Media Menu for October 22, 2011

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, October  22,  2011,
9-11:30  p.m. ET, 6-8:30 p.m. PT
TCM-Turner Classic Movie Channel
Arts
Middle and High  School

An American In Paris

If  you choose to watch only one  example ever of the  American art form  known  as the movie musical, this is it. Winner of 6 Oscars including Best Picture, it’s the story of an American artist who finds love in Paris but almost loses it to conflicting loyalties. The dance sequences ( with Gene Kelly) are among the best ever filmed. TV-PG
Log on http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/67241/An-American-in-Paris/articles.html

Sunday, October  23,  2011,
7-8 p.m. ET, 4-5 p.m. PT
CNN
U.S. History and Literature
Middle and High  School

CNN Presents: MLK Papers - Words That Changed a Nation

The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial was officially dedicated last Sunday in Washington D.C. This broadcast continues CNN's special MLK memorial coverage  of the observance  with a look at Martin Luther King Jr.'s personal writings.
Log on http://cnnpresents.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/17/obama-honors-mlk-at-memorial-dedication/

Monday, October  24,  2011,
6-7- p.m. E/P
History Channel
Economics and Technology
Elementary, Middle and High  School

Modern Marvels: Fast Food Tech

Can fast food get any faster? Fast food joints in the US pull in $150 billion dollars in annual sales. Their mantra is "fast, consistent, and inexpensive." This documentary shows  how they grow it, process it, freeze it, ship it, track it, fry it, flip it and pack it. Watch as hundreds of burgers, fries and shakes fly across counters and drive-thru windows at Carl's Jr., Jack in the Box, Wendy's and McDonald's. Visit a potato-processing plant for the scoop on how fries are made and learn how Taco Bell's founder developed the fast-food hard shell taco. Find out what the future holds for fast food technology.

Tuesday, October  25,  2011,
5-6 p.m. E/P
History Channel
Science and Economics
Elementary. Middle and High  School

Modern Marvels: Sugar

The sugar industry came of age on the backs of slaves toiling in Caribbean fields, and British desire to control production of sugar and its byproduct, rum. Sugar also played a surprisingly critical part in America's battle for independence. This documentary takes viewers on a tour of a sugar plantation on Maui, Hawaii to get an inside look at how cane sugar is produced today and learn how the sugar stalks are put through an extensive process of extraction and purification--and how a ton of harvested cane results in 200 pounds of raw sugar. Learn the technology behind creating the sweetener in all of its permutations, including corn syrup, brown sugar, powdered sugar, and cube sugar, and how it's used in candies, soda, and sauces as well as more exotic uses such as in pipe tobacco and processed meat.  TV-G

Wednesday , October  26,  2011,
9-10 p.m. E/P
PBS
Science and World History
Middle and High  School

NOVA: Iceman Murder Mystery

This documentary examines the ultimate time capsule — 5,000-year-old Otzi, the mummified corpse pulled from an Alpine glacier nearly two decades ago. He’s been dead for more than 5,000 years — and been poked, prodded and probed by scientists for the last 20. Yet today, Otzi the Iceman, the famous mummified corpse pulled from a glacier in the Italian Alps nearly two decades ago, continues to keep many secrets. Now, through an autopsy like none other, scientists will attempt to unravel more mysteries from this ancient mummy, revealing not only the details of Otzi’s death, but an entire way of life. How did people live during Otzi’s time, the Copper Age? What did they eat? What diseases did they cope with? The answers abound miraculously in this one man’s mummified remains. TV-PG

Tuesday, October  27,  2011,
8-9 p.m. E/P
History Channel
World and U.S. History
Middle and High  School

The Real Story of Halloween

It began centuries ago as a pagan holiday that honored the dead and warned of a netherworld of spirits and ghosts. Today, as shown in this documentary, it has morphed into a day for breaking rules, pushing boundaries and wearing disguises. But Halloween remains a time for us to deal with our own mortality. Our modern Halloween traditions have ancient roots--people were going door to door and begging for treats on Halloween night as far back as the Middle Ages. Halloweens past have been wilder and more dangerous than they are now. During the depression, Halloween became so violent and destructive that civil authorities had to step in and prevent wide-spread vandalism in cities across America. Their solution, the ritual now generates $2 billion dollars in candy sales each season. And these days adults get dressed up for the holiday almost as much as kids do. But no matter how many jack-o-lanterns get carved or kids yell "trick-or-treat!" Halloween is still all about the "scare." TV-PG

Friday, October  26,  2011,
9-10:30 p.m. E/P
PBS
Arts
Elementary, Middle and High  School

