Ghost Bird

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Price: $117.99   

Product Description

Set in a murky swamp overrun with birders, scientists, and reporters, Ghost Bird explores the limits of certainty, the seductive power of hope, and how one phantom woodpecker changed a sleepy Southern town forever.

Ghost Bird Review

When we think of America and its association with a bird, we usually imagine the great bald eagle. The second bird might be the Ivory-billed Woodpecker....alas this wonderful animal - the king of woodpeckers - may be no more.

In 2004, a video circulated around - taken in Brinkley, Arkansas - that suggested an Ivory Billed Woodpecker was seen flying about in the woods...If so, that would be an event of world wide significance due to the fact that confirmed sightings disappeared nearly 70 years before. (Imagine the reappearance of a passenger pigeon - an extinct bird - and that gives you the idea).

This is a lovely documentary about the importance of this event, not only for the economy of this part of Arkansas, but for the existence of the wild. The theme of the movie is that humans are destroying bird habitats so quickly that extinctions of over a 100 species of birds has taken place in the last century. So it is great news that an environmentally positive event is also good for the local economy too. This woodpecker apparently was living in a stretch of woods owned by the Singer Sewing Machine Company. When they sold the land to a forestry concern, the trees were leveled and the birds....well they disappeared.

The movie starts with the observations of "birders" who believe they have seen the rare woodpecker and knew that something special is going on...to the positive reaction by the U.S. Dept of Interior, to the everyday lives of the persons in that section of Arkansas, to a green message that we need to save the birds...NOW. But the movie also includes the observations of some skeptics that challenge the video and believe it is a photograph of a pileated woodpecker - not the great Ivory-billed woodpecker.

A sobering thought is the discussion by the curator of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, an institution which has the largest collection of (stuffed) Ivory-billed Woodpeckers - brought to the museum at the turn of the last century. The ornithologist goes through the history of magnificent birds that have been led to extinction by thoughtless slaughtering of animals and even more thoughless destruction of necessary habitat.

My favorite part of the movie was the short black and white films (taken many years ago) of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker when there were so few left. My word, how beautiful...but haunting. One hold's one breath imagining that these might be the last "moving pictures" humanity will ever see of this great bird

Those interested in this newsworthy event can read some recent books about the woodpecker such as "The Grail Bird" by Tim Gallagher or "The Race to Save the Lord God Bird" by Phillip Hoose. The possibility that this bird may still be alive is a ray of hope in the world of ornithology...and the world of man.

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Leonard Bernstein Conducts Brahms - Boxed Set

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Price: $94.47 $90.92   

Product Description

Leonard Bernstein and the Wiener Philharmoniker perform Brahms orchestral works. Between 1981 and 1984 Leonard Bernstein recorded nearly all of Brahms's orchestral works with the Wiener Philharmoniker to honor the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth in 1983. For the concertos, Bernstein enlisted the services of some of the finest Brahms interpreters of the time: the violoninst Gidon Kremer, the cellist Mischa Maisky and the pianist Krystian Zimerman. 4 DVD box in 5.1 DTS Surround Sound.

Leonard Bernstein Conducts Brahms - Boxed Set Review

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was an enigmatic composer, both in his person and in his music. His music often requires that we tease out its meaning from its motivic and compressed architecture. His life is similarly mysterious and difficult to define. What induces a man as classically handsome as Brahms to hide his features behind a massive patrician beard? Brahms was already the endpoint of the great Germanic musical tradition at the end of the 19th Century. He was the inheritor of a line that begins with Bach, through the Classicism of Haydn and Mozart, culminating in Beethoven, continuing through the Romantic era of Schubert, Mendelssohn and, especially for Brahms, Schumann. Thus, Brahms was a kind of post-modern composer, aware of his position, constantly referring to older styles of music. Part of his enigmatic style is due to this. His relationship with the Schumanns and his life long love for Clara also took its toll on his life. Brahms burnt most of his musical sketches and his letters and papers to insure that the mystery would continue.

Leonard Bernstein chose to record this collection containing most of Brahm's orchestral music with the Vienna Philharmonic because of their homogeneous sound. The musicians are similarly schooled and, most important, the majority of their instruments are uniquely handmade: many of them dating back to the era of Brahms. In a strange (but very real) way, this collection presents Brahms played on original instruments, performed in an historically informed fashion. You cannot fail to be impressed how right everything sounds. The strings all have a similar silky sheen. The horns sound restrained and warmer. The winds have a burnished tone; their effect more diffident, less forward. This is a Brahmsian orchestra, without question. Bernstein conducts in typically demonstrative fashion. His tempos are extremely broad (the First Symphony lasts 56 minutes, 12 minutes longer than von Karajan's DGG recording). He is expressive, always emphasizing Brahms' Romantic side. These are passionate, probing performances. Sometimes, Bernstein performs Brahms in these Symphonies as if Brahms were Mahler. It takes a little getting used to. Allegros occasionally sound more like andantes, or even adagios. But once the adjustment is made, the beauty of these performances become apparent and win you over.

All of the performers are splendid. Krystian Zimerman, in the Piano Concertos, has a feathery touch capable of powerful outbursts that are stunning in their emotional Range. Gidon Kremer in the Violin Concerto and Double Concerto (with Mischa Maisky) subsumes his usual analytical style and partakes of Bernstein's Romantic persona, producing splendidly expressive performances with long legato lines emphasizing the vocal, song-like Brahms. These recordings made in the early 1980's have staying power. They were originally released on CD by DGG two decades ago. It is wonderful to be able to see them. The video is now digitally clear, free from artifacts, well filmed by Humphrey Burton. Sound in both PCM stereo and DTS 5.1 is exemplary, just slightly thinner than today's sound. Total Time of the 5 DVDs is 529 minutes.

