Welcome back!

Hi all…

Sometime in the mid 1980s, I was exposed to Monty Python. It was, of course, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which of course stunted my growth and imprinted itself upon my brain to the point where Python lines began creeping into every day conversation. My parents were appalled. Neither could stand the humorous antics of these men dressed up in costumes banging coconuts together to make clip-clopping noises.

Yes, it’s true. I’m a Monty Python addict. But nothing really prepared me for the depth of Monty Python: Almost The Truth. As a Monty Python fan, I learned things I had never known before in each and every episode. Because of this, I will recommend to all of my closest friends (most of them Python fans) that they must watch the series on A&E and pick up the DVD set.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. So why is this such a ground-breaking documentary series? Because, like all great documentaries, it presents information that you may or may not have heard before in such a way as to make you think about things more deeply. I never knew how the Monty Python troupe came together or what they did before. It simply wasn’t something I considered prior to watching this series.

Starting with Episode 1, we learn the humble beginnings of each member of the troupe and how they found their funny bones on their own or in pairs before eventually finding their way together for Monty Python’s Flying Circus. By the time you get to Episode 4, you realize that not only are they very funny and talented, but they’ve all gone through some rough times as artists and people. And by Episode 6, you come to find that they’ve all found ways to move beyond Python and find their own ways in the world.

Some of the startling facts that I learned from Monty Python: Almost The Truth:

• Terry Gilliam had a life before Python in the magazine business.
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail was financed by a bunch of big name bands in the 1970s, including Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Jethro Tull.
• Graham Chapman was an amazingly functional alcoholic. I always knew he had alcohol issues in the Flying Circus days, but I didn’t realize how much.

Documentaries are often long, dreary, boring affairs. But Monty Python: Almost The Truth couldn’t be further from the norm. All the way through I felt entertained and educated.

When you arrive at Disc 3, you find a collection of sketches, extended interviews, interview outtakes, and the Terry Gilliam Picture Gallery. Among the sketches are three of my favorites – “The Parrot Sketch,” “Ministry of Silly Walks,” and “The Cheese Shop.” The fact that these guys could sit down and write lines like “He’s off the twig! He’s kicked the bucket, He’s shuffled off his mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!”, the absolutely insane list of cheeses from around the world that is somehow made funny by the fact that the proprietor of the cheese shop has no cheese at all, and then the simple yet odd physical comedy of John Cleese doing his silly walk… It makes me laugh just to think of any of them.

As I said at the beginning, this collection is a must have for any serious Monty Python fan. Rush to your favorite retailer and pick up your copy of Monty Python: Almost The Truth today. You won’t be sorry!

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up this and other Monty Python DVDs below!

Related articles by Zemanta

• In praise of… Monty Python’s Flying Circus (guardian.co.uk)
• Television: On Comedy’s Flying Trapeze (nytimes.com)
• Terry Gilliam Talks Python, ‘Dr. Parnassus’ (abcnews.go.com)
• Theater Review | ‘An Evening Without Monty Python’: And Now for Something Just a Little Bit Different (theater2.nytimes.com)
• Not the Parrot Sketch: 9 Monty Python Bits You Might’ve Missed (wired.com)
• Monty Python marks 40 years of silliness (cnn.com)
• The Monty Python Revolution (telegraph.co.uk)
• Monty Python turns 40 (nationalpost.com)
• Pythons reunite for Bafta award (news.bbc.co.uk)

Hi all…

Though I’ve never been to Yellowstone, it’s hard to ignore its beauty, let alone its importance to conservation efforts around the world. Yellowstone was the first National Park established by the U.S. Congress in 1872. It spans an area nearly 3,500 square miles at nearly 8,000 feet above sea level and is crisscrossed with geysers, rivers, forests, and Yellowstone Lake. Home to nearly 60 species of mammals – wolves, lynx, elk, grizzly bears, moose, pronghorn, and many others – Yellowstone attracts nearly 2 million visitors every year.

Yellowstone: Battle for Life should encourage many more visitors to take the journey. Narrated by Peter Firth, this documentary from BBC Earth contains three hour-long episodes that focus on nearly an entire year in the park, as well as some cool extras.

The series starts in “Winter” and introduces viewers to this harsh, frozen world dominated by the Druid Peak wolves and stalwart buffalo herds in the park. The longer the winter goes, the weaker the animals in the park become, making them easier targets for the wolves. And at the end of winter, the bears emerge from hibernation, hungry and eager to find any food hidden under the snow and ice.

