July 31, 2018
July 30, 2018
A mind-expanding tour of the cosmos with Neil deGrasse Tyson and Robert Krulwich
July 29, 2018
William S. Burroughs - Ghost of Chance
"William S. Burroughs reads from his novella Ghost of Chance, et al. Recorded August 1980, Naropa University."
July 28, 2018
July 27, 2018
🇮🇳 India | The New Maharajas | 101 East | नए महाराजा
"Extravagant Bollywood weddings, luxury yachts, the finest delicacies and opulent homes. India's billionaires are cashed up and they're not afraid to flaunt it."
July 26, 2018
July 25, 2018
July 23, 2018
July 22, 2018
Martha Martha Martha
"In a peer-reviewed article published in the journal Harvard Theological Review, Duke doctoral student and text critic Elizabeth Schrader argues that Mary Magdalene’s role in the Jesus story was deliberately obscured by those who copied out the Bible in order to dilute the importance of Mary Magdalene."
When Schrader looked at P66, a papyrus codex (book) traditionally dated to the second century which is also the oldest existing manuscript of the story, she noticed something odd. In John 11:1, someone had scratched out the Greek iota (the “I” in Mary) and replaced it with a “th” changing the name of a second Mary to read “Martha.” Then, two verses later, Schrader told me, “the copyist actually splits a woman in two—one woman's name has been scratched out and corrected to say ‘the sisters,’ and the verbs describing the woman are changed from singular to plural.”
July 21, 2018
July 20, 2018
Paro Airport, Bhutan
"Paro Airport in Bhutan is so dangerous that only eight pilots are qualified enough to land there. (Pilots maneuver between mountains, fly within feet of houses, and land on a narrow, 6,500-foot runway.)"
July 19, 2018
Abu Dhabi: The island Kingdom of the Sheikhs
"The Emirate Abu Dhabi was founded on an island, surrounded by a mangrove belt. In the meantime and many skyscrapers and artificially created islands later, the town has become one of the world's most modern metropolises. To ensure that the inhabitants of the sea are not in danger of losing their environment due to this turbo growth, Nathalie Staelens has been brought in.
"The Belgian environment engineer has the task of relocating hawksbill turtles to Saadiyat Island. In doing so, she often requires the services of the lifeguards. She knows that every call means a safe turtle!"
July 18, 2018
The National Writers Series: An Evening with Chip Johannessen
"TV-MA Modern television is now home to some of the best, most engrossing storytelling happening in American culture. Audiences loved last year's evening at NWS with Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, and before that Mad Men writers and producers Janet Leahy and Lisa Albert. This exclusive, one-of-a-kind event has become a signature evening and much anticipated by National Writers Series audiences. The National Writers Series is proud to present An Evening with Chip Johannessen,
"One of television's most creative and successful writers and producers, Chip Johannessen is Executive Producer and writer of Homeland. Critics have hailed Homeland as the best thing on television, period. Think of this drama as a 'filmed' story you might read in The New Yorker, influenced by deep character study and gripping suspense. On January 13, 2013, Homeland was television's big winner of the evening at the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards. Stars Claire Danes and Damian Lewis won Best Actress and Best Actor in a television drama, and Homeland was named
"Best Television Drama. Johannessen brought pages from his favorite scripts to accompany a select reel of Homeland moments. Chip Johannessen will take you backstage as he and Doug Stanton explore how Homeland is brought to life from script to screen."
July 17, 2018
Uncharted - Live Action Fan Film (2018)
"Nathan Fillion is Nathan Drake in this live action Uncharted short film by Director Allan Ungar. Based on the video game series by Naughty Dog."
July 16, 2018
Mick Karn and Angie Bowie (March 11, 1982)
"This is kind of nuts: in March of 1982, Angela Bowie, the former Mrs. David, appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test, reciting poetry, while Mick Karn (RIP 2011), the brilliant bass player from the glam/New Romantic band Japan, vamped on bass. Karn was predictably amazing, but Bowie’s poetry was savaged in the UK press. Getting a drubbing from the notoriously drub-happy British media doesn’t necessarily mean something was actually bad, and I’ve attended readings of far worse poetry than Angie Bowie’s. However, it must be conceded that it seems doubtful she would have been invited onto that program to recite poetry in the first place had she been just anyone not called 'Bowie.'"
Origin stories - Kryptonite
"An unpublished 1940 story titled 'The K-Metal from Krypton', written by Superman creator Jerry Siegel, featured a prototype of kryptonite. It was a mineral from the planet Krypton that drained Superman of his strength while giving superhuman powers to mortals.
