Arts & Culture

  • Isn’t It a Pity

    by Library Staff   Are you tired of cookie-cutter songs with interchangeable melodies, sung by manufactured celebrities packaged in sound-bite-sized pieces? If so, I invite you to listen to one song which is the complete antithesis of this: “Isn’t It a Pity” by Nina Simone, from the album Emergency Ward (also available on Freegal). Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Foreign Language Trilogies

                  Posted by Frank If you think that trilogies are the exclusive domain of adaptations of young adult dystopian novels, think again. These four trilogies from Europe and Asia will satisfy your need for strong character development and in-depth storylines that span the length of three films. Continue reading

  • Get lost in some music

    Posted by Chelsea W. For me, lately, for personal reasons and also because of the stop-and-go-and-stop-again nature of the seasonal shift currently in motion, I’ve re-realized how fun it is to just get sort of lost sometimes. Take a break from the mundane and boring routines of day-to-day life and lose yourself in some music… Continue reading

  • A tribute to director Errol Morris

    By Daniel S. Errol Morris is one of America’s leading documentary filmmakers with a long career of thoughtful and provocative features. Morris combines dramatic reenactments, probing interviews and a kaleidoscope of thematically linked images to create films that push the boundaries of nonfiction narrative. His signature invention is a special camera rig he calls the Interrotron,… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: SIFF Turns 40

    ~posted by Mike This Thursday kicks off for the 40th annual Seattle International Film Festival. Over the next three weeks, Seattle will be awash in exciting events and fantastic films from all corners of the world. If you’re looking to supplement your festival experience, the Seattle Public Library is here to help. Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Life Begins at 50, or 60, or 70…

    The past few years have been been kind to actors “of a certain age” and audiences who are interested in smart films about people in late middle age to the senior years. Since 2012, Amour won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language film, Enough Said showed us the highs and lows of dating in your 50s, and a pair… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Joan Crawford through the Decades

    ~ posted by Frank Joan Crawford (1904? – 1977) is undoubtedly one of the greatest leading ladies of the 20th century on film. She’s often remembered as a movie star with huge shoulder pads and a troubled private life (thanks to the scathing biopic/camp classic Mommie Dearest) that tarnished her reputation as an accomplished actress.… Continue reading

  • Music and poetry pairs

    Posted by Chelsea W. WIn case you haven’t heard already, April is National Poetry Month! I normally write music posts here, but I also love poetry. So, in honor of Poetry Month, I will bring music and poetry together today! Because the Library, of course, can help you get both. Recently, I was reflecting on one… Continue reading

  • Caffeine: The World’s Favorite Drug

    Posted by Selby Whether you slam an energy drink in the afternoon or start your day with a cup of joe, most Americans consume some amount of caffeine during the day, and we love it. Recently, author Murray Carpenter took a good long look at a drug many of us use daily without thinking about it. In his… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: A Country Called the West

                           ~posted by Mike My brother hates Westerns. At least he says he does. As far as I know he’s only seen two of them, one of which was Quentin Tarantino’s weakest feature. But such a blanket statement like hating all Westerns ignores how truly… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: A Cinematic History Lesson with Bill and Ted

         ~posted by Mike On their first outing, Wyld Stallyns guitarists Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted “Theodore” Logan traveled through time in a phone booth (not unlike another wacky adventurer), kidnapping historical figures for their make-or-break history project. The fate of humanity hung in the balance. Genghis Khan went bananas in a sporting… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Funny Money

             ~posted by Frank B. When you think of movies about money, you’re likely to think of two images – Gordon Gekko in Wall Street and Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street. Both films depict the ruthlessness of greed (or glorify it, depending on your point of view). While money (and related issues, like class and the… Continue reading

  • Got Poem?

    Posted by Tom It’s National Poetry Month once again, and as usual, Seattle and its libraries are awash in poetry events. The Northeast Branch is hosting its annual all-ages poetry contest, in which everyone is invited to submit a poem at any time in April, and potentially win prizes (including the Wedgie grand prize trophy) and… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Top 10 hoopla Movies (according to me)

      Posted by Frank hoopla, one of the Seattle Public Library’s streaming video services, has doubled its collection of videos since my last blog post. Here, in no particular order, are my current top 10 favorite movies that you can stream, right now, for free. Big Night (1996). Two brothers (Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci) try to… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Modern Day Black-and-White

                 The overwhelming majority of films since the 1970s have been filmed in color. The few black-and-white films since then – The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon and Young Frankenstein in the ’70s, The Elephant Man, Raging Bull and Zelig in the ’80s, Schindler’s List, Ed Wood and Clerks in the ’90s, and Good Night, and Good Luck, Sin City and Persepolis in the ’00s – represent some of… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: DVDs Delving Deeper – Orson Welles

    In certain circles the received wisdom is that Orson Welles, a theatrical prodigy who rose to fame through live drama and radio, made one cinematic masterpiece, Citizen Kane, and then floundered for the rest of his career, squandering his talent by appearing in wine cooler commercials and Transformers movies. However, even the briefest exploration into… Continue reading

  • Care For A Show?

    I just recently went for the second time to see the Can-Can Castaways in Pike Place Market. Not only are their performances amazing…and their costumes, but the venue makes you feel as if you are stepping into a roaring 20’s speakeasy. Their current show CHICHI is a play on that very era of fringe dresses and… Continue reading

  • Three for Free – “Cold” Cuts

    As the long, cold, winter rolls along and the weather in the PNW continues to set record lows for high temperature numbers, get warm by moving your body to these “cold” cuts, songs utilizing the word “cold” that are available for free download using Freegal. Continue reading