One of the amazing scenes in this episode was of a red fox hunting mice. As the mice would move beneath the snow, the fox would listen from above – cautiously and quietly moving close enough for an aerobatic dive to get at its dinner. Simply beautiful.

From Winter we move to “Summer”, which encompasses Spring and the beginning of Summer in Yellowstone. As life returns to the park. Grizzly bear moms and their cubs are on the hunt for shoots, berries, and fish to fill empty bellies. But they are not alone – male bears are also on the prowl and are a danger to her cubs. As the Spring thaw begins, bison move down to pastures soon to become lush and green once more.

And when “Autumn” arrives, Winter isn’t far behind. Male elk begin their battles for supremacy before retreating to warmer valleys to wait again until Spring. However, what really caught me off guard was the footage of the beavers working in the ponds along riverbanks building their dams and storing food for winter.

In addition to the three episodes, there are three extras that tell stories of some of the people who keep Yellowstone going. One about the man who clears snow off the many man-made structures in the park for five months out of the year. One about the folks who watch the geysers erupt in an attempt to both document the events for scientific study, but to also inform park guests about likely eruption times. And the last is about a man who swims in the Yellowstone River and is passionate about making sure the indigenous cutthroat trout of the region win their battle against the lake trout imported for sport fishing in the region.

As always, the BBC has done an amazing job capturing the breathtaking beauty of Yellowstone. Add to that the depth of the information provided through narration and the music by E dward Butt, and you have an engrossing and entertaining documentary. At times, with the amazing flyover footage of the park, I almost felt like I was watching a feature film.

If you are a fan of nature documentaries, especially the latest series of great shows such as Planet Earth, Earth, and Nature’s Most Amazing Events, Yellowstone: Battle for Life should be at the top of your list. Be sure to check it out at your local rental or retail video store.

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up this and other great nature documentaries from Amazon below!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Judge Nixes Grizzly Hunting (seattlepi.com)
• Don’t mess with Yellowstone’s grizzlies: Bears are back on endangered list (dailyfinance.com)
• Blu-ray Review: Yellowstone – Battle For Life (blogcritics.org)
• The National Parks: What’s Missing? (timesunion.com)
• Yellowstone Bison Could Go to Turner’s Mont. Ranch (abcnews.go.com)

Hi all…

Every now and then we get to witness events in nature on the big screen or television that are just astounding. In 2007, Planet Earth from the BBC and the Discovery Channel came to America, narrated by Sigourney Weaver and showed an amazing array of life on our planet in glorious HD quality. Since then, I think the BBC and other documentary filmmakers have been working hard to top themselves.

Though Nature’s Most Amazing Events is an incredible accomplishment, I don’t think it quite matches up to the splendor or Planet Earth. That said, it includes some unbelievable footage shot of some inhospitable and nearly unreachable places all over the globe over a period of years by extremely dedicated people. However, where Planet Earth had little time to focus on a single area and the stories of individual animals, Nature’s Most Amazing Events uses storytelling to create an emotional bond with the audience.

This 2-DVD set includes all six episodes from the series, and appends a “diary” to the end of each. Each diary tells the stories of the filmmakers as they were trying to get to these places and record the footage used for the episode.

Narrated by David Attenborough, his very correct British accent only made it difficult to understand what he was saying in a few places. Notably, each time he said “school” we heard it as “shoal,” which caused a bit of confusion for myself and my family. But once we figured out he was saying “school,” we understood exactly what it was he’d been saying.

In “The Great Melt,” you learn about the impact of global warming on the Arctic ice and the dangers the increased melting poses for the polar bears. However, beyond the polar bears you begin to see the huge circle of life as melting ice sends fresh water into the sea and creates habitats for an incredible array of fish, birds, seals, whales, and more. We were particularly amazed by the shots of the narwhal migration through the ice. Though I’d seen pictures of these mysterious creatures before, actually seeing them wind their way through the canals and cracks opening in the melting ice was beautiful to behold.

“The Great Migration” and “The Great Flood” told stories of the animals of Africa dealing with hostile and often deadly environmental conditions, yet somehow finding ways to survive in the Serengeti and Bostswana’s Okavango Delta. We were blown away by the transformation of the Okavango from cracked and dried sandy plains to a lush, green field and swamp with bountiful fish, grasses, and wildlife.

