Media Menu, June 19, 2010

Here are home viewing suggestions for the week, selected from online advanced TV program listings and aligned with the state and national K-12 academic standards available online. Please consult local listings also, since actual broadcast times may vary. The Websites cited in the “Log on“ box below the tv listing provide further details about the show’s topic and may contain links to video clips from the show or a complete streaming video version of the show.

Saturday, June 19, 2010,

5:10 – 6:45 p.m. E/P

IFC Channel

Athletics and Arts

High School

"The Lords Of Dogtown”

This movie, directed by Catherine Hardwicke, is the true story of the kids who created modern skateboard culture. In the early '70s, skateboards were seen as a fad of the 1960s that had all but died out, but in a rough-and-tumble Venice, CA, community known as "Dogtown," that was about to change. Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk), Stacy Peralta (John Robinson), and Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch) were three guys who liked to surf the rugged beaches around Venice and hung out at the Zephyr Surf Shop, a store run by Skip Engblom (Heath Ledger) that stocked gear for adventurous surfers and skateboarders. With the advent of new urethane wheels that connected with concrete in a way old metal and rubber wheels could not, Tony, Stacy, and Jay began exploring ways to translate radical surf style to skateboarding, and the guys invented a new way to skate inside the smooth, round surfaces of empty pools, employing vertical moves and edge flips that added a new and dramatic spin to skating. It didn't take long for word to spread about the wild new style of the Z-Boys, and they quickly became local celebrities, and later nationwide skating stars, though sudden fame took its toll on these young men. Rated TV-MA
Log on http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0355702



Sunday, June 20, 2010,

8-10 p.m. E/P

National Geographic Channel

Science and Geography

High School

" How the Earth Changed History: Water World/Beneath The Crust ”

This is a broadcast of the initial two episodes in a three-night, five-hour high-definition documentary miniseries, Host Professor Iain Stewart shows how the planet has influenced every aspect of human history from the rise of industry to the downfall of civilizations. Filmed on seven continents, across every terrain and even under the depths of the sea, the series tells a 10,000-year story with a focus on a different natural force in each hour. Episode One, “Water World”: Water is the planet’s lifeblood. It’s constantly transforming itself, shifting between guises and from place to place. Of all our planet’s forces, perhaps none has greater power over us. Our struggle to control it has been behind the rise and fall of some of our greatest civilizations. In Africa early communities found water underground in the desert, and how this guided their food supply and economy. Then the program follows Prof. Stewart on a trek to Cherrapunji, India, where average annual rainfall approaches 40 feet, to see how an overabundance of water has created the need for an engineering partnership between man and nature in the form of bridges grown from the roots of trees. These beautiful and ancient constructions take hundreds of years to grow and only get stronger as they grow older. In Iceland, we follow the never-ending cycle of water as it rises from the oceans to clouds from which it rains down and forms rivers, then is bound up as ice or stored below the Earth’s surface, only to return to the oceans and repeat the cycle again. Episode Two, “Beneath The Crust”: Prof. Stewart travels into the Earth’s crust to understand Mother Nature’s forces. We begin almost a thousand feet below the surface in a geological wonder: the Naica crystal cave in Mexico. It’s an environment so hostile that anyone entering the cave would die in less than 30 minutes. Then we jet over to Israel’s Negev Desert, where we’ll uncover man’s earliest source of copper, which changed our relationship with the planet forever. We’ll see firsthand how fault lines rewrote human history, beginning in Jericho, perhaps the oldest city in the world. In Kilauea, Hawaii, we’ll explore how today, the Earth’s plates continue to redraw our planet, spawning earthquakes and volcanoes that both destroy and create. History suggests humans will continue to live along fault lines and plate boundaries for the next 10,000 years. Further episode schedule: The Skies Above Premieres Monday, June 21, at 9 p.m. ET/PT The Gift of Fire Premieres Monday, June 21, at 10 p.m. ET/PT The Human Era Premieres Tuesday, June 22, at 9 p.m. ET/PT
Log on http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0355702


