DVDs, Uncategorized

Working Out with Jane Fonda is still getting obese America in shape

She obviously has done something right.
Jane Fonda is 81 years old and looks 55. Plastic surgery? Probably, but her doctor is really really good . . . not like the work done on Lily and Dolly, whose doctors worked way beyond 9 to 5.
Yet much of Fonda’s great looks and shape are the result of decades of working out, feeling the burn, sweating to the oldies. She was the first Big Name to make exercise tapes (remember those?), and now, Lightyear Entertainment, in partnership with Fonda, Inc., has released those workouts on DVD, released in the U.S. and Canada through MVD Distribution.

“Who knew that this many years later people would still be doing The Workout, but they are!,” coos Fonda.”
Arnie Holland, President of Lightyear, adds, “The five DVDs we released in 2015 and the Boxed Set have been selling extraordinarily well and steadily for the past three years. We are delighted that Jane Fonda and Warner Bros. have agreed to allow us to release more of these programs, which changed the face of the home video business when originally released. They set unheard of sales records, dominated the sell-through charts for more than a decade, and changed American culture.”
Books

“Merchants of Truth” raises crucial questions as we face a crisis in trust that threatens the free press

In Merchants of Truth: The Business of News and the Fight for Facts (Simon & Schuster, $30), prizewinning journalist Jill Abramson takes readers deep into the story of the news business, fighting for survival through a series of crises—first the digital revolution and great recession, and then the President’s unprecedented war on the press.

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In the tradition of David Halberstam’s The Powers That Be, Abramson profiles four powerful news organizations as they grapple with upheaval: BuzzFeed and Vice, upstarts that captivated young audiences; and The New York Times and The Washington Post, legacy papers that were slow to adapt to digital changes. Each struggled with crises in business, technology, resources and credibility. As these forces clashed, the only certainty each organization confronted was radical change.

Abramson also covers the essential platforms to share news—Google/YouTube and Facebook—as they forced transformations in all of these organizations and sped up challenges they faced. The vital question that confronts all four in the era of fake news: Can an informed press stand its ground?

Merchants of Truth raises crucial questions that concern the well-being of our society. We are facing a crisis in trust that threatens the free press. Abramson’s book points us to the future. A riveting must-read.

Books

“Midnight in Chernobyl” is a masterful nonfiction thriller—the definitive account of an event that changed history

Early in the morning of April 26, 1986, Reactor Number Four of the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station exploded, triggering history’s worst nuclear disaster. In the 30 years since then, Chernobyl has become lodged in the collective nightmares of the world: shorthand for the spectral horrors of radiation poisoning, for a dangerous technology slipping its leash, for ecological fragility, and for what can happen when a dishonest and careless state endangers its citizens and the entire world.

But the real story of the accident, clouded from the beginning by secrecy, propaganda, and misinformation, has long remained in dispute. Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews conducted over the course of more than 10 years, as well as letters, unpublished memoirs and documents from recently-declassified archives, Adam Higginbotham’s Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster (Simon & Schuster, $29.95) s the definitive account of the Chernobyl disaster, a harrowing and compelling narrative which brings the tragedy to life through the eyes of the men and women who witnessed it firsthand.

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Midnight in Chernobyl is an indelible portrait of one of the great disasters of the twentieth century, of human resilience and ingenuity, and the lessons learned when mankind seeks to bend the natural world to his will—lessons which, in the face of climate change and other threats, remain not just vital but necessary.

The result is a masterful nonfiction thriller, and the definitive account of an event that changed history: a story that is more complex, more human, and more terrifying than the Soviet myth.

Books, TV

“Who Killed the Fonz?” is a delightful, clever reinvention of the leather-clad TV series

Happy days are here again. At least on paper And especially in Who Killed the Fonz? (Simon & Schuster, $26), in which James Boice offers a clever reinvention of the legendary TV show, Happy Days.

The book imagines what happened to Richie Cunningham (who now goes by Richard) and the rest of the gang twenty years after the show left off. Only this time ’round, instead of a world of drive-in movie theaters and soda shops, readers are drawn into a gritty 1980s noir as Richard tries to uncover the truth about the mysterious death of Arthur Fonzarelli.

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It’s October 1984, and Cunningham is having a really bad day. Having achieved some early success as a screenwriter in Hollywood, the now forty-something Richard hasn’t written a script anyone wants to buy in years.

Later that same day he gets a phone call with even worse news. His best friend from childhood back in Milwaukee, back when everyone called him Richie, is dead. Arthur Fonzarelli. The Fonz. Lost control of his motorcycle while crossing a bridge and plummeted into the water below. Two days of searching and still no body, no trace of his trademark leather jacket.

