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Open Culture
“Charlie Rose” by Samuel Beckett
What happens when Charlie Rose interviews himself and enters an “absurd world where illogic, inane dialogues, and open hostility rule?” You know, like a Beckett play? Watch the clip below and see. (Thanks to Scott for the heads up on this one, and we’ve added it to our YouTube Favorites.)
Posted by Dan Colman on January 7th, 2009 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
What Will Change Everything? (According to the World’s Leading Scientific Minds)
At the start of each new year, the Edge.org asks some of the world’s leading scientific thinkers a big enchilada question. This year, it’s “What Will Change Everything? What game-changing scientific ideas and developments do you expect to live to see?” Here you can find the answers given by 151 thinkers. (Collectively, the full set of replies runs 107,000 words.) Some of the intriguing answers include:The detection of extraterrestrial life. And this life may take the form of digital organisms that can move through the universe at the speed of light (wow!),A major upgrade of the human brain through technology,Our life span will potentially be extended to 150 years through genomics,The discovery of another universe within our own universe,The discovery of new time space dimensions, and The creation of a universal translation machine that will facilitate translation across the globe.For the longer list, visit the full collection. Subscribe to Our Feed
Posted by Dan Colman on January 7th, 2009 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
The History of the Internet in 8 Minutes
We have here a short, catchy animated documentary that explains how we get from the 1950s to the internet that we know and love today. Along the way, it covers inventions ranging from time-sharing to filesharing, from Arpanet to Internet. Have a look:
Posted by Dan Colman on January 6th, 2009 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( 3 so far )
The 10 Best American Movies (With Videos)
Over at his Think Again blog, Stanley Fish, the eminent literary critic, has listed his all-time favorite American films. The list is a good one, so we figured why not add some video clips to the mix, and give you a little taste of each classic. See the full list after the jump. And if you have your own favorites, feel free to list them in the comments. And now with no further delay…1) The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)Directed by William Wyler. With Myrna Loy, Fredric March and Dana Andrews.2) Sunset Boulevard (1950)Directed by Billy Wilder with William Holden and Gloria Swanson. 3) Double Indemnity (1944)Directed by Billy Wilder. With Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson. 4) Raging Bull (1980)Directed by Martin Scorsese, with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty. 5) Red River (1948)Directed by Howard Hawks & Arthur Rosson. With John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, and Joanne Dru. (more…)
Posted by Dan Colman on January 6th, 2009 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( 1 so far )
Stanford Online Writing Courses - The Winter Lineup
A quick fyi: If you made a New Year’s resolution to become a serious writer, then you might be interested in these online writing courses offered by Stanford Continuing Studies (which, caveat emptor, I help oversee) and Stanford’s Creative Writing Program. These online courses give beginning and advanced writers, no matter where they live, the chance to refine their craft with gifted writing instructors. Classes start next week. Unfortunately some are already full … and they are not free. For more information, click here, or separately check out the FAQ. And, if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, feel free to look through the courses taking place on the Stanford campus.Magazine WritingShort Story II: Surprising Characters and Sudden TwistsCrafting Successful Crime Fiction: How to Write the ActionPoetry Writing: Transcribing from the InvisibleCreative Nonfiction: The Art of the EssayGetting Started in Creative Writing (Closed)Continuing Your Novel (Closed)Writing Memoir with The New York Times (Closed)
Posted by Dan Colman on January 5th, 2009 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
The Science of Happiness
As we’re all wishing one another a “Happy New Year,” it seems like a good time to dwell on the whole concept of happiness. Is happiness hardwired? Does it depend on circumstance? Or on us? Can we will ourselves to happiness? And just what is happiness? Aired right after Christmas, this interview features Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (the famed psychology professor who wrote Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience) and Sonja Lyubomirsky, also a psych professor and author of The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want. We’ve embedded the radio interview immediately below, or you can get it via mp3 or iTunes.Related Content:Creativity, Flow and the Source of Happiness
Posted by Dan Colman on January 5th, 2009 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( 1 so far )
Bugs Bunny in The Big Snooze (1946)
On the lighter side for a sleepy Sunday ….“The Big Snooze” (1946) was the last cartoon that animation director Bob Clampett ever worked on for Warner Brothers. The title? It’s an obvious play on the Raymond Chandler novel, The Big Sleep, which was also turned into a film (starring Bogart and Bacall) in 1946. And the sleeping pill scene? Well, it was censored on television for some time. The clip can otherwise be bought on The Looney Tunes Golden Collection. For now, here it goes:via Firedog LakeSubscribe to Our Feed
Posted by Dan Colman on January 4th, 2009 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
The Ten Best Classical Music Recordings of 2008
Alex Ross, the New Yorker music critic who recently won a MacArthur Genius grant and published The Rest is Noise, a widely praised work that makes sense of 20th century classical music, lists his favorite classical music recordings of 2008.