But I think our favorites were “The Great Salmon Run” and “The Great Tide”. In “The Great Salmon Run” we follow salmon as they migrated back to the place where they were spawned in British Columbia. Along the way there are natural barriers to overcome as well as hungry predators. In “The Great Tide,” billions of sardines draw thousands of predators to the coasts of South Africa for a feeding frenzy beyond belief.

The photography was top notch for all of the episodes and they really do bring you as close to the action as you could possibly be without actually being there yourself. Definitely an amazing accomplishment by a devoted and talented crew of people all around the world.

Beyond the episodes themselves we were captivated when the “diary” for each episode would appear. These filmmakers are not only consummate professionals as far as camera-work goes, but are all adventurous souls who deserve to have their own stories told. In “The Great Salmon Run,” one cameraman swam with Grizzly Bears who were starving and trying to catch the salmon while he took footage of them doing it. Talk about nerves of steel. And in “The Great Tide” we saw an experienced underwater photographer get his flipper nibbled on by a shark. These people deserve our admiration for their courage and dedication to their craft.

If you are a nature lover or are simply captivated by the beautiful documentaries coming out in high definition these days, Nature’s Most Amazing Events should be on your list of DVDs to pick up. Each story is truly beautiful to behold. I can hardly wait to see what the BBC will do next.

–Fitz

p.s. Be sure to pick up Nature’s Most Amazing Events at Amazon below:

Related articles by Zemanta

• Television Review | ‘Nature’s Most Amazing Events’: Pretty Clouds, Vistas and Sardines, Too (nytimes.com)
• Interview: David Attenborough (telegraph.co.uk)
• ‘Planet Earth’ Rocks (or Even Waltzes). You Pick. (nytimes.com)

Hi there…

When I first saw the title and description for Every Picture Tells a Story, where art critic Waldemar Januszczak (The Sunday Times, U.K.) explores the history of eight different paintings from master artists such as Gainsborough, da Vinci, and Monet, I thought I would be taken on an interesting ride into art history. My eldest daughter has become very intrigued by different classical painters and techniques, and I hoped this would be something we could do together to learn about some of these masterpieces.

Though I know Januszczak is brilliant and knows his art, this has to be one of the driest explorations of art on record – at least for the casual art lover. He presents a ton of information about each painting, and does find some quite curious conspiracies and gossip about each of them. But he does it with such dry British wit that I found myself dozing off between segments. This DVD collection is meant for more serious lovers of art history than we currently have at my house.

That said, I have to say I was impressed with the depth each episode goes to for each painting. Not only does the host talk about the style of art itself, but about what was going on during the historical period of the painter, where the work was done, and in some cases what other artists and writers were doing during the period in question. And to spice it up a bit, he also relates some of the gossip surrounding each work.

Each episode is less than 25 minutes and Januszczak does his best to make sure the whole episode isn’t filmed inside a museum with shots of him and the painting. For example, when discussing Thomas Gainsborough’s “Mr and Mrs Andrews,” he filmed segments from the tree which was in the background of the painting. It provided an interesting backdrop to the discussion of what was proper at the time and how the area has changed since the 18th century. And when discussing “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp” he traveled to the Netherlands and explored the locations where people would gather to watch autopsies for fun.

The eight episodes are on 2 DVDs and include discussions of “Mr and Mrs Andrews” (Gainsborough), “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp” (Rembrandt), “The Tempest” (Giorgione), “The Birth of Venus” (Botticelli), “Boy Bitten by a Lizard” (Caravaggio), “Mona Lisa” (Leonardo da Vinci), “Le dejeuner sur l’herbe” (Manet), and “The Arnolfini Marriage” (Jan van Eyck).

In addition to each episode, there is “The Rest of the Story”, which provides additional background on each episode in a Q&A format, as well as a biography for each artist and a booklet. The booklet includes a summary of each episode, with a image of the painting being discussed as well as a set of questions to consider, a list of other works discussed, and a bibliography for further investigation.

Every Picture Tells a Story was not my cup of tea, but I can definitely see its use as an educational aid for high school or college art classes. Januszczak has a firm grasp of the historical significance of each masterpiece and his love for the arts is evident. If you are an art student or teacher, I’d definitely recommend picking it up.

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up Every Picture Tells a Story at Amazon below!

