Media Menu, June 12, 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 12, 2010, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. E/P	History Channel	U.S. History and Geography	Middle and High School
" The States”
This is a marathon telecast, recommended for recording and later use, of eight documentaries about the 50 States of the USA. States are groups together in the hour – for example – as in Episode One - California, North Carolina, Kansas, New Hampshire, West Virginia. Each program is a history lesson filled with surprising facts, figures and stories from five American states. Episode One - In California, see how the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill, in 1848 started the largest migration in US history, and then learn how scientists are currently trying to predict the next big earthquake. Next it's off to North Carolina's tobacco fields and the mystery of Roanoke--the lost colony. Wichita, Kansas is the "Aviation Capital of America" and Wyatt Earp put Dodge City on the map. New Hampshire is the state where the first act of open rebellion in America's Revolutionary War took place and the first presidential primary each election season is held. Finally, learn about The Battle of Blair Mountain, West Virginia, where in 1921, over 10,000 unionizing coal miners faced off with state and federal troops in what was one of the largest armed uprisings in America since the Civil War. TV-PG
Log on http://www.history.com/topics/states

Sunday , June 13, 2010, 7-8 p.m. E/P	CBS	Science and Technology	Middle and High School
"60 Minutes”
The first report in this newsmagazine raises the question, “Could foreign hackers get into the computer systems that run crucial elements of the world’s infrastructure, such as the power grids, water works or even a nation’s military arsenal, to create havoc? They already have. Steve Kroft reports. Ite second report is about explorer Robert Ballard who discovered the sunken wrecks of the Titanic, the Bismarck and the PT 109 , and now 60 MINUTES cameras are there for his latest discovery, 1,500 feet down in the Aegean Sea off Turkey. Lara Logan reports.
Series information at http://animal.discovery.com/tv/stranger-among-bears

Monday, June 14, 2010, 9-10 p.m. E/P	Planet Green Channel	Science and Technology	Middle and High School
"30 Days: Off the Grid ”
Two 30-year-old professionals who are friends and typical Americans - who consume large amounts of fossil fuels - spend 30 days living off the grid at an eco-village in Missouri. TV-14

Tuesday, June 15, 2010, 9-10 p.m. E/P	PBS	U.S. History and Government	Middle and High School
" FRONTLINE “Obama’s Deal”
This documentary goes behind closed doors at the White House, in Congress and the boardrooms of the giant healthcare lobby to examine the political battles and costly compromises that defined the Obama administration’s efforts toward healthcare reform.
Info at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obamasdeal/etc/synopsis.html

Tuesday, June 15, 2010, 10-11 p.m. E/P	National Geographic Channel	Science and Technology	High School
" Electronic Armageddon”
Not If, but When... Picture an instantaneous deathblow to the vital engines that power our society -- delivered by a weapon specifically designed not kill humans, but to kill electronics. Its called a High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse or HEMP. This is a documentary about what could happen when an electromagnetic pulse surges to earth and cripples every aspect of infrastructure by destroying our most depended upon, and therefore vulnerable, aspect of modern society: the electrical grid. While predicting the odds of a nuclear HEMP attack from terrorist groups are less certain, most experts agree that another source of an EMP, the sun, is imminent.
Info at http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/4821/Overview#ixzz0qId0JdvE

Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 7-8 p.m. E/P	MSNBC Channel	U.S. History and Government	Middle and High School
"Rise Of The New Right”
In this news documentary reporter Chris Matthews takes a look at the recent surge of anger on the political right, particularly the outpouring of support for the Tea Party, which helped secure Rand Paul’s victory in Kentucky. The growing fear among citizens of losing their rights and freedoms has created a political backlash toward the US government and manifested itself in violent rhetoric and anti-government groups who want to “take their country back.” Matthews asks the questions: Who are the people on the New Right? What do they want? And how do they intend to get it? The documentary features interviews across the spectrum of the New Right – from Dick Armey, former House Majority Leader and a powerful figure in the Tea Party Movement to Orly Taitz, unofficial leader of the Birthers, to influential internet radio host Alex Jones. The documentary also gained access to the Michigan Militia’s survival training camp and hit the campaign trail with Rand Paul months before he showed up on the national radar.
Info at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/#37455267

Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 9 p. m. – Midnight E/P	MSNBC Channel	U.S. History and Government	Elementary, Middle and High School
" GREAT PERFORMANCES “La Danse: Le Ballet de l’Opera de Paris”
For his 38th film, master documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman turns his unblinking eye on one of the world’s leading ballet companies, the Paris Opera Ballet. Cinematographer John Davey’s camera roams the company’s home at the vast Palais Garnier opera house from top to bottom, gliding down chandelier-laden corridors to the theater’s labyrinthine underground chambers, pausing to observe from the sidelines of light-drenched rehearsal studios, then slipping past the plush scarlet seats of the opulent theater to record a dazzling selection of final performances. “La Danse” devotes the bulk of its time to watching rigorously trained young dancers in rehearsals and performances for seven ballets: Genus by Wayne McGregor, Le Songe de Medée by Angelin Preljocaj, La Maison de Bernarda by Mats Ek, Paquita by Pierre Lacotte, Casse Noisette by Rudolph Nureyev, Orphée et Eurdice by Pina Bausch and Romeo and Juliette by Sasha Waltz. In addition, the film records the behind-the-scenes activity involved in administering the company, along with the collaborative work of choreographers, ballet masters, dancers, musicians and costume, set and lighting designers. For balletomanes and the curious alike, “La Danse” serves up a sumptuous banquet of delectable dance. TV-G
Info at http://www.zipporah.com/films/37

Thursday, June 17, 2010, 10-11 p.m. E/P	Science Channel	Science and Technology	Elementary, Middle and High School
"Build It Bigger: Gotthard Base Tunnel”
This documentary shows the spectacular technology involved in digging the longest underground tunnel in the world. The Swiss government is spending 18 billion dollars to create the Gotthard Base Tunnel – when finished it will be the longest in the world, getting people and goods fifty miles through the Alps up to 3 times faster and ultimately changing European transit forever. TV-G
Log on http://www.alptransit.ch/en/?no_cache=1

Friday, June 18, 2010, 9-10 p.m. E/P	Discovery Channel	Science	High School
"Discovery Saved My Life”
This one-hour special recounts six incredible stories of individuals who survived deadly situations thanks in part to life-saving tips seen on the Discovery Channel. The program features a variety of real-life situations including a young man escaping the jaws of an 11 foot alligator, a couple stranded in their car braving freezing conditions for over a week before finding rescue and a teenager fighting to stay alive after falling through the ice in a local pond.
http://press.discovery.com/emea/dsc/programs/discovery-saved-my-life

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