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Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Media Menu for December 14, 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.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011, 8-10 p.m.
PBS Arts Elementary, Middle and High School

LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker

New York City Ballet’s beloved holiday favorite, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™, airs live from Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater. Set to Tchaikovsky’s glorious score, Balanchine’s Nutcracker features New York City Ballet’s entire roster of more than 150 dancers and musicians, as well as two alternating casts of 50 children from the School of American Ballet, the New York City Ballet’s official school. TV-G Log on http://www.pbs.org/programs/live-from-lincoln-center/

Thursday, December 15, 2011, 9-10 p.m.
National Geographic Channel Economics and Geography
Elementary, Middle and High School

Pricing the Priceless: The Great Pyramid

In this documentary about math and masterpieces. engineer Kevin Cook puts a cash value on the last remaining ancient wonder of the world: the Great Pyramid of Giza. In order to find the price for the Great Pyramids 5.75 million tons of limestone, Kevin will go on a journey that will take him from the souks of Cairo to the secret location of an Egyptian antiquities dealer and to one of Americas largest limestone quarries. He'll find out what he could get selling it off stone by stone, what a Wall Street trader would buy it for and the cost of buying the Great Pyramid of Giza and moving it from Egypt to a new home in the U.S.: Central Park, New York City. Log on http://natgeotv.com.au/tv/pricing-the-priceless/

Friday, December 16, 2011, 9-10 p.m.
Science Channel Science
Middle and High School

Do We Need the Moon?

The moon regulates our weather, wildlife behavior, and all sorts of geological phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. In this documentary scientists show just how much of an impact it has by simulating its movement closer and farther from Earth. TV-PG Log on http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00yb5jp

Saturday, December 17, 2011, 7-8 p.m.
National Geographic Channel
Science and Technology
Middle and High School

Brain Games: Watch This!

This documentary hacks into the ultimate supercomputer - the human brain - as Hollywood filmmakers use color, light, motion, depth and sound to create mind-bending sensory illusions. Is it possible to feel the sensation of accidentally cutting your finger just by watching TV? Much of what we experience may be a mere fabrication, as our brains fill in gaps and stitch together a complete picture of the world bit-by-bit, designed to overcome our eyes' blind spots. Log on http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/brain-games/watch-this-perception-facts/

Sunday, December 18, 2011, 8-9 p.m.
National Geographic Channel World
History and Science
Middle and High School

24 Hours After Hiroshima

This documentary tells the second-by-second story of a moment that changed the world forever: the dropping of the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. Through the eyes of those in the air and on the ground, including the last interview with the weapons test officer who armed the bomb, we'll experience the events as they unfolded that tragic day. Log on http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/national-geographic-channel/all-videos/ngc-dropping-the-first-atomic-bomb.html?source=email_channel

Monday, December 19, 2011, 8-9 p.m.
National Geographic Channel
Science
Middle and High School

Will We Become Extinct?

Our ability to read the human genome means that we have a roadmap for the history of our evolution. As discussed in this documentary, humans have continued to evolve over the past 50,000 years and that begs the most exciting question of all: how will we evolve in the future? TV-14
http://news.discovery.com/human/will-humans-be-extinct-within-100-years.html


Book TY Schedule

Saturday, December 17th

8am (ET)
Approx. 58 min.
2011 Year in Books 
Sarah Weinman
9am (ET)
Approx. 42 min.
"Eisenhower: The White House Years" 
Jim Newton
11am (ET)
Approx. 49 min.
"Patriot Acts: What Americans Must Do to Save the Republic" 
Catherine Crier
2:30pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 33 min.
2011 American Book Awards 
Ishmael Reed
8pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
"Steve Jobs" 
Walter Isaacson
11pm (ET)
Approx. 32 min.
"Truth and Consequences: Life Inside the Madoff Family" 
Laurie Sandell
11:45pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
"Life Upon These Shores: Looking At African American History 1500-2008" 
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Sunday, December 18th

1am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 12 min.
"EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think, to Create the World We Want" 
Frances Moore Lappe
2:15am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 14 min.
Panel discussion of William F. Buckley's "God & Man at Yale" 
Midge Decter; Charles Kesler; Roger Kimball; R. Emmett Tyrrell
3:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 20 min.
"Black Tuesday" 
Nomi Prins
5am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 11 min.
2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Leymah Gbowee on "Mighty Be Our Powers" 
Leymah Gbowee
6:15am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 1 min.
"Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America’s Secret Campaign Against Al Qaeda" 
Eric Schmitt; Thom Shanker
7:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 20 min.
"Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy" 
Michael Beschloss; Richard Donahue; Caroline Kennedy; Ted Widmer
9:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 11 min.
"Worm: The first Digital World War" 
Mark Bowden
10:45am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 10 min.
"Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America" 
Melissa Harris-Perry
3pm (ET)
Approx. 32 min.
"Truth and Consequences: Life Inside the Madoff Family" 
Laurie Sandell
4:45pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 14 min.
Panel discussion of William F. Buckley's "God & Man at Yale" 
Midge Decter; Charles Kesler; Roger Kimball; R. Emmett Tyrrell
6pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 4 min.
John Paul Stevens: An Independent Life 
Bill Barnhart; Gene Schlickman
10pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
"Steve Jobs" 
Walter Isaacson