Related articles by Zemanta

• The French Discover the Warhol Aesthetic a Couple Years Too Late (jossip.com)
• Giant Mona Lisa goes on display in the Louvre (news.bbc.co.uk)
• Why it pays to be alone with the truly great works of art (guardian.co.uk)

Hi all…

When I went to college in the late 1980s, I was introduced to the music Depeche Mode (DM). There was a guy on my dorm floor who listened to DM 24-7 at an earth-shaking volume. I didn’t immediately take to their music. But after a couple of years, Violator was released and somehow the world changed. Violator connected with some dark part of my being I didn’t really know I had up to that point.

Violator was the beginning of my love for DM. Though the media went crazy for “Personal Jesus,” I was drawn to “Enjoy the Silence,” “Policy of Truth,” and “Clean”. From then on, when a new DM album was released, I’d pick it up after a couple of months and digest it…

Songs of Faith and Devotion and Ultra also rang true with me with songs such as “Walking in My Shoes” and “Home”. Exciter didn’t do much for me and I think I purchased one track from Playing the Angel, so my love for new DM music faded a bit early in this decade. However, the recent release of Sounds of the Universe has me flying high again with songs like “In Chains,” “Wrong,” and “Peace.”

Suffice it to say, I’m a DM fan. Unfortunately, my knowledge of the band’s history was nonexistent. I knew they’d been around for a while before Violator, but I knew little beyond that. So Depeche Mode – The Dark Progression was a gift from the heavens.

When I heard about the documentary, I knew I had to watch. And I now understand so much more about the genesis of the group and the ecosystem which spawned such groups as OMD, The Cars, Tears for Fears, and others. Though the band didn’t directly contribute any interviews to this documentary, it included pictures, bits of earlier interviews and footage from concerts back to Music for the Masses when they started their rise to fame and fortune.

What’s interesting about the documentary itself was the interviews with other people from the era that created DM. People like Gary Numan (The Cars), Thomas Dolby, and Andy McCluskey (OMD) who were part of the electronic and New Wave movement of the ’80s and ’90s had many things to say about how fickle American audiences were at the time and how grateful they were to ride on DM’s coattails as they shot to stardom.

The documentary also includes interviews of some of the producers of DM records such as Gareth Jones, Dave Bascombe, Phil Legg, and Steve Lyon. Each saw different phases of DM’s career as they worked on developing an identity and changed over the years.

The interviews, pictures, and footage from DM’s early days on are mixed beautifully to provide a structure and timeline by which you can see and hear the progression from dance music to the socially questioning tracks later in their careers.

From my perspective, it was informative to see DM go from tracks like “Just Can’t Get Enough” to “People are People,” “Strangelove,” “Personal Jesus,” and beyond. What a transformation from those early days with Vince Clarke to Alan Wilder’s keyboard influences and the post-Wilder era. If you listen to the Clarke-era of DM and then listen to Yaz or Erasure, it’s very easy to hear what he contributed to those early days. But once Wilder was on board, I think a bit of the darkness that DM is known for became more prevalent and has continued.

In addition to the main documentary, there is an extra called “Playing for the Masses” that includes some additional bits of the interviews strung together. Thomas Dolby and Andy McCluskey chat about the DM concert at Rose Bowl Stadium for the Music for the Masses tour.

My only complaint with the DVD is that it doesn’t include any new interview material from current band members Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andrew Fletcher, or ex-band members Vince Clarke or Alan Wilder. That would have turned this from a good documentary to a great one.

If you don’t know much about DM’s early days, Depeche Mode – The Dark Progression is a wonderful way to get your feet wet and see how DM rose over the last 30 years to become the iconic band they are today. Be sure to check it out when it is released on June 16, 2009!

(For another view of this documentary, be sure to check out Luigi Bastardo’s article here.)

–Fitz

p.s. Click below to pick up the documentary and other Depeche Mode albums at Amazon:

Related articles by Zemanta

• A sobering interview with Depeche Mode (cnn.com)
• Depeche Mode’s “Songs Of Faith And Devotion” turns 16 (theredradio.typepad.com)
• Depeche Mode – Sounds of the Universe (CD/DVD) (henkjanvanderklis.nl)
• The Sounds Of Depeche Mode’s Universe Are Made By Vintage Synths [Leak Of The Day] (idolator.com)

Hi there!