These are superb and moving performances of a great composer. A life affirming release in every respect. Most strongly recommended.

Mike Birman

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A Room of One's Own (from the Arthur Cantor Film/Video Collection)

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Product Description

British TV distillation of "Masterpiece Theatre" epic based on Virginia Woolf's seminal feminist book that called women of the world to be independent, express their talents and control their own destinies.

A Room of One's Own (from the Arthur Cantor Film/Video Collection) Review

I have been hunting this particular video for a number of years. This is the second time I've found it. The first I wasn't quite quick enough and someone else got it. It is a great piece of acting and the video was like new.

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Codependency, Emotional Violence, and Domestic Abuse DVD

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Price: $89.95    

Product Description

The development of a healthy relationship between two people gives them the opportunity to express mutual respect and love for one another. However, being involved in a toxic relationship one marked by codependency, emotional violence, or domestic abuse can be emotionally and physically damaging and sometimes even fatal. These unacceptable behaviors must first be recognized for what they are. If a person is able to find the strength to leave a negative relationship and seek counseling, the result can be a gradual recovery of physical and emotional health for abused individuals and their loved ones. This program contains graphic material relating to domestic abuse that may not be suitable for all audiences. Teachers are encouraged to review this program before using it in their classroom. END

Codependency, Emotional Violence, and Domestic Abuse DVD Review

The overall presentation was great for group work. Although my clients were adults, the questions provided with the dvd online helped with good group conversation.

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Big Valley - The Complete Series 1 Retail Dvd Retail [DVD]

You looking to find the "Big Valley - The Complete Series 1 Retail Dvd Retail [DVD]" Good news! You can purchase Big Valley - The Complete Series 1 Retail Dvd Retail [DVD] with secure price and compare to view update price on this product. And deals on this product is available only for limited time.

Price: $111.91   

Big Valley - The Complete Series 1 Retail Dvd Retail [DVD] Review

There were few TV shows that made a greater impression on me growing up than did this classic western, The Big Valley, which ran on ABC from 1965-1969. From its stellar cast featuring the incomparable Barbara Stanwyck as Victoria Barkley, (the matriarch of a close-knit, proud and prominent family in 1878 California,) well-written/action-packed scripts, to stirring music, The Big Valley remains a standout in the barren plains of TV mediocrity.

The first TV drama to feature a powerful female lead (a woman the commercials proudly proclaimed had "backbone and bite"), it also dealt realistically with situations formerly taboo for TV. It began by revealing that Victoria's husband, Tom Barkley, a prominent, wealthy cattle rancher now deceased, had been involved in a secret affair leading to the birth of an illegitimate son. In addition to the ranch, the family controlled gold and silver mines, citrus groves as well as logging camps.

This five-disc (episodes on "A" and "B" sides) boxed set contains all 30 of the show's first season episodes, including its pilot. A few of these episodes were available years ago on poor quality VHS tapes, but this fantastic release represents the first time that the entire first season of the series has been available to the public in ANY format! As such, most of these episodes have not been seen uncut since the show aired more than 35 years ago.

The pilot, which introduces the powerful and proud Barkley family, depicts the conflict when the illegitimate son, Heath, abruptly arrives at the huge Barkley Ranch in the San Joaquin Valley, near Stockton, Calif., in the midst of a range war and claims his birthright.

After the recent death of his mother, Heath had learned his father's identify. None of the Barkleys had known of his existence, and it is later revealed that Victoria's husband had broken off the brief affair with Heath's mother and that she had never told him that she was pregnant. Victoria immediately accepts Heath and soon treats him as one of her own sons.

In addition to Miss Stanwyck (who performed many of her own stunts despite her age), the cast included Richard Long as eldest son, attorney Jarrod, Peter Breck as son and ranch foreman Nick, Lee Majors as Heath, Linda Evans as daughter Audra, and during its first season, Charles Briles as youngest son Eugene, a character who was dropped without explanation. Napoleon Whiting portrayed the family's servant, Silas, throughout the series.

First season episodes included in this set are: (Disc 1, Side A) Palms of Glory; Forty Rifles; Boots with My Father's Name; Young Marauders; (Disc 1, Side B) Odyssey of Jubal Tanner; Heritage; (Disc 2, Side A) Winner Lose All; My Son, My Son; Earthquake!; The Murdered Party; (Disc 2, Side B) The Way to Kill a Killer; Night of the Wolf; (Disc 3, Side A) The Guilt of Matt Bentell; The Brawlers; Judgment in Heaven; The Invaders; (Disc 3, Side B) By Fires Unseen; A Time to Kill; (Disc 4, Side A) Teacher of Outlaws; Under a Dark Star; Barbary Red; The Death Merchant; (Disc 4, Side B) The Fallen Hawk; Hazard; (Disc 5, Side A) Into the Widow's Web; By Force and Violence; The River Monarch; The Midas Man; and (Disc 5, Side B) Tunnel of Gold; and Last Train to the Fair.

As of this writing, the studio had not announced what, if any, special features would be included in the boxed set.

Just a few of the guest stars in this first season were Andrew Duggan, John Anderson (Richard Dean Anderson's father), Jeanne Cooper (Young and the Restless), Katharine Ross (The Graduate), Charles Bronson, Warren Oates, Martin Landau (Mission: Impossible!), Ron Howard, Anthony Zerbe, Claude Akins, Yvonne Craig (Batgirl), William Shatner (Star Trek), Bruce Dern (Laura Dern's father), Jill St. John, George Kennedy, and James Whitmore.

Here's hoping the remaining seasons of this award-wining series will be released ASAP! We can also only hope that this means other studios that own the rights to other worthy vintage westerns, like The High Chaparral, will get the message that there is an appreciative audience anxiously waiting and begin releasing these episodes on DVD complete season boxed sets.

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