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Media Menu for December 7, 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.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011,
8-10  p.m.
History  Channel
U.S. and World History
Middle and High  School

Pearl Harbor: 24 Hours After

This documentary offers an in-depth look at the critical 24-hour period after news of Japan's attack on U.S. soil in 1941 reached the President. Drawing on exhaustive research and new information provided by the FDR Library, the program gives a rare and surprising glimpse at the man behind the Presidency and how he confronted the enormous challenge of transitioning the nation from peace to war. There was no direct phone line between Pearl Harbor and the White House. As information slowly trickled in and word of the bombing got out, panic gripped the White House. FDR's unique style of leadership enabled him to galvanize the American people in the wake of a grave and potentially demoralizing attack. The program features  historian Steven M. Gillon, author of the recently released “Pearl Harbor: FDR Leads the Nation Into War”. TV-PG
Log on http://www.amazon.com/Pearl-Harbor-Leads-Nation-Into/dp/0465021395

Thursday, December 8, 2011,
5:30-6  p.m.
Science Channel
Science and Technology
Elementary, Middle and High  School

Machines

This is an episode in a documentary series which might change the way you look at machinery. It's a  trip inside, under, over and through the guts of ordinary and extraordinary machines. Photo-real computer animation takes us where no camera can fit, or even survive. Easy-to-understand commentary untangles aspects of complex design and engineering. This episode covers Coast Guard's Search and Rescue boat self-rights after capsizing; Aircraft Cabin pressure drives the vacuum toilet; A mass produced hybrid electric car depends on its power split device to make it work; the high performance Zeppelin makes a comeback.
Log on http://science.discovery.com/tv/machines/

Friday, December 9, 2011,
10-10:30  p.m.
History  Channel
Science and Technology
Middle and High  School

Invention USA: Great Balls Of Fire

For centuries, America has been an engine of invention and innovation, creating technology that has shaped world history. From Ben Franklin to the Wright brothers, from Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs, the United States has been a constant generator of revolutionary ideas. To this day, in basements and backyards around the country, Americans are striving to turn their dreams into the next big thing.   This documentary is the first in a series anchored  Reichart Von Wolfsheild and Garrett Lisi. They are both innovators and scientists with ties to investors, as they go in search of the next breakthrough invention. Whether they're traveling the country to visit garage innovators at home or meeting with inventors at their Los Angeles testing lab, Reichart and Garrett will put prototypes to the test and give a tough, no-nonsense evaluation of each invention's potential. If they like what they see, they'll invest to help bring the product to market. In this episode they                                                                                                                 travel to the Mojave Desert to meet an eccentric survivalist who has invented a combustible weapon for stopping wild animal attacks, but his invention may go up in flames. An old friend calls up to pitch a handy cell phone accessory -- the Phone Glove.
Log on http://www.history.com/shows/invention-usa

Saturday, December 10, 2011,
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
AMC – American Movie Channel
U.S. History
Middle and High  School
The Alamo
This is a movie version of historical events in Texas 1835-36   before, during, and after the famous siege of the Alamo (February 23-March 6, 1836) where 183 Texans (American-born Texans) and Tejanos (Mexican-born Texans) commanded by Colonel Travis, along with Davey Crockett and Jim Bowie, were besieged in an abandoned mission outside San Antonio by a Mexican army of nearly 2,000 men under the personal command of the dictator of Mexico, General Santa Anna. The movie also shows what followed the Alamo’s fall -  the Battle of San Jacinto (April 21, 1836) where General Sam Houston's rag-tag army of Texans and Tejanos took on and defeated Santa Anna's army which led to the independence of Texas. Rated PG -13
Log on http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318974/ and http://www.thealamo.org/main/index.php

Sunday, December 11, 2011,
7-8 p.m.
Planet Green Channel
World History
Elementary, Middle and High  School

The Curse of Tutankhamun

When a team of British archaeologists opened the seal of King Tut's tomb in 1923, they revealed the teenage ruler's vast treasure, but also unleashed a protective spell. As described in this documentary, the mysterious and untimely deaths of those who opened the tomb support this legend. TV-G
Log  on  http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tut.htm

Monday, December 12, 2011,
7-8 p.m.  E/P Saturday April 30 7P Saturday April 30 6P Saturday April 30 8P Saturday April 30 7P Saturday April 30 5P
National Geographic Channel
World History
Elementary, Middle and High  School
Search for Noah's Ark
This documentary examines the latest clues and theories that attempt to confirm the biblical account of Noah's ark and the flood. Satellite imagery of mountaintops and underwater geological surveys help dissect the story