Somehow, I managed to miss all of the episodes of The Universe when they aired on the History Channel initially. So when I sat down to watch the 12 episodes on The Universe: The Complete Season Three DVD collection, I found my inner “space geek” like I was as a child.

The Universe focuses on the sciences pertaining to our knowledge and understanding of the universe. This includes everything from traveling at light speed to distant galaxies and the potential of a “multiverse” of parallel universes to the possibility of planetary devastation due to an asteroid or comet strike and the many possible shapes and purposes of life on other worlds. Watching with my family, we were glued to the screen for each and every episode, learning from of the greatest minds in the space sciences.

Each episode uses a combination of interviews, narration, and computer imagery and animation to explain a topic, providing an incredible glimpse into the probable and the possible in terms of manned or robotic space exploration, theoretical physics, and the profound beauty, complexity, and simplicity of the stars.

Among the episodes I found the most interesting were “Parallel Universes” and “Alien Faces.”

“Parallel Universes” touches upon the prevailing theories of multiple universes. One theory is that the universe is simply so huge that there must be a duplicate of our own solar system somewhere else, right down to the individuals on planet earth. Another theory is that other universes exist in the same physical location as ours, but in different dimensions. (This was a theory recently explored on the TV series Fringe on FOX this past year.) And then there’s a theory that all of these other universes exist in a “multiverse” of possibilities.

In “Alien Faces” we go on a fictional safari into deep space in the future where we’ve discovered planets capable of sustaining life like we’ve never seen before. From artificial robot-like species to animals and plants adapted to high-gravity or water worlds, artists and scientists created an amazing array of computer animation to show us some imaginative and amazing creatures in these alien habitats. Among our favorites were the insect who started its life in the water, built a cocoon under water and then uses a balloon to rise to the surface and drift to dry land elsewhere.

But not all episodes flowed as well for me from beginning to end.

For example, “Sex in Space” is a sensational headline to get you to watch an episode about reproduction in space and space tourism. The content of the episode for the most part was great, discussing the difficulties that reproductive systems that have developed in an environment with gravity would face entering a microgravity environment. And the discussion of space tourism and a planned space cruise ship was interesting, since it focused on the commercial space race instead of government-sponsored space travel. But couldn’t they have come up with a better title?

Overall, I think The Universe is an amazing series for space junkies like myself. It’s great to once again become swept up in the enthusiasm and optimism of human travel in space and our ever-expanding knowledge of the universe around us. If you’re interested in any of the space sciences, I’d encourage you to pick up The Universe: The Complete Season Three to learn some of the current thinking about space travel and beyond!

–Fitz

p.s. Click on the images below to pick up your own copy of The Universe on DVD at Amazon:

Related articles by Zemanta

• SPACE.com Forums: Does Space Have Boundaries? (space.com)
• Earth’s Dwindling Resources Drive Space Exploration (space.com)

Hi there!

Don Wildman is back and exploring the dark, unseen corners of the world in the 13 episodes of Cities of the Underworld: The Complete Season Three. Once again, Wildman finds adventure in the unlikeliest of places, bringing stories to life previously unheard and unknown by the public.

As with the previous seasons, host Wildman gets down, dirty, and sometimes dangerous going into the amazing and forgotten places that sometimes lay right beneath our feet in each episode of Cities of the Underworld. We often forget that over time, human habitation tends to reuse good locations – sometimes going as far as building on top of the ruins left by prior generations.

And with almost childlike enthusiasm and curiosity, Wildman enters the unknown with a camera crew and cool surveillance equipment to share his discoveries. That’s part of what makes the series work. Wildman exhibits the same fascination with these places as normal people would. And luckily for us, he gets dirty and we get to watch from the safety of our living rooms.

In Season Three, Don explores historical sites from both modern and ancient times, sharing not only his own observations, but the stories of others who share his passion for the past. From Los Angeles and Las Vegas to ancient Ethiopia and Rome, he takes us to places and times we may never see any other way.

“Land of Manson” takes us behind the scenes of bootlegger hideouts beneath the streets of Los Angeles where crooked cops aided and profited from the illegal liquor trade of the Prohibition. From there, we visit a forgotten “Ghost Station” from a lost subway system in Los Angeles shut down by the auto industry to kickstart car sales. And then we see the Death Valley ranch where Charles Manson and his girls lived away from prying eyes in the time before they were convicted of murder.