Posted by Dan Colman on January 3rd, 2009 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
Steven Spielberg Admits Swallowing a Transistor to Andy Warhol and Bianca Jagger
In 1979, Andy Warhol spent $40,000 on a broadcast-quality camera and started dabbling in creating television programs that he aired on Manhattan public access cable channels. (Get more on the story here.) One episode featured Warhol, Bianca Jagger and Steven Spielberg simply hanging out on a bed. And here’s how their conversation went down:via BoingBoing
Posted by Dan Colman on January 3rd, 2009 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
Top 10 Blog Posts of 2008
Here they go, the most popular posts of 2008:10. Free Stanford Computer Science & Engineering Courses Now Online9.) The Old Man and the Sea Animated8.) Teaching on YouTube7.) Turn Your iPod into a Travel Guide: 20 Travel Podcasts7.) Listening to Famous Poets Reading Their Own Work6. This American Life Demystifies the Housing/Credit Crisis5.) Understanding Modern Physics: Download Leonard Susskind Video Lectures4.) Yale Open Courses: The New Lineup3.) George Orwell’s 1984: Download Free Audio Book VersionAlso, James Joyce’s Ulysses: A Free Audiobook2.) Top Five Collections of Free University Courses1.) Intelligent Life at YouTube: 80 Educational Video Collections Subscribe to Our Feed
Posted by Dan Colman on January 1st, 2009 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
Put Tolstoy, Twain and Others on Your Mobile Phone
A good find over at Metafilter. Desjardins asks “Need a little Tolstoy while you’re waiting in line? How about some Mark Twain on the subway? Booksinmyphone puts - surprise! - books in your phone, for free.” For more details on how to download classics to your (java-enabled) mobile phone, check out their FAQ. Subscribe to our feed
Posted by Dan Colman on December 31st, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
John Lennon Returns to Promote “One Laptop Per Child”
Thanks to some digital hocus pocus, John Lennon is back and helping promote One Laptop Per Child, a charity working to bring cheap computers and internet access to children in developing countries. Done with the approval of Yoko Ono, the commercial stitches together old recordings of Lennon’s voice and adds at least a couple of new words (did Lennon ever say “laptop”?). In the end, it all comes out fairly seamlessly. If you want to give a laptop (starting at $199) and change the world, go here. Otherwise, here’s John:Subscribe to our feedvia Goings On via Rolling Stone
Posted by Dan Colman on December 31st, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( 1 so far )
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out was produced in 1981 by the BBC and PBS, and it features Richard Feynman, the charismatic, Nobel prize-winning physicist, talking in a very personal way about the joys of scientific discovery, and how he developed his enthusiasm for science. About the program, Harry Kroto (winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry) apparently said: ”The 1981 Feynman Horizon is the best science program I have ever seen. This is not just my opinion - it is also the opinion of many of the best scientists that I know who have seen the program… It should be mandatory viewing for all students whether they be science or arts students.” The program runs about 50 minutes. You can get Part 1 below, and the remaining parts here: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5. They’re also all added to our YouTube Favorites.Subscribe to our feed
Posted by Dan Colman on December 30th, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( 1 so far )
The Life of a Star: 12 billion Years in Six Minutes
Voila, the birth, life and death of a G-type star, like our Sun. 12 billion years boiled down to six simple minutes. We’ve added it to our YouTube Favorites. Subscribe to our feedvia Digg
Posted by Dan Colman on December 29th, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( 1 so far )
One Year in 40 seconds
Here’s what it looks like if you plant a camera in the same location for one year and snap photos throughout the changing seasons. Video is striking but random. So we’re filing it under “Random.”