Richard flies back for the memorial service, only to discover that Fonzie’s death was no accident—it was murder. With the help of his old pals Ralph Malph and Potsie Weber, he sets out to catch the killer. Who it turns out to be is shocking. So is the story’s final twist.

When Richard travels back to his Wisconsin hometown for the memorial, he quickly finds himself drawn into a mystery surrounding his late friend—whose death may not have been an accident after all. In a time when reboots are all the rage, the fast-paced and nostalgic Who Killed the Fonz? is an ingenious twist on a beloved classic.

Who Killed The Fonz? imagines what happened to the characters of the legendary TV series Happy Days twenty years after the show left off. And while much has changed in the interim—goodbye drive-in movie theaters, hello VCRs—the story centers around the same timeless themes as the show: the meaning of family. The significance of friendship. The importance of community.

Author James Boice captures the bighearted charm of the original Happy Days, while expertly weaving in darker elements and more serious themes, like the challenge of staying connected to one’s roots and what happens when you leave home behind.

DVDs, TV

Vivian Howard’s “Final Harvest” is a mighty tasty treat

Even the closing of an era can be awfully tasty. In The Final Harvest (PBS Distribution), the series finale of A Chef’s Life, host and best-selling author Vivian Howard prepares a farewell feast of epic proportions. After five seasons of the Emmy and Peabody-winning series, only a handful of dishes remain on Vivian’s bucket list. She tackles them all with the help of some friends along the way in this spectacular series finale.

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The Final Harvest features some of the show’s most beloved personalities along with a series-worth of memorable flashbacks. Vivian’s parents, Mrs. Scarlett and Mr. John, share intimate moments and reveal how Vivian’s success has changed their family, and most importantly, made them proud. Vivian’s husband Ben reveals an unexpected tenderness when describing the impact of the series on his family and community. A fitting sign-off to the series, friends new and old take a seat at A Chef’s Life final harvest table, bringing to a close this extended love letter to eastern North Carolina.

The series, like no other, takes viewers on a heartwarming and compelling journey to meet unsung farmers, home cooks, and chefs, and simultaneously elevates quintessential Southern dishes to new modern classics.

 

DVDs, TV

Star-studded cast follows the greatness of “Poetry in America”

Poetry in America(PBS Distribution)gathers personalities from all walks of life to interpret, explore and debate 12 unforgettable American poems. Show host and Harvard professor Elisa New meets with athletes, poets, politicians, musicians, architects, scientists, actors, and entrepreneurs to experience and share the power of poetry in this visually dazzling series.

The program follows Carl Sandburg to Chicago and Emily Dickinson to Amherst. Along the way notable personalities like actor Cynthia Nixon, former Vice President Joe Biden and world-famous architect Frank Gehry share their reflections on poems from Gwendolyn Brooks to Allen Ginsberg to Nas. Highlights include sports superstar Shaquille O’Neal reading “Fast Break” by Edward Hirsch and musician Herbie Hancock and former President Bill Clinton sharing their thoughts on Langston Hughes’ “Harlem.”

The 12 American poems explored in Season One show viewers the lasting power of poetry. The 12 poems explored are “I cannot dance opon my toes,” by Emily Dickinson; “Fast Break” by Edward Hirsch; “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden; “Hymmnn and Hum Bom!” by Allen Ginsberg; “Skyscraper” by Carl Sandburg; “Harlem” by Langston Hughes; “Musée des Beaux Arts” by W.H. Auden; “Shirt” by Robert Pinsky; “To Prisoners” by Gwendolyn Brooks; “The Gray Heron” by Galway Kinnell; “N.Y State of Mind” by Nas and “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus.

Books

“Zora and Langston: A Story of Friendship and Betrayal” explores their friendship … and its demise

Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes, two giants of the Harlem Renaissance and American literature, were best friends . . . until they weren’t.

We won’t give too much away, but we urge you to circle March 26 on your calendar: That’s the date Yuval Taylor’s  Zora and Langston: A Story of Friendship and Betrayal, the first book to tell the full story of their friendship and its dramatic demise, hits the shelves.

Hurston and Hughes were collaborators, literary gadflies, and close companions from traveling together through the rural South collecting folklore to their work on the play Mule Bone. They even had the same patron: Charlotte Osgood Mason, a wealthy white woman who insisted on being called “Godmother”–who ultimately may have been the spark for their bitter falling-out.

