The brothers and welsh duo of Richard and Adam Johnson do Nan proud. Sandwich shop workers Richard and Adam brought their biggest fan, their nan, along for support. Watch them wow the Judges and bring a tear to her eye with their rendition of The Impossible Dream.
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The Welsh choir 'Only Boys Aloud' sang "Calon Lân", a traditional Welsh hymn during their audition, and later at the final of Britain's Got Talent, 2012,
Nid wy'n gofyn bywyd moethus,
Aur y byd na'i berlau mân:
Gofyn wyf am galon hapus,
Calon onest, calon lân.
Calon lân yn llawn daioni,
Tecach yw na'r lili dlos:
Dim ond calon lân all ganu
Canu'r dydd a chanu'r nos.
I’d not ask a life that’s easy,
Gold and pearls so little mean,
Rather seek a heart that’s joyful,
Heart that’s honest, heart that’s clean.
Heart that’s clean and filled with virtue,
Fairer far than lilies white,
Only pure hearts praise God truly,
Praise him all the day and night.
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2001: A Space Odyssey, so its fans will tell you, is awesome, amazing, astonishing, astounding — and that doesn't even exhaust their list of "A" adjectives. But however emphatically they're spoken, those words don't tell you much. I fear they sometimes even put off potential 2001-lovers — or at least those who would enjoy a screening or three — who fear themselves unequal to the imposing labor of appreciation ahead. You'll learn more meaningful things about Kubrick's film in 2001: The Making of a Myth (made in 2001), a 45-minute documentary on its conception, its production, and its undiminished resonance in our cultural imagination.
Introduced by filmmaker James Cameron — he of The Terminator, Avatar, and Aliens, science-fiction spectacles of an entirely different nature — the program brings in a host of the original contributors to 2001′s look, feel, and psychological and technological verisimilitude. We hear from those involved in the photography, design, editing, and even technical consultancy. Actor Keir Dullea, still best known for his role as astronaut Dave Bowman, has much to say about working with his co-star HAL, and even the fellows in the ape suits offer insights into their non-verbal craft. Critical minds such as Elvis Mitchell and Camille Paglia weigh in on the picture's simultaneous visceral and intellectual impact, but Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote 2001 the book while Kubrick shot 2001 the film, puts it most sharply when describing the intent of his director counterpart: "He wanted to make the proverbial good science-fiction movie." Mission accomplished.
Was I stoned the first time I saw "2001: A Space Odyssey" ? My viewing of this monumental film occurred in the 1960's, and I lived in the San Francisco bay area, where love, grass and flower power ruled the day.
That all occurred more than 50 years ago, and I still watch it anew from time to time.
The Making of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey
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Roger Ebert dead at 70
"Roger Ebert loved movies.
Except for those he hated.
For a film with a daring director, a talented cast, a captivating plot or, ideally, all three, there could be no better advocate than Roger Ebert, who passionately celebrated and promoted excellence in film while deflating the awful, the derivative, or the merely mediocre with an observant eye, a sharp wit and a depth of knowledge that delighted his millions of readers and viewers.
“No good film is too long,” he once wrote, a sentiment he felt strongly enough about to have engraved on pens. “No bad movie is short enough.”
Ebert, 70, who reviewed movies for the Chicago Sun-Times for 46 years and on TV for 31 years, and who was without question the nation’s most prominent and influential film critic, died Thursday in Chicago.
“We were getting ready to go home today for hospice care, when he looked at us, smiled, and passed away,” said his wife, Chaz Ebert. “No struggle, no pain, just a quiet, dignified transition.”
Films have always seemed an integral part of my existence. First encountered Roger Ebert on PBS in 1975, and he immediately became one of my heros. There were occasions when I didn't agree with his film pronouncements, but always appreciated his brilliant critiques.
Roger Ebert: In Memoriam
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K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' (lit. "Great-Sun First/Green Quetzal Macaw, ruled 426 – c. 437) is named in Maya inscriptions as the founder and first ruler of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization centered at Copán, a major Maya site located in the southeastern Maya lowlands region in present-day Honduras.
In this quality Nova/PBS video the history of Copán, and the chronology of the 400 year dynasty founded by Yax K'uk' Mo', is presented in all of its glory.
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The ancient Maya civilization of Central America left behind a riddle: an intricate and mysterious hieroglyphic script carved on stone monuments and painted on pottery and bark books. Because the invading Spanish suppressed nearly all knowledge of how the script worked, unlocking its meaning posed one of archaeology's fiercest challenges. Until now. [PBS Nova]
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Listened to a broadcast recently with guest Maurice M. Cotterell, 'scientist and author'. It was an hour of more bullshit and mindless speculation than I have ever encountered. I spent 12 years in eastern Mexico, much of it on frequent trips to Mayan sites, including my favorite Palenque, which contains the ancient home and tomb of Pacal. Not much regarding the history and geneology of Pacal that I have not encountered before, but Cotterell's ramblings were certainly unique.
I love the internet and the facility with which I can find informaition about the world, past, present, and future, but mindless rambling and speculation, such as the following, just drives me up the wall.
"In his book, "Supergods", Maurice M. Cotterell equates the leader of the Mayan people, Lord Pacal with Lord Krishna, Buddha and Jesus. All four had common threads.