Posted by Dan Colman on December 29th, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
Unauthorized Beatles Masterpieces
This weekend’s New York Times ran a piece detailing how the record industry has dithered and continually failed to release several long-awaited Beatles’ projects. It also mentioned how fans and collectors have forged ahead and put together unauthorized bootleg projects, some of which the Times calls “curatorial masterpieces.” In particular, the article highlights the Purple Chick label, which “has assembled deluxe editions of each commercially released [Beatles] album, offering the original discs in their mono and stereo mixes, along with the singles (also in mono and stereo) released at the time, as well as every known demo, studio outtake and alternative mix.” Some of Purple Chick’s include “Beatles Deluxe” (which covers 10 CDs); “A/B Road” (which gives you 96 hours of the “Let It Be” sessions); and a series of BBC radio performances. So how do you get this stuff? It’s a question that Rolling Stone asked rhetorically when it recently gave another positive review to Purple Chick recordings. And it answered the question with this: “Google is your friend: Try searching ‘purple chick and megaupload’ to get started.”Subscribe to our feed
Posted by Dan Colman on December 29th, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
The Clash of Civilizations (and the Passing of its Author)
When the twin towers were taken down in September 2001, America looked to make sense of what happened. And it wasn’t long before many started turning to The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, a book written by Samuel Huntington, the Harvard poli sci professor who passed on last week.The book itself was an elaboration upon a controversial article that Huntington published in Foreign Affairs in 1993. In the opening lines, he wrote: “World politics is entering a new phase… It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. Nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs, but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilizations. The clash of civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.” Particularly he suggested, it would be the “West versus the Rest,” and within the latter category, he lumped in Islam.Below, we have posted Huntington’s 1997 appearance on the Charlie Rose show, where he expanded on his world view. You can also get Edward Said’s general retort, The Myth of the Clash of Civilizations, here and Noam Chomsky’s thoughts on the concept here.Subscribe to our feed
Posted by Dan Colman on December 29th, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
Missing Catwoman
Eartha Kitt also left us this week. She won fame on Broadway, in movies and cabaret, and through music and films. But my inner four year old will always remember her role as Catwoman on the 1960s TV series “Batman.” (Actually, I’ll really remember her for the leading role she played in my first memorable childhood dream. But that’s probably more interesting to me than it is to you.)In honor of Eartha, I’m posting an extended clip showing Catwoman in action. Part 1 is below. Part 2 is here. Part 3 here.Subscribe to our feed
Posted by Dan Colman on December 26th, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
Remembering Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, the Nobel Prize-winning playwright, died in London on Wednesday. As The New York Times obit mentions, when Pinter won the Nobel in 2005, his declining health prevented him from attending the awards ceremony in Stockholm. Instead, he gave his acceptance lecture – “Art, Truth & Politics” — via a recorded video, which we’re posting below. (You can also watch it on the Nobel web site here or alternatively read the transcript.) The speech runs a good 45 minutes.Subscribe to our feed
Posted by Dan Colman on December 26th, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
Christmas Under Fire (1940)
Here’s a logical (but unplanned) follow up to our previous post that looked back at Christmas Eve during World War I.Here we present a Christmas propaganda film that came out of England during the Second World War. Britain is under German siege. But it’s enduring the Blitz and keeping a stiff upper lip, and Christmas will go on … if only underground. Britain’s children won’t be cheated out of this. This clip, which reminds us that, economic problems aside, we have much to be thankful for, comes from the British Film Institute National Archive on YouTube, which we’re now adding to our collection: Intelligent Life at YouTube: 80 Educational Video Collections.via Crooked Timber
Posted by Dan Colman on December 26th, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
David Bowie and Bing Crosby Sing “The Little Drummer Boy”
We take you back to 1977 and what The Washington Post calls “one of the most successful duets in Christmas music history — and surely the weirdest.” The ’40s-era crooner meets the glam rocker, to be precise. Get the backstory here. (And, yup, we’ve added the clip to our YouTube Favorites.)Subscribe to our feedvia The Daily Dish
Posted by Dan Colman on December 25th, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( 4 so far )
Christmas Eve in the Trenches
Right in time for Christmas Eve…World War I was a relentlessly grinding and brutal war. Europe had never experienced anything like it. But there was one notable moment of respite, a brief moment when humanity showed back through. Christmas Eve, 1914. The moving story of what happened that night gets recounted in John McCutcheon’s touching song, Christmas in the Trenches. The video below includes the backstory and the song itself. You can also watch a live performance here, and get the lyrics here. Happy holidays to all. And thanks Sheryl for the tip.Subscribe to our feed
Posted by Dan Colman on December 23rd, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
E-Books Finally Here to Stay?