In “City of Blood” we go beneath the streets of London to the many dark, dank places where infamous killers such as Jack the Ripper and Sweeney Todd would hide their nefarious activities from the authorities trying to stop them. We also learn of the body thieves stealing fresh corpses and selling them to medical schools when such bodies were hard to come by legally.

And in “Tunnels of Hell” we learn more of Okinawa during the dark days of World War II. One of the war’s bloodiest battles was fought on and off the islands’ shores and many thousands of soldiers and civilians alike lost their lives fighting for what they believed in. Wildman even dives deep enough with special scuba gear to see one of the U.S. Navy ships downed by kamikaze pilots during the battle, capturing amazing images of the holes blown in the sides of the vessel and the monument placed there much later commemorating the deaths of those on board.

Wildman makes the history of these places come alive through his own narration, interviews with experts, and first-hand accounts of more modern events, making this a fun and educational program. If you haven’t seen it yet, I recommend you check out Cities of the Underworld on the History Channel and the Cities of the Underworld: The Complete Season Three DVD collection. Who says history has to be boring?

–Fitz

p.s. Click below to pick up the Cities of the Underworld DVD sets at Amazon!

Related articles by Zemanta

• DVD Review: Cities of the Underworld: The Complete Season Two (writer.fitzhome.com)

Hi there!

How many stone monuments do you think are in the British Isles? Any guesses? What would you say if you learned that there were nearly 1,000 stone circles in the U.K.? What if I told you that if you added the other monuments, such as stone rows, long barrows, cairns, standing stones, and so on, you’d end up with tens of thousands of monuments?

I was shocked too. The popular media has made us think that Stonehenge is the only big stone monument in the Isles, but there’s obviously much more than that.

With Standing with Stones, writer and presenter Rupert Soskin hopes to share his knowledge and fondness for these mysterious places. A renowned naturalist and writer, Soskin has been exploring the stone monuments most of his life and has a few theories to share. But even with his theories and those he relates from other archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians — we just don’t know enough about these sites to tell how they were used or why they were built.

Some of the monuments have astronomical significance, built to predict the winter and summer solstices or the position of the sun, moon, and stars. Others are remnants of objects used by the Romans to measure distance, like the London Stone which has been used to denote the center of London for measurements. But most of them are complete unknowns.

Throughout the documentary, Soskin takes viewers on a tour of more than 100 monuments scattered across England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and the smaller islands of the U.K. It took Soskin and documentarian Michael Bott more than two years, living in a camper-van for a month at a time, as they traveled thousands of miles recording footage.

Was the journey worth it? Definitely. Whereas nature documentaries such as Planet Earth have stunning high definition video of living creatures inhabiting the planet, Soskin and Bott somehow managed to capture the amazing natural beauty of these stone sites in a way I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. Breathtaking shots of landscapes dotted with these neolithic, bronze, or iron-age monuments left me wanting to hop on a plane and visit them myself.

And Soskin’s presentation weaves humor, humility, and intelligence together as he provides some context for these sites. It’s obvious that he has a passion for them and wants to share it. And he does a wonderful job as our congenial, informative tour guide.

That said, it’s the cinematography that sticks with me. Yes, I listened and learned quite a bit about these many sites I’d never even heard of. But the brilliant shots in daylight, fog, or even the dead of night are simply amazing.

When you add in cool computer-generated graphics of the theories discussed, including how some of the sites may have looked before the stones were removed for other purposes along with the entertaining presentation and beautiful high definition video, you have an amazing experience lasting more than two hours.

My only complaint about the DVD is the gaps between chapters of the documentary itself. I don’t know if it was my DVD player or the way the disc was made, but there were gaps of a few seconds where the picture would go black as it loaded the next chapter.

In addition to the documentary itself, you get quite a large number of extras.

The “Interview” included provides a great deal of background from Soskin and Bott on the making of the film. The project has been in the works since 2001 and the duo discuss how it came to be and their goals for the film.

The “Outtakes” feature includes a number of bloopers caught while filming. Soskin, like any other narrator or actor, sometimes takes several tries before getting a line right. It’s obvious his sense of humor helps him through those rough patches.

Some “Unseen Footage” shows some of the clips cut from the film while they shot it. It was very interesting to see the camera work and how weather affected their shots.

The “Original TV Pilot Film” that was made in 2001 is included on the DVD. Originally the Soskin and Bott’s idea was for a number of short segments on television. But after they shot the first 10 minute film, they decided that it was untenable due to schedules and weather. Instead, the duo took it upon themselves to write, shoot, and edit the film.

