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Food co-ops, groups enjoy resurgence
FARMINGTON — Food co-ops never died. They just simmered on the back burner, waiting for a revival for whole foods and healthy eating.

Mail-order Homes (Paperback) $9.85 At the turn of the last century, the American middle class was expanding rapidly as homesteaders moved west and as trains took travellers across the country, where they established themselves in the depot towns that erupted along train lines. With that growth came the demand for new homes, and from that demand grew a new industry: mail-order homes. Sold by such makers as Sears, Roebuck & Co., Aladdin, and Montgomery Wards, these kit homes were shipped by train, arriving in two boxcars, which then were off-loaded by the purchasers, usually with a team of horse and wagon. In the boxcars was absolutely everything needed to assemble a house, whether it be a vacation cottage, modest bungalow, or two-and-a-half storey home. Literally tens of thousands of these affordable homes were sold in the early 1900s, with most built between 1910-40. In Mail-Order Homes, historical architectural researcher Rebecca Hunter brings to life the history of these charming homes, many of which still stand in communities across the country. From the manufacturers of mail-order homes to the customers who bought and built them, and from the styles and designs to the boom and bust of the industry, Hunter explains the history of these forgotten homes. Filled with illustrations from mail-order home catalogs and contemporary photos, this book tells the story of a bygone era of residential architecture.

Mail Order Bride $16.92 Despite his marriage and perhaps because of his secret stash of Asian porn, a 39-year-old comic books store owner remains a virgin. This graphic novel explores the life of Monty Wheeler and his Korean mail-order bride who, upon her arrival in the western world, begins experience to independence for the first time in her life.

Mail Order Wife (DVD) $9.89 MAIL ORDER WIFE: Filmed in mock documentary style, this dark comedy follows filmmaker Andrew Gurland`s misguided attempts to document the mail-order-bride process. The documentary`s main subject is Adrian (Adrian Martinez), an overweight security guard who drives a beat-up El Dorado and lives in a dumpy house in the Queens borough of New York City. After finding no success in the dating world, Adrian decides to purchase a wife through a mail-order catalogue, with the documentary production company funding the venture in exchange for filming rights. After they write each other several letters, a young Burmese woman named Lichi (Eugenia Yuan) agrees to come to the United States and marry Adrian. Adrian`s expectations for her reveal his true character: he wants her to cook chili and clean the toilet. But when he tries to trick Lichi into getting a sterilization procedure, Andrew (Gurland) attempts to intervene, feeling Adrian has gone too far. Next, Lichi shows up at Andrew`s doorstep to present evidence of Adrian`s abuse, and Andrew feels obligated to help her. As Andrew gets more and more personally involved with both Lichi and Adrian, he becomes a subject in his own film. Despite their obvious class differences and their dislike for each other, antagonists Andrew and Adrian have more in common than either will admit.Filmmakers Gurland and Huck Botko (who use their own names for the characters they play in the film) exploit the comedic potential of the documentary format while also forcing the audience to question their narrator. By forcing the audience to laugh at the most uncomfortable, politically incorrect moments, the filmmakers succeed in making a statement about female objectification and the power imbalances inherent in male-female relationships. This satirical and hilarious film is a true original.

Mail Order Bride (DVD) $9.63 Brooklyn native Danny Aiello stars in this mafia comedy as Uncle Tony, a head NY mobster unimpressed by his nephew Athony's futile attempts to fit in with his family. Determined to toughen the boy up, Tony assigns Anthony to a special task that will really test his character. Paired with Ivan, the comparably weak son of Moscow's biggest mobster, Anthony must go to Russia and retrieve a mail-order bride who pulled a fast one on one of Tony's pals. Through a series of hilarious adventures, Anthony and Ivan might just prove they are tough guys after all. This comedy boasts strong performances from an incredibly diverse cast. In addition, the film really captures the essence of Russian culture through on-location shooting in some of Moscow's most impressive locales.DVD Features:Region (Unknown)Keep CaseFull Frame – 1.33

Mail Order Geniuses (Hardcover) $18.94 This glorious history-and-compilation from Marschall Books is long overdue- filling a hole in the chronicle of America`s cartoon and comics heritage.For generations, there was hardly a major cartoonist or animator in Americanwho had not been a youthful "student" of the many mail-order cartooning"schools" and correspondence courses. At one time these institutions providedrites of passage for aspiring cartoonists, illustrators, and animators.Instant discovery of, and cultivation of, talent invariably was promised bythese schools and books. as was success ("Cartoonists Make Big Money!!!").Thousands of youngsters, over several decades, dutifully bought their tools,set up their bedroom or basement "studios," and laboriously copied the lessonsabout perspective, anatomy, shading, wrinkles, folds, action, animals, thehuman form (ah, the human form). even those little shadows under characters` shoes. Many students mailed their drawingsin and anxiously awaited corrections by the masters themselves (or reasonable facsimiles of celebrity cartoonists).Mail-Order Geniuses surveys the legendary correspondence courses of the Landon School, the Federal School, W LEvans, ZIM, Clare Briggs, Billy DeBeck, Russell Patterson, Jefferson Machamer, Charles Kuhn, Bill Nolan, Joe Musial,Art Instruction Institute, Famous Cartoonists, and others.The book will reproduce the lessons – in truth, many of these courses were excellent teaching tools – including tips,sketches, wisdom, and drawing-board photos of the great cartoonists of their time. Some lesson books will be reprintedin facsimile. The book will also document the many success stories and accomplished students who "graduated" fromthe American institutions of another day – Roy Crane and Milton Caniff were Landon School students; the W L EvansSchool touted a letter from the satisfied, but barely published, student Chester Gould; Charles Schulz`s work as a studentso impressed what is now the Art