The mineral known as kryptonite was introduced in the story arc 'The Meteor from Krypton' in June 1943 on The Adventures of Superman radio series.[citation needed] Since radio shows had to be performed live, when Clayton 'Bud' Collyer (who played Superman/Clark Kent) wanted to take a vacation from the series Superman was placed in a kryptonite trap. A stand-in groaned with pain for several episodes until Collyer came back from his vacation."
July 15, 2018
John Cleese - In Conversation with Graham Johnson & John Ford
Royal Geographical Society, Sunday July 8, 2018
July 14, 2018
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle - Carmina Burana (1975)
"But, to the film: Sex. There's a lot of sexual references in this thing. So much that one wonders if director Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden had anything else in mind (or on his mind for that matter during shooting) when he conceived this project. But, he's not the only one, for Orff himself wrote the piece as an ode and celebration of life. The message is to not take life too seriously, and to enjoy life for what it is. If that means finding the person of your fancy and bedding them, then so be it.
"We don't see much sex, just a lot of sexual imagery and innuendo. There's the whole Christian thing going on here conflicting with people's natural instincts and desires. All the high minded spiritual stuff is there, but essentially gets shelved, for men and women need one another. The two meet, fancy one another, and the woman challenges her man to prove his worth. He rises to the occasion, and through the struggle they come to couple. 'It's the way of things' (to borrow from Boorman)."
July 13, 2018
The Karakoram Highway: from China to Pakistan
"The Karakoram Highway (KKH) runs from Kashgar in Western China to Islamabad in Pakistan, and isn't so much a highway as a 'high road'. It took a stunning 20 years to finish the road, and even today it continues to suffer from extreme weather and environmental disasters.
"The KKH runs through the highest concentration of soaring mountain peaks and raging rivers in the world, and is generally considered to be among the most spectacular areas on our planet. Traveling here isn't for the faint hearted, although transportation has improved significantly in the past decades.
"In October 2010 I had the chance to travel the Karakoram Highway. Although Pakistan had suffered its worst floods in recent history the same year, most parts of the road were still intact. Nevertheless, traveling the road proved a massive challenge and also a great adventure. As these events had scared off many tourists and travelers, I found myself among locals for nearly all of the time."
July 11, 2018
ADVChina - Are NEW Chinese buildings really FALLING DOWN?
"Ghost Cities in China. Real estate bubbles. We've toured Chinese ghost towns in the past, but this time we visit a high end neighborhood of villas that were only built 3 years ago, and were shocked to see the state that they were in. We were surrounded by new buildings, that were completely empty. This is the state of real estate in China."
July 10, 2018
Paris Air Show (June 20, 2017)
"Lockheed Martin's F-35 fifth generation stealth fighter shows off for the first time in public at the 2017 Paris Air Show. The plane must win over its critics. It cost a staggering $ 100 billion to develop and comes ten years late, after major software rewriting. Some say it fails to beat older jets because it was built as an all-purpose plane. It competes with the Dassault Rafale for customers around the world. The French public enthousiastically applauds the French plane's acrobatics, but F-35 pilots stress their plane's superior slow speed handling and high-angle-of-attack capability, steep vertical climbing and sharp turning allowing for 'square' loopings. Some say the plane's range seems rather limited, but Lockheed responds the F-35 is designed to engage or fire at any target long before it can be detected."
July 09, 2018
July 08, 2018
Privacy And Power: A year In The Life Of Prince Albert Of Monaco (2012)
"For one year, our cameras followed the Prince in his daily head of state and family. Twelve key moments of a year of reign behind the scenes of princely palaces and abroad. His personal office atop one of the towers of the palace (rarely filmed) to the most private rooms where he always meets with the family, sports events in charitable prestigious galas, political obligations very personal passion, Monaco or abroad, the ruler of Monaco sharing for the first time his public and private life ... A topic not to be missed, in which man is surrounded by his top aides, his wife and his whole family to reveal its personality and intimate answer the questions related to his reign."
July 07, 2018
The Doombolt Chase - Ep. 1 Court of Shame
"The Doombolt Chase is a naval-themed British science fiction/action television series aimed at a teenage audience. It was broadcast between 12 March and 16 April 1978, as a six-episode series. It was also broadcast in Canada on TVOntario in 1978 and in Germany in 1979 under the title Geheimprojekt Doombolt ("Secret Project Doombolt")."
July 02, 2018
North Brother Island
"Less than a mile from Manhattan — one of the priciest and most densely populated places in the world — sits a mysterious island that people abandoned more than half a century ago."