GREAT PERFORMANCES: Miami City Ballet Dances Balanchine and Tharp

Witness the grace and beauty of one of America’s finest dance companies, Edward Villella’s Miami City Ballet This program – a trio of signature works by the renowned choreographers — will showcase the company’s critically acclaimed performances of Balanchine’s “Square Dance” (music by Antonio Vivaldi and Arcangelo Corelli) and “Western Symphony” (music by Hershy Kay) and Tharp’s “The Golden Section” (music composed and performed by David Byrne). Actor Andy Garcia hosts. TV-G
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/episodes/miami-city-ballet-dances-balanchine-and-tharp/about-the-program/1196/

Saturday, 29,  2011,
4-6 p.m. E/P
Planet Green Channel
World History
Middle and High  School

Secrets of Egypt's Lost Queen

More powerful than Cleopatra or Nefertiti, Hatshepsut was Egypt's greatest female ruler. And then she disappeared. In this documentary Egypt's preeminent archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, investigates several mummies that may well be the remains of this powerful queen. TV-PG
Log on http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/04/hatshepsut/brown-text.html


Book TV Schedule

Saturday, October 22nd

8am (ET)
Approx. 48 min.
"Growing a Better America"
Chuck Leavell

9am (ET)
Approx. 44 min.
2011 National Book Festival: Dougals Waller, "Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage"
Douglas Waller

9:45am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 11 min.
"Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War"
Leymah Gbowee

LIVE 11am (ET)
Approx. 7 hr.
2011 Texas Book Festival: LIVE Saturday Coverage
2011 Texas Book Festival

6pm (ET)
Approx. 57 min.
Encore Booknotes: Milton Friedman on F.A. Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom"
Milton Friedman

7pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 13 min.
"Constitution Cafe: Jefferson's Brew for a True Revolution"
Christopher Phillips

8:15pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 4 min.
"A Point in Time: The Search for Redemption in this Life and the Next"
David Horowitz

9:15pm (ET)
Approx. 48 min.
"Woody Guthrie, American Radical"
Will Kaufman

10pm (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
After Words: Nicholas Wapshott, "Keynes Hayek: The Clash That Defined Modern Economics," hosted by Matthew Bishop, The Economist U.S. Business Editor

11pm (ET)
Approx. 48 min.
"Growing a Better America"
Chuck Leavell

Sunday, October 23rd

12am (ET)
Approx. 7 hr.
2011 Texas Book Festival: LIVE Saturday Coverage
2011 Texas Book Festival

7am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 4 min.
"A Point in Time: The Search for Redemption in this Life and the Next"
David Horowitz

8am (ET)
Approx. 39 min.
"Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin: Forty Years of Funny Stuff"
Calvin Trillin

8:45am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 16 min.
"Reimagining Equality: Stories of Gender, Race, and Finding Home"
Anita Hill

10am (ET)
Approx. 59 min.
After Words: Daniel Yergin, "The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World," hosted by Dina Cappiello, Associated Press

11am (ET)
Approx. 16 min.
George Mason University Interviews: Christopher Hamner, "Enduring Battle: American Soldiers in Three Wars, 1776-1945"
Christopher Hamner

11:20am (ET)
Approx. 22 min.
George Mason University Interviews: Steven Barnes, "Death and Redemption: The Gulag and the Shaping of Modern Society"
Steven Barnes

LIVE 12pm (ET)
Approx. 6 hr.
2011 Texas Book Festival: LIVE Sunday Coverage
2011 Texas Book Festival

6pm (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
After Words: Nicholas Wapshott, "Keynes Hayek: The Clash That Defined Modern Economics," hosted by Matthew Bishop, The Economist U.S. Business Editor

7pm (ET)
Approx. 44 min.
2011 National Book Festival: Dougals Waller, "Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage"
Douglas Waller

7:45pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 16 min.
"Reimagining Equality: Stories of Gender, Race, and Finding Home"
Anita Hill

9pm (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
After Words: Nicholas Wapshott, "Keynes Hayek: The Clash That Defined Modern Economics," hosted by Matthew Bishop, The Economist U.S. Business Editor

10pm (ET)
Approx. 39 min.
"Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin: Forty Years of Funny Stuff"
Calvin Trillin

11pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 4 min.
"A Point in Time: The Search for Redemption in this Life and the Next"
David Horowitz

Monday, October 24th

12am (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
After Words: Nicholas Wapshott, "Keynes Hayek: The Clash That Defined Modern Economics," hosted by Matthew Bishop, The Economist U.S. Business Editor

1am (ET)
Approx. 16 min.
George Mason University Interviews: Christopher Hamner, "Enduring Battle: American Soldiers in Three Wars, 1776-1945"
Christopher Hamner

1:20am (ET)
Approx. 22 min.
George Mason University Interviews: Steven Barnes, "Death and Redemption: The Gulag and the Shaping of Modern Society"
Steven Barnes

2am (ET)
Approx. 6 hr.
2011 Texas Book Festival: LIVE Sunday Coverage
2011 Texas Book Festival