Our library kicks ass. It's about 3 blocks away so it's often a place to take the boys and let them blow off steam looking at puzzles, playing with puppets or picking out books. We've even picked out some DVDs for them (mostly discs in the Baby Einstein series: Baby Mozart, Baby Newton and Baby Beethoven). The kids love those DVDs, but we have had a hard time keeping their TV watching to under 30-40 minutes/day (I know, still too much for 17-month olds, but c'est la vie).
I'm also a big animation fan, so I'm always pleased to see that the Library has both Looney Tunes Golden Collections (Volume 1 and Volume 2) as well as a great selection from the Disney Treasures DVD series. The kicker is one of the DVD sets they have is the controversial "Walt Disney Treasures - On the Front Lines" with cartoons about Nazis, WWII propaganda and Hitler - in the children's section no less. I did warn the librarians about it, but his response was "Oh, well because it's Disney it goes into the Children's Section". Shrug shoulders, life goes on...kids need to learn about Nazis sometime I guess.
Anyway, their "grown-up" DVD section is also vastly improving since we first moved here two years ago. I find that it only makes sense to check out DVDs at the libraries because I never know whether my wife and I will actually find time to watch the movie/show living on our busy schedule with the kids and I hate paying for something I can't watch. By the end of the day, more often than not, Sam and I are just ready to crash.
I decided to check out The Office - The Complete First Series last weekend and I watched the first three episodes. Not Sam's cup of tea, I think it's the British accents and the fact that it's really hard to make out what they're saying when they throw their lines away like that and you can't crank the TV volume lest you wake the slumbering babies in the next room. I think it's hilarious, though. Somewhat reminiscent of Office Space via its "cubicle hell", but with considerable more depth and subtlety. That subtlety in British Comedy often gets attributed as "stuffiness" or "dryness". But all you have to do is watch a bit of Monty Python to realize that folks in the UK have their wacky side too. And I think Ricky Gervais is a genius: co-director, co-writer and one of the most talented actors I've ever seen. Highly recommended!
Oh, and in case none of the links above interest you, this is about all I've got left.
“kids need to learn about Nazis sometime I guess”
LOL – that’s seriously scary. Once the right person finds out, it’ll end up in the newspaper. I bet their public statement sounds different than what they told you.