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Some broadcast and cable programs contain material included in the public
school curriculum and on competitive exams. Here are viewing suggestions for
September 6 to September 13.
Greetings, TV viewers!
At this week's Media Hour, we'll be talking video games. Check out the PBS special, Video Game Revolution and the accompanying website! What role do video games play in your lives? Can you imagine your lives without them? Do you learn anything from them, or imagine ways of using them to help others? That's what people in that show do! On the flip side, you might be figuring out new ways of breaking into games and programs, in order to make them do new things for you. That's what the hackers in Jilly3's article, "Hacking Software: Are Whyvillians Safe?" are doing... some people would say it's okay, since they're learning how to use computers. Others would say they're just learning lame shortcuts. What do you think?
What's the Media Hour? Watch the show(s)-of-the-week, jot down some ideas, then come and talk about them with me and other citizens (including other City Workers, if they're available). We get together at the Greek Theater (by City Hall), every Saturday morning at noon, Whyville Time. You'll find that the Theater makes discussions pretty easy, since City Workers are able to direct people's movement and behavior, when we need to, and it makes everyone's chat bubbles overlap a little less than other rooms.
Monday, September 6
"The Story of Labor Day" (American History - History Channel,
2-2:30 p.m. E/P) This is a documentary about our annual
celebration of the value and dignity of work life and the successes of
the labor movement. You know about the cookouts, parades, and
department store sales, but perhaps not the true story behind the
end-of-summer celebration Find out its history including labor strikes,
unsafe working conditions, and the tragedy of child labor -- and tours
of modern workplaces. An accompanying website, http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/laborday/, lets you
vote in a poll about whether the minimum wage should be increased.
"The Diva Mummy" (World History - National Geographic Channel,
9-10 p.m. ET, 6-7 p.m. PT) This documentary takes viewers to
ancient China with a group of leading forensic scientists as they
reveal the life behind one of the world's oldest and most pristinely
preserved mummies. The program is followed by "Sheba's Secret Mummies"
at 10 p.m. ET, 7pm PT,as an international survey team travels to the
seldom-visited Republic of Yemen on an extraordinary quest -- to follow
up reports of Arabian mummies in the land of the legendary Queen of
Sheba. This series of archaeological documentaries continues in this
time-slot this week with "Into the Great Pyramid" on September 7.
Egyptologist Zahi Hawass will enter the secret passages of the only
remaining Wonder of the Ancient World, the Great Pyramids of Giza. On
September 8, the program is "Hidden Pyramids of Peru", a journey to a
lost city of pyramids in Peru that reveal much about how civilization
formed there thousands of years ago.
Tuesday, September 7
"Nova: Why the Towers Fell" (Technology and
Current History -
PBS, 8-9 p.m. E/P) For most Americans, the image of the
collapse of the World Trade Center Towers on September 11 was not only
a scene of unforgettable horror, it was a moment of unimaginable
technical failure. Who would have guessed that a steel behemoth of such
size and strength -- a building so massive that it had its own zip code
-- could actually be reduced to 150 feet of dust and rubble? This NOVA
documentary follows a team of forensic engineers during their
fascinating and intricate investigation of the causes of the Twin
Towers' collapse.
"Road Trip: Mt. Rushmore to the Tetons" (Geography - Travel
Channel, 10-11 p.m. E/P) This documentary shows the hidden
areas inside Mt. Rushmore behind the massive faces of the Presidents.
It also explores The Devil's Tower (the mountain shown in the movie
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind") and goes on to visit Yellowstone
National Park.
Wednesday, September 8
"Video Game Revolution" (Science and Technology - PBS, 9-11
p.m. E/P ... also check local listings by looking at the program's
official website, http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution) This
documentary explores the evolution of the video game. The show reveals
how its almost accidental invention in the 1950s in England helped
spawn the computer gaming industry as we know it, how it came to
influence the way children live, forever altered the production and
content of music and film, affected the way wars are fought, and even
aided how medical research is conducted.
Thursday, September 9
"Chernobyl Heart" (Health Science - HBO, 8:45-9:30 p.m. E/P,
Rated TV-14 due to adult content) This is an Oscar-winning
documentary about the aftermath of an event on April 26, 1986, when an
explosion at the Chernobyl power station in the Ukraine sent 190 tons
of highly radioactive uranium and graphite into the atmosphere in the
world's worst nuclear accident. More than 18 years later, the effects
of radiation continue to plague the area through cancer, birth defects
and a heart defect that bears the name of the tragedy. Documentarian
Maryann De Leo has filmed the still-lingering impact of the explosion.
And the work of Adi Roche whose Chernobyl Children's Project provides a
first-hand look at the devastating effects.
Friday, September 10
"NOW with Bill Moyers: 9/11: For the Record," (Current History
- PBS, 9:00-10 p.m. E/P) In the wake of the 9/11 Commission
Report, a critical question continues to haunt America: how could the
most powerful nation on earth have been so utterly unprepared to
protect itself? This program is a special one-hour analysis of the
commission report. Host Bill Moyers and producer Sherry Jones connect
the dots of what happened that day and the warning signs leading up to
it. On the eve of the third anniversary of 9/11, they highlight the
agonizing close calls, missteps, and outright failures of two
successive administrations and America's intelligence and security
agencies in the months and years leading up to 9/11. Further
information at http://www.pbs.org/now.
Saturday, September 11
"Tom and Huck" (Language Arts & Literature - Hallmark
Channel, 10 am to noon E/P) This movie is based on Mark
Twain's classic adventure novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" -- which
you should read and compare to the story told on the screen. Tom, and
his pal Huck Finn team up to steal a pirate's treasure map in order to
save an innocent man from being wrongly convicted of a crime. If you
don't want to leave your house to get the book, you can read it online
at http://www.americanliterature.com/BT/BTINDX.HTML.
Sunday, September 12
"First Invasion: The War of 1812" (American History - History
Channel, 9-11 p.m. E/P) This documentary describes events of
September 11, 1814 when the U.S. faced attack -- not from a terrorist
group but rather by the greatest military power of that day, the
British. Just 30 years after the 13 Colonies first drove out the
British and became a new country, our fledgling nation was invaded,
it's Capitol Building and White House burned and its President driven
into hiding. But this largely forgotten 3-year war, which almost ended
America's sovereignty, inspired our national anthem, allowed the
founding fathers to step aside for a new generation of common men and
women with uncommon courage, and saw the U.S. emerge as a world power.
Further information at: http://www.historychannel.com/1812/.
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