All had immaculate conceptions, performed "miracles", had similar teachings such as love & service to humanity, self control, karma, spirituality of man, immortality of the soul, qualities to be gained and overcome, purification of the soul through sacrifice.
All prophecied some destruction at this time on Earth, a belief in reincarnation and an existance of a destination for the dead or afterlife.
All also had an "association with a tree!" Lord Krishna was said to have died on a tree. Buddha said enlightenment came while sitting beneath the Tree of Knowledge. Jesus died on a cross with a Crown of Thorns. On his tomb lid, the famous Lid of Palenque, Lord Pacal had "carved" a central feature, "The Suckling Tree". Is was said the tree has 100,000 nipples and dead babies could suckle the "tree of life" and gain strength to reincarnate.
When I visited the town of Palenque in south east Mexico a few years ago I didn't realise the significance of Lord Pacal Votan's tomb lid. His Temple of Inscriptions houses the famous "Lid of Palenque" which is fully encoded with stories and images of historical and spiritual signifance. The Temple also includes prophecies and predictions for our time leading to the year 2012. . . . . . . "
The Virtual Revolution is a British television documentary series presented by Dr. Aleks Krotoski, which began airing on BBC Two on 30 January 2010. A co-production between the BBC and the Open University, the series looks at the impact the World Wide Web has had since its inception 20 years ago. The series took a different approach to BBC documentary making by encouraging an open and collaborative production.
Par1 1 "The Great Levelling?"
"The first programme examines the idea of the World Wide Web as a "great leveller", and how this has shaped the development of the web.
Looking at the web as an empowering tool and the access provided to knowledge, Krotoski visits Einar Kvaran, contributor to the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia. To understand how the web gave rise to Wikipedia, she looks at early online community The WELL, which flourished from the counter-culture and libertarianism of the 1960s, speaking to founder Stewart Brand and John Perry Barlow, who spoke up for online freedom.
Al Gore speaks about blogs and expressing ideas, and Krotoski visits Ory Okolloh, founder of Ushahidi, which gave people a voice following the unrest after the 2007 Kenyan elections.
She then talks with Sir Tim Berners-Lee about inventing the World Wide Web while he was at CERN in the 1980s. Kenyan farmer Kudjo Agbevi discusses empowerment, and Berners-Lee, Barlow and Andrew Keen speak about the lack of a controlling authority and hierarchy. ,,,,,"
The Virtual Revolution Part 1 of 4
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"Pianist Van Cliburn, the tall, gangly Texan whose 1958 victory at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow brought Cold War politics into the world of classical music and launched his own starry, though brief, career on the concert stage, died Wednesday morning at his home in Fort Worth. He was 78.
The cause of death was bone cancer, according to his longtime publicist, Mary Lou Falcone.
Mr. Cliburn's Moscow success, which came a mere six months after the anxiety-inducing launch of the Sputnik satellite, was seen as a cultural triumph for the West in a sphere that had been dominated by the Soviets. Mr. Cliburn's final performances in the competition were of concertos by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff.
The 23-year-old pianist came home to a ticker-tape parade in New York City and adulatory press coverage, including an appearance on the cover of Time magazine hailing him as "The Texan Who Conquered Russia."
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The Amazon rainforest is the epitome of a last great wilderness under threat from modern man. It has become an international cause celebre for environmentalists as powerful agricultural and industrial interests bent on felling trees encroach ever deeper into virgin forest. But the latest evidence suggests that the Amazon is not what it seems.
As more trees are felled, the story of a far less natural Amazon is revealed - enormous manmade structures, even cities, hidden for centuries under what was believed to be untouched forest. All the time archaeologists are discovering ancient, highly fertile soils that can only have been produced by sophisticated agriculture far and wide across the Amazon basin. This startling evidence sheds new light on long-dismissed accounts from the very first conquistadors of an Amazon teeming with people and threatens to turn our whole notion of wilderness on its head. And if even the Amazon turns out to be unnatural, what then for the future of wilderness?
On December 26, 1541, Francisco de Orellana sailed up the newly discovered Amazon River with the Dominican Gaspar de Carvajal who chronicled the expedition. De Caravajal wrote of vast cities with roads and highways, and yet they had all disappeard within 20 years. The book "Relacion del Descubrimiento del Rio Grande de las Amazonas" was not rediscovered until 1895 but was considered to be primarily myth and fabrication.
Secrets Of Eldorado - TERRA PRETA - Horizon [Note, video ends at 0:48:31]
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This is from the third installemt of the BBC documentary series [Unnatural Histories] about the unknown history of the Amazon .
Amazon - Terra Preta [BBC]
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A Defense of Comic Sans
I’m Comic Sans, Asshole.
"Listen up. I know the shit you’ve been saying behind my back. You think I’m stupid. You think I’m immature. You think I’m a malformed, pathetic excuse for a font. Well think again, nerdhole, because I’m Comic Sans, and I’m the best thing to happen to typography since Johannes fucking Gutenberg.
. . . It doesn’t even matter what you think. You know why, jagoff? Cause I’m famous. I am on every major operating system since Microsoft fucking Bob. I’m in your signs. I’m in your browsers. I’m in your instant messengers. I’m not just a font. I am a force of motherfucking nature and I will not rest until every uptight armchair typographer cock-hat like you is surrounded by my lovable, comic-book inspired, sans-serif badassery."
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