A nightly pause from the news to give the reader/viewer a bit of classic entertainment.
An evening pause: Though Gustav Holst entitled the fourth movement of his The Planets suite Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, its sweeping melody has always invoked for me the open and majestic plains and mountains of the American west. Sir Charles Mackerras conducts the BBC Philharmonic orchestra.
An evening pause: Here’s another Rube Goldberg machine, this time created for a music video from the band OK Go.
An evening pause: The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain doing the music (with sound effects!) from the film The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966).
An evening pause: As today is the day in which our Founding Fathers ratified the Constitution, I thought it might be worthwhile to allow Andrew Klavan the opportunity to give us his “A Young Person’s Guide to the United States Constitution.” To quote: We are going to have a little civics lesson, to make up for what you’ve been learning in school.
An evening pause: Though this sequence of shots from a 1922 Kodak test of Kodachrome film (possibly the earliest in existence) is hardly the stuff of drama, it is fascinating nonetheless, as it gives as an honest glimpse into the culture of its time. As you watch the different women pose for the camera, ask yourself: Has anything changed?
An evening pause: Though appearing somewhat hokey today, the original Star Trek is still one of the most intelligent television show ever produced, with decent writing that often expressed profound ideas. And it was about space exploration and the future! The clip below, from the episode Mirror, Mirror, illustrates all these things perfectly. And Kirk’s speech to the Spock from the alternative-universe expresses beautifully the significance of each individual’s responsibility to the world.
“One man cannot summon the future,” says the bearded Spock.
“But one man can change the present,” responds Kirk.
An evening pause: How about some more hiking on the edge of the world? This is the Knife’s Edge trail on Mount Katahdin, Baxter State Park, Maine.
An evening pause: The Westerner (1940). Gary Cooper is wonderful, but it is Walter Brennan as Judge Roy Bean who steals the show.
An evening pause:. September 11, 2001. Nine years ago. We mustn’t forget. Such evil must be faced, and defeated.
An evening pause: From Stephen Sondheim’s Pacific Overture, the song “Someone in a Tree,” from the 1976 Broadway production.
It’s the fragment, not the day
It’s the pebble, not the stream
It’s the ripple, not the sea
That is happening.
Not the building but the beam
Not the garden but the stone
Only cups of tea
And history
And someone in a tree.
An evening pause: The opening from the 1964 film, Robinson Crusoe on Mars. Though quickly dated by real events in the 1960s space race, this entertaining and surprisingly rational film shows how a determined man can survive, if he simply uses his brain.
An evening pause: One week ago today the rocket company ATK test fired the first stage solid rocket motor of the Ares I rocket. At the moment, no one knows if this rocket will even be built, as the Obama administration opposes it while Congress argues a variety of options. Regardless, watch this video of the test and you will understand why it is fun ito build rockets.
An evening pause: This clip is only one segment from what Johnny Carson himself considered the best Tonight Show of all time. George Gobel comes on last and steals the show. Also, watch Dean Martin closely during the segment.
An evening pause: My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Hayao Miyazaki’s classic animated film. This short segment near the film’s beginning, showing the family’s arrival in a new home, illustrates Miyazaki’s incredible ability for creating real characters in a real story, even if that story has a fantasy element.
An evening pause: Lawrence of Arabia (1962). One of the greatest epic films ever made. And though the story is heavily dramatized, it captures quite accurately the substance and reality of T.E. Lawrence’s time in the Middle East during World War I. Sadly, I wonder if anything has changed.
An evening pause: Bugs Bunny in Water Water Every Hare. “In my business you meet so many interesting people.”
An evening pause: The Snake Pit (1948). The story of the rescue of an insane woman (played by Olivia de Havilland). This scene expresses the longing for sanity by all the patients in the insane asylum.
An evening pause: From the 1960s Dick van Dyke Show, Laura Petrie (played by Mary Tyler Moore) has revealed to the world the fact that her husband’s boss, television star Alan Brady (played by Carl Reiner), is bald and wears a toupee. The scene in which she tries to apologize to Brady is probably one of television’s funniest scenes.
An evening pause: Let’s take another hike in a place most people wouldn’t want to go. This time, to Mount Huashan in central China. This is a holy mountain with a temple at the top. To get there you need to climb up a lot of steps along an exposed ridgeline. Eventually, you must also put on a harness and do what is called the plank walk. Enjoy!
