Video Sunday: Uncle Shelby’s Corner

When I first started to work for New York Public Library I was placed at an amazing near 150-year-old part of the system called the Jefferson Market Branch in Greenwich Village.  My husband once shot a fantastic short film there in the clocktower, and I believe a Law & Order episode took place there once involving a man and a sword.  This little PSA is also set there and takes advantage not only of the architecture (gorgeous, right?) but also my former boss Frank who takes great glee in his role as Library Ghoul.  Love you, Frank!

I’m not entirely certain the universe is big enough for me to imagine Weird Al and Shel Silverstein having a conversation with one another.  But huge thanks to Mr. Schu for this amazing piece of info.

I would have watched Uncle Shelby’s Corner.  Absolutely, you bet!

Recently I was asked to blurb a new edition of Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant.  Now normally I’d think twice about that kind of request because, let’s face it, Oscar Wilde was one weird children’s author.  We sometimes think of Hans Christian Andersen as an odd duck (Red Shoes, anyone?) but I doubt he ever created much of anything to compare to The Happy Prince and its ilk.  The Selfish Giant has always been way too didactic for my tastes (too much of an allegory) but there is a way to make it palatable.  First off, you give the book great art.  Then, if possible, you hire an orchestra and turn the book into a kind of Peter and the Wolf type gig.  Here’s a taste.

Cool, eh?

I wouldn’t call this next video of a jazzed up version of The Three Bears any real threat to Hey There, Little Red Riding Hood, but it’s still interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG1l0TPJj2k&feature=player_embedded

Thanks to BoingBoing for the link!

This week I was pleased to be asked to come up with a list of great Black History Month titles for our local channel NY1’s coverage of what to read with your kids.  Fellow librarian Robyn Mutnick did a top notch job of presenting the books themselves.

I should note that there was one change made to the books I recommended.  While I pushed for the Althea Gibson title by Sue Stauffacher Nothing But Trouble, I suspect that Robyn’s library branch only had copies of Playing to Win by Karen Deans.  A good book but I’ve a personal preference for the Stauffacher title.  The art’s just so fantastic (as is the writing) and I feel it’s been forgotten.  Just my two cents.

I was so very very pleased to see Levar Burton on Community this past week, playing himself.  If you haven’t seen the episode, Troy is such a huge Levar Burton fan that he is rendered mute whenever he’s around the man.  This is the last bit between them during the credits.  Best. Thing. Ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP8XQT6ZTXM&feature=player_embedded

Took me a couple views before I realized that Levar was drinking out of a Troy & Abed in the Morning mug.

And for our final off-topic video, I missed a lot of movies in the 80s and have spent the remainder of my years catching up.  I also played surprisingly little Legend of Zelda.  Still and all, I know enough to appreciate this pretty amazing little mishmash of 80s tropes for a faux Zelda film.

Filed under: Videos