Monday, June 21, 2010,

9-10 p.m. E/P

PBS

Science and History

Middle and High School

" HISTORY DETECTIVES: Space Exploration”

This is the new season premiere of PBS’ history newsmagazine. Stories include: “Satelloon”: Could a scrap of Mylar have been a part of an early U.S. satellite? “Space Boot”: Could a jury-rigged ski boot be a prototype for a NASA space boot? “Moon Museum”: Could some of Andy Warhol’s artwork really be on the moon? TV-PG
Log on http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives


Monday, June 21, 2010,

9-11 p.m. E/P

CNBC

Arts and Technology

Middle and High School

"The Pixar Story”

This documentary is a behind the scenes look at the groundbreaking company that pioneered a new generation of animation technology, forever changing the face of filmmaking.
Log on HTTP://WWW.CNBC.COM/ID/37712845


Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 8-10 p.m. E/P

Showtime Channel

World History

Middle and High School

" Valkyrie”

This movie tells the story of a German aristocrat, Claus von Stauffenberg, a formerly loyal German Army officer who begins to question his country's motivations and tactics in World War II then hatches a dangerous plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson, Eddie Izzard and Terence Stamp costar in this fact-based drama. PG-13
Log on for movie information http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0985699 And for further historical information http://www.stauffenbergthemovie.com/history_july20.html


Thursday, June 24, 2010 ,

10-11 p.m. E/P

TCM-Turner Classic Movies

U.S. and World History

Middle and High School

" This is Korea”

Airing on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War, this classic U.S. Government film, made in the early months of that war, documents the North Korean aggression that started the Korean War. Directed by John Ford. TV-PG
HTTP://WWW.TCM.COM/THISMONTH/ARTICLE/?CID=309494 and http://www.korean-war.com/TimeLine/1950/06-25to08-03-50.html


Thursday, June 24, 2010,

10-11 p.m. E/P

PBS

U.S. and World History

Middle and High School

" Unforgettable: The Korean War”

Also airing on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War, this documentary presents veterans recounting their memories of the conflict that killed tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers and affected many more lives at home. The words etched on the Korean War Memorial commemorate the service, commitment and sacrifice of the U.S. armed forces members who fought a war against communism half a world away. However, for 60 years the Korean War was referred to as a "police action," "the Korean conflict" and "the Forgotten War." Yet, in all senses of the word, it was war. While millions died and many more suffered from the hostilities, the nation collectively "forgot" about or ignored the war and its veterans. The program uses historical movies and personal photos combined with emotional remembrances to reveal the individual stories, the pride, the patriotism, the gallantry, the sacrifice and heartache behind "the forgotten war." TV-PG
Log on http://www.pbs.org/unforgettable


Friday, June 25, 2010,

9:30-10:30 p.m.

PBS

U.S. and World History

Middle and High School

" FACES OF AMERICA: Our American Stories”

This is a repeat broadcast of the initial episode of a documentary series which explores the dynamic and shifting relationship America had with her new immigrants in the 20th century. World war tore apart families and sundered the fabric of many lives, but America beckoned and millions came. Yet, America was an ambivalent host. At its best, a place of refuge and salvation, as for film director Mike Nichols – shown in this episode - whose entire family escaped Nazi Germany. At its worst, a country that would imprison two generations of Japanese Americans, like the ancestors of Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi. Along the way, viewers will discover the buoyant American optimism that shaped chance – as in a single encounter that changed cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s life forever – to pave the road to success. TV-PG
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wnet/facesofamerica


Saturday, June 26, 2010,

6-7 p.m. E/P

Science Channel

Science and Geography

Elementary, Middle and High School

" Fearless Planet: Grand Canyon”

This documentary tells the life story of the Grand Canyon, from the moment of its birth, through a painstaking period of growth over several billion years, through to the dramatic events that gouged this massive and breathtaking scar into the earth. TV-G
Log on http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm