National Film Registry Now Features 700 Cinematic Works

Established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, the National Film Preservation Board is an advisory body for the Librarian of Congress. The Board helps shape national film preservation planning policy, and also recommends films for the National Film Registry.

Chosen for their cultural, historic, or aesthetic significance, the Board's 25 annual selections for 2016 cover a wide gamut of genres and time periods, from such early films as Life of an American Fireman and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to such later works as Thelma & Louise and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The full list for 2016 is as follows:

1990s

Rushmore (1998)
The Lion King (1994)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Paris Is Burning (1990)

1980s

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

The Princess Bride (1987)

The Breakfast Club (1985)

The Atomic Cafe (1982) 

Suzanne, Suzanne (1982)

The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)

1960s
Putney Swope (1969)

Funny Girl (1968)

Point Blank (1967)

The Birds (1963)

1950s

East of Eden (1955)

The Blackboard Jungle (1955)

1940s
A Walk in the Sun (1945)

Ball of Fire (1941)

1930s

Lost Horizon (1937) 

1920s
The Beau Brummels (1928) 

Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
Solomon's Sir Jones films (1924-28)

1910s
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916)
The Muskateers of Pig Alley (1912)

1900s
Life of an American Fireman (1903)

Further information on the Registry as well as the films themselves can be found on the Library of Congress' web site. All 700 films selected for the Registry since 1989 can also be browsed online. In addition, the public is encouraged to make nominations for next year's selections to the National Film Registry.

Human Rights Day 2016

Human Rights Day is celebrated annually on December 10 to mark the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This year's campaign is Stand Up for Someone's Rights, for which United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon observes: "At a time multiplying conflicts, intensifying humanitarian needs and rising hate speech, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reminds us that recognition of the 'equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.'"

The Declaration was proclaimed on December 10, 1948 through United Nations General Assembly Resolution 217 A (III):

. . . as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Although not itself a binding legal document, it has "inspired more than more than 60 human rights instruments which together constitute an international standard of human rights." 

The Declaration has been translated into more than 300 languages and dialects, from Abkhaz to Zulu. The English version is available here, while other versions are available via an online database. A guide to UN Human Rights documentation as well as various related UN databases are also accessible on the UN Human Rights website. A showcase of UDHR-related materials from around the world is available here.

Star Gazing with the Wapsipinicon Almanac

The latest annual installment of the eclectic Wapsipinicon Almanac is now available. Published and letterpress printed since 1988 by Timothy Fay of Route 3 Press, the present issue, as with previous numbers, features an engaging mix of essays, reviews, fiction, poetry, art, wit and wisdom.

Number 23 can be purchased at bookstores and other establishments or by writing the publisher directly at Wapsipinicon Almanac, 19948 Shooting Star Road, Anamosa, Iowa 52205. Single copies are $9, plus $2.70 for postage; Iowa residents should also include 63-cents for sales tax.

The front cover shown here was designed by Elizabeth Munger of Iowa City. A brief history of the publication can be viewed at the Almanac's website, and a video of "Linotype Operator Emeritus" Eldon Meeks in action can be viewed here.