bell and her more famous sister, Virginia Woolf, along with their siblings, lovers, and friends, all members of the artsy Bloomsbury Group. –Liz

When the Mood is Low by Nadia Hashimi. - This book made me truly feel immersed in its Middle Eastern setting and culture. –Lauren

Biography & Non-Fiction




Dead Wake by Erik Larson - History comes to life as Larson recreates the events leading up to the German military attack on the Lusitania in 1915. –Rebekah
Furiously Happy: a funny book about horrible things by Jenny Lawson. - I've never laughed as hard as I have at stories in this book (and in the author’s first book, Let's Pretend This Never Happened); however, there are also very poignant sections on mental illness that made me re-evaluate and re-interpret my own life experiences. –Kristen
Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs by Sally Mann. - In her prose, as in her photography, a bold artist catches the heavy shadows of the past and the fleeting light of the moment. –Ethan

NOPI: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully. - This glorious cookbook from the London restaurant, NOPI, is filled with mouthwatering images, unique combinations of flavors, and magnificent presentations. Be warned: these recipes are not for beginners. –Vicki

For Children & Teens Fiction
Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman. - This book incorporates two of my favorite hobbies: reading and working on puzzles. –Caroline

Illuminae:  Illuminae Files_01 by Amie Kauffman & Jay Kristoff. - A creative collection of emails, instant messages, and interstellar reports tell the engaging story of two teenagers fighting for survival in deep space of a second universe. –Susan

My Cousin Momo by Zachariah OHora. - The retro drawings and sweet details in this picture book illustrate a funny and sweet story about accepting people for who they are and trying things in new ways.  –Stephanie

Biography
Somewhere There is Still a Sun:  Memoir of the Holocaust by Michael Gruenbaum. - Gruenbaum's sensitively-written memoir gives the reader a real sense of what the Holocaust was like for those who lived it, and is a standout in the genre of Holocaust literature.  –Donna


The Baldwin Public Library is located in downtown Birmingham at 300 W. Merrill Street. The Library’s hours are 9:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. The Library’s website www.baldwinlib.org has information on how to register for a Library Card and access all of the Library’s services.