Category: The Evening Pause
A nightly pause from the news to give the reader/viewer a bit of classic entertainment.
Sputnik
To duck or not to duck
Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling
Playing catch with a cat
Dancing robots
The Snowbird Human-Powered Ornithopter
An evening pause: August 2, 2010: The first flight of a human powered ornithopter, an aircraft propelled by flapping wings.
An evening pause: August 2, 2010: The first flight of a human powered ornithopter, an aircraft propelled by flapping wings.
Hand Dance – Up & Over It
Fort Apache (1948)
An evening pause: Henry Fonda and John Wayne in Fort Apache (1948).
“Sergeant, pour me some scripture.”
Stairway to heaven Hawaii
Yankee Doodle Daffy
Slot Canyon
An evening pause: A walk through an unidentified slot canyon somewhere on the Colorado Plateau in the Navaho reservation.
Field of gold played by Sungha Jung
An evening pause: Fields of Gold, played by Sungha Jung. Man, can this kid play the guitar!
Holst’s Jupiter movement from The Planets
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.
Lady of Shalott sung by Loreena McKennitt
A real cat burgler
Rube Goldberg music video
An evening pause: Here’s another Rube Goldberg machine, this time created for a music video from the band OK Go.
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
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).
The day the Constitution was ratified
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.
Earliest Kodak color tests
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?
Mirror, Mirror
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.
Knife’s Edge trail on Mount Katahdin
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.
The Argument Clinic
The Westerner
An evening pause: The Westerner (1940). Gary Cooper is wonderful, but it is Walter Brennan as Judge Roy Bean who steals the show.
September 11, 2001
An evening pause:. September 11, 2001. Nine years ago. We mustn’t forget. Such evil must be faced, and defeated.
Corny Concerto
Someone in a tree
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.
Robinson Crusoe on Mars
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.
Ares I first stage test firing
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.