Drawing on fresh material from Hurston and Hughes’ letters, the book digs deeply into the existing scholarship on both writers—and their times—to explore this unusual intimacy and the tragedy of its collapse.

DVDs, TV

“Secrets of Britain’s Great Cathedrals” gives unprecedented access behind the walls of these spectacular buildings

Britain’s ancient cathedrals and abbeys reflect the country’s turbulent history through their significant heritage and architectural grandeur. Fans of the hit and multi award-winning show Downton Abbey are sure to enjoy Secrets of Britain’s Great Cathedrals (PBS Distribution), an eight episode program that explores cathedrals and abbeys found throughout England and Wales showing their legendary facades and soaring interior spaces, revealing secrets many may not know.

In the eight episodes of the series viewers are given unprecedented access behind the walls of these spectacular buildings, and are given incredible insight into the most influential cathedrals, abbeys and bishop’s palaces in the country. Featuring interviews with historians and experts, this program” take viewers on a 1,500-mile journey from the north to the south, and across the length of Wales exploring these magnificent architectural structures.

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Secrets of Britain’s Great Cathedrals explores some of the greatest buildings in the U.K., including York Minster which is the largest cathedral in Britain and Canterbury Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in England, and mother church of the worldwide Anglican communion. Two other buildings viewers get a rare glimpse at are St. Paul’s Cathedral, where they learn why cathedrals are called ‘fabric’ and explore the cathedral’s memorial book which includes the names of American soldiers who lost their lives in WWII, including legendary swing band leader, Glenn Miller. Westminster Abbey is also explored as viewers learn that it is one of the most important Gothic buildings in the country and why it is called a Royal Peculiar. Many other magnificent buildings are explored throughout the eight episode series where secrets are revealed and important information is discussed.

Books

Save the dates for these HarperCollins must-read books

A New year. And lots of new books . . . now and to come. HarperCollins/Thomas Nelson tells us these books are the “most anticipated books–THE books to watch in 2019”.

Save the dates!

Glory Road by Lauren Denton (on sale March 19, $16.99) In this new offering from a USA Today bestselling author, three generations of women run a garden center in South Alabama and find the route to love takes as many turns as a southern dirt road.

Midnight at the Tuscany Hotel by James Markert (April 9, $16.99)  The water from the fountain at an abandoned hotel can suddenly restore memories. Is it a wonderful phenomenon, or are there strings attached? Midnight at the Tuscany HotelAward-winning author Markert weaves a story of magical realism and the joy and pain of being alive.

The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay (May 14, $16.99) When Madeline inherits her aunt’s struggling book store, she plans to sell it. However, the shop’s two employees and a handsome gardener may change her mind. The Printed Letter BookshopBut, is it too late?

Murder in the City of Liberty by Rachel McMillian(May 28, $15.99) McMillan continues her 1930s mysteries as amateur sleuth Hamish DeLuca (who suffers from panic disorder) and his sidekick Regina “Reggie” van Buren are hired by a famous baseball player. Murder in the City of Liberty (A Van Buren and DeLuca Mystery Book 2)Are a series of violent acts linked to the outbreak of war in Europe?

The Enlightenment of Bees by Rachel Linden (July 9, $16.99) Jilted by a sudden breakup, Mia West pushes reset on her life. A recurring dream of honeybees leads her to embark on the trip of a lifetime alongside a grunge rock star, The Enlightenment of Bees by [Linden, Rachel]Ethiopian immigrant, Hawaiian urban farmer and Rosie, her vivacious roommate.

Stars of Alabama by Sean Dietrich (July 9, $26.99)  Set in the Depression-era South, the story of two migrant workers, an abandoned baby, corrupt preacher and a girl with miraculous powers Stars of Alabamaintertwine to show how ugly circumstances can create beautiful people.

DVDs, Movies

The horror of anti-Semitism spirals in America and beyond. We know love conquers all.

We are based outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a mere eight minutes from Squirrel Hill, where the Tree of Life massacre shattered the peaceful community. It became the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the U.S.

Such horror and hate crosses the Atlantic. Over the last two decades, a rise in physical attacks and verbal assaults on Jews has been recorded in many countries across Europe. At the same time an increasingly fractured world has exposed deep political, social, and racial division, especially in France.

Laura Fairrie’s Spiral is the story of how a cycle of fear, hatred, and violence has taken hold. In portraying the resurgence of anti-Semitism in France and in the wider world, the film trains its gaze on individuals, witnesses on all sides of the conflicts that have fueled this escalation.