Also included is a short trailer for the film, a slide show with 72 slides covering the making of the film, and commentary from Soskin and Bott.

If you’ve ever wanted to know more about some of the stone monument mysteries of the British Isles, Standing with Stones is a great way to learn more. In addition, the high definition video provides a beautiful way to tour parts of the U.K. without actually getting a plane ticket!

For more information about the film, be sure to check out the Standing with Stones website.

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up your copy of the DVD and the companion book at Amazon:

Hi all…

How do you define the term “culture” when it applies to a people? It is so much more than a set of traditions or language. It also is the embodiment of a way of life by a group of people. In a time where change to the environment and societal perceptions at large affect us at a monumental rate, we stand to lose many of these other ways of life at an alarming pace.

In Light at the Edge of the World, host Wade Davis introduces us to four disparate cultures separated not only by physical distance, but philosophical differences as well, and how they are affected by these changes. Davis’ main warning is that once a culture is gone, it will never return. But in some instances, groups of indigenous people are rising to the challenge and embracing their beliefs and traditions even in the face of such long odds of survival.

The Light at the Edge of the World series explores these cultures in four parts: “Arctic: Hunters of the Northern Ice,” “Himalayas: The Science of the Mind,” “Peru: Sacred Geography,” and “Polynesia: The Wayfinders.” The series was the winner of the 2008 New York Festival Silver Award, Magazine Format; and the 2008 Telluride Mountain Film Festival “Spirit Place” Award. I think it deserved both and so much more. In a world where some people doubt the effects of global warning, how can we let these fascinating cultures simply fade into the past?

In the early 1950s, there were 6,000 languages spoken by the world’s people. Now more than half of those are not being taught to the next generation, which means that in a single generation, we’re losing the cultural legacy of more than half of the world’s people.

In “Arctic: Hunters of the Northern Ice,” Davis joins a band of Inuits as they hunt for polar bears in the frozen northeast between Canada and Greenland. Igloolik, Nunavut is the home, and serves as the start of a hunting trip on the shores of Baffin Bay, more than 100km into the ice. They must travel further and further from home to find the polar bears that used to be plentiful.

Even though the Inuit adapted to the rapid change in the area since missionaries appeared in the 1950s and now use snowmobiles instead of dogs, adaptation is rarely easy. But even with the societal change, it’s impossible to miss the effects of global warming when the ice they once counted on is not where it should be. They do the best they can and try to keep their traditions alive, but fewer and fewer of the younger generations want to learn the old ways, and eventually they may disappear forever.

My favorite episode of the series was definitely “Himalayas: The Science of the Mind.” I have always been fascinated by Buddhist philosophies and to explore not only their philosophy, but their way of life, even as displaced as they are from their monasteries in Tibet. Buddhism spread from India to China and its goal is simple: help reduce the suffering in the world. To do this, practitioners encourage people to stay on the path to enlightenment (Dharma) to rise beyond the suffering in the world.

Buddhism is also under investigation in the scientific world as a way to literally change the shape of the mind. Devout practitioners focus on compassion and kindness to spread true happiness to themselves and those around them. It is a philosophy but also a spiritual practice grounded in contemplation. They have measured the minds of practicing monks and have seen the difference between a mind schooled in meditation and serenity and a western mind and quite literally the brain patterns are totally different.

Davis himself explored the realm of meditation as well during his stay in Nepal, visiting with a number of Rinpoche (spiritual leaders). You can see that he was truly affected by simply being in the presence of these calm, spiritually aware people who have achieved enlightenment. In one part of the documentary, his tears seem quite genuine as he deals with trying to still his mind. I have read other accounts of people meeting with Rinpoche or the Dalai Lama who have felt overwhelmed in a similar way.

In “Peru: Sacred Geography” Davis travels to the Andes in South America where he introduces us to a culture influenced not only by the beliefs of their Incan ancestors, but by the Spanish culture and Catholic religion that infused their society when they were invaded in the 1500s. Their current culture is an interesting mix of the two. Even in the modern age, they still honor the spirits of the mountains around them (known as Apu), and hold religious ceremonies to not only celebrate the gods in hopes of encouraging good seasons of planting, happy marriages, and so on, but also to spread their cultural heritage with the other groups in the area from Bolivia and Ecuador as well.