The New York Times thinks that e-books may have finally turned the corner in 2008. The Kindle is sold out until February (which messes up my Christmas plans). Sales of Sony’s e-book reader have tripled over last season. And we’re now seeing e-books hit the bestseller list. The digital age for books may be upon us.
Posted by Dan Colman on December 23rd, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
David Lynch on His Favorite Movies and Filmmakers
In a quick 59 seconds, David Lynch tells you the films and filmmakers that he likes best (see below). In equally succinct videos, though with a bit more salty language (read: language that’s not ideal for work), Lynch also gives you his thoughts on product placement and the whole concept of watching a movie on an iPhone. Subscribe to our feed
Posted by Dan Colman on December 22nd, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
The Nepotism Special
Here it goes:
Posted by Dan Colman on December 22nd, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 - Karajan or Muppet Style
A couple of big blogs recently highlighted a clip of the Muppets doing Ode to Joy from Beethoven’s Ninth. It’s cute, and I was hardly surprised that the video logged 3.6 million views on YouTube.Not far behind, at 3.2 million views, is a long video showing Herbert Von Karajan leading a live performance of Beethoven’s Ninth. The fact that Karajan, one of the world’s best-known conductors, lags behind a bunch of puppets is unfortunate, no doubt. But it’s also heartening in some ways. It tells me that high culture is still competing for an audience. So here it goes. Karajan in action:(You can get Part 2 here, and we’ve added both clips to our YouTube Favorites. Also you can find more vintage Beethoven/Karajan footage in this guy’s video collection.) Subscribe to our feed
Posted by Dan Colman on December 21st, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( 1 so far )
It’s a Wonderful (Scratch That, Miserable) Life
About the Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” a New York Times op-ed had this to say today:It “is anything but a cheery holiday tale.” It “is a terrifying, asphyxiating story about growing up and relinquishing your dreams, of seeing your father driven to the grave before his time, of living among bitter, small-minded people. It is a story of being trapped, of compromising, of watching others move ahead and away, of becoming so filled with rage that you verbally abuse your children, their teacher and your oppressively perfect wife. It is also a nightmare account of an endless home renovation.”And, with that, we present the 1947 film directed by Frank Capra and starring James Stewart: Subscribe to our feed
Posted by Dan Colman on December 19th, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
Top Ten Astronomy Pictures of 2008
According to Discover Magazine…
Posted by Dan Colman on December 19th, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
U2 at Live Aid, 1985
Let me indulge in a brief bit of nostalgia for a sec. Somehow my once wayward friends and I scored tickets to Live Aid back in 1985, which meant that we got to spend a scorching day at Philly’s JFK Stadium, watching live acts that included Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (leaving aside a campy Bowie and Jagger video). But somehow what still stands out for me are two acts piped in from London’s Wembley Stadium – U2’s 12 minute version of “Bad” (below), which launched the band into international stardom, and, yes, Queens’ set: Bohemian Rhapsody & Radio Gaga, Hammer To Fall & Crazy Little Thing Called Love (also below), and We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions.Subscribe to our feed
Posted by Dan Colman on December 19th, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( 1 so far )
The Presidents Guide to Science
Aired first in September, this BBC production asks famous scientists to offer important words of advice to the next American president. What does Obama need to know to make smart decisions about key issues ranging from nuclear proliferation to climate change? Here it goes:> Subscribe to our feedvia Kottke
Posted by Dan Colman on December 18th, 2008 | Permalink| Make a Comment ( None so far )
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