The last segment, “Polynesia: The Wayfinders,” focused on a group in Hawaii trying to reengage with their Polynesian ability to understand the ocean. “Wayfinding” is an ancient skill used to understand the ocean and weather to navigate without a compass or sextant. Nainoa Thompson, a Hawaiian native, learned the skill from his grandfather Mau Piailug and built a double-hulled voyaging canoe, the Hokule’a. Nainoa and his crew have sailed as far as Easter Island (3,000km from Hawaii) using these ancient “Wayfinding” techniques and are teaching others how to do the same in an attempt to keep their culture from disappearing completely.

Davis has a way of letting the cultures themselves speak to the audience using amazing photography, maps, history, and first-hand accounts, but he also injects some of his own understanding of anthropology, archaeology, and ethnobotany, to help pull these various sources together in a meaningful way. I wish this series was required viewing in high schools across the country to try and make the next generation(s) understand what is at stake if we do nothing.

To quote Edmund Burke, “It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph.” Perhaps it’s time for the good people of the world to step up before we lose more of the human resources to global changes.

Unfortunately, there were no extras on the DVD, just some previews for other Smithsonian television series: Stories from the Vaults, Women in Science, America’s War Stories, and Nick Baker’s Weird Creatures.

That said, I have to say this has to be one of the best anthropology-themed series I have seen to date. If you are interested in some of the world’s disappearing cultures, be sure to check out Light at the Edge of the World.

–Fitz

p.s. Pick this up at Amazon! Here is the DVD and here’s the book:

Hi there!

Do you like bugs? Creepy crawly slugs? How about frogs? When you were a kid, you probably either gravitated towards these things (I know I did) or ran away from them screaming. And a joint project between Smithsonian Networks and Infinity Entertainment Group wants to remind you of those days.

Critter Quest! introduces us to host Peter Schriemer as he explores nature in three episodes of this series from the Smithsonian Channel. Peter lives in a much wetter climate than I do (in Michigan) and you could tell from all the entertaining critters he found just strolling around the yard. But he goes beyond his yard to explore the broader scope of nature a bit of a time, gradually introducing concepts in a kid-friendly way.

This series is definitely aimed at kids. Not only do you learn about various species and bugs (such as the pill bug or rolly poly, which was one of my favorite bugs to find as a kid), but different concepts such as echolocation and migration are explained. In one episode, you are even shown how to create indoor habitats for these critters so you can bring them inside if you are so inclined. My daughters were riveted to each of the episodes included.

In “Creepy Crawlers Everywhere,” Peter introduces himself and explores his back yard looking for various creepy crawlies. During the episode, we learn about the click beetle, slugs, a tree frog, and a jumping spider. I learned that slugs make their own slime, which is what enables them to glide over surfaces (and requires that you wash your hands after handling them).

“Season of Change” explains the many ways animals get ready for the winter. Some creatures forage, such as squirrels, spending the ever shorter days before winter stashing food where they can get to it during the colder months. Some go into hibernation, such as frogs and turtles, choosing to go into a deep sleep when food is scarce. And then Peter talks about the many birds who migrate to warmer climates to find more food. He had a chance to interact closely with a Red Tailed Hawk, which is great because they’re one of the raptors we have even around my house in Colorado.

And then in “The Wild Side of D.C.,” we’re introduced to the many animals who live in Washington D.C. (beyond the political animals that migrate there several times a year). Peter was able to explore a part of the Smithsonian Institution and show us a huge millipede they have in a collection there, as well as the many Canadian Geese, squirrels, ducks, and other animals who live in the urban landscape.

Critter Quest! is an award-winning series on the Smithsonian Network, including a Silver Parent’s Choice Foundation Award, the 2008 Cine Golden Eagle Award, and an American Conservation Film Festival Award for “Children’s Programming.” I think it’s definitely earned those awards and we would love to see additional episodes in the series.

That said, the lack of extras my only disappointment with the DVD. It only includes three short episodes of the series and no additional material. There are previews for other series, such as Stories from the Vaults, but I would have liked to have seen some additional resources for parents or children about the many topics covered.

However, I know I found Peter an engaging young host and the series worked well for my kids, keeping them interested for all three episodes.

If you like nature programs and are looking for some new options for your own children or a school, I think Critter Quest! is a great addition to your DVD library.

–Fitz

p.s. Be sure to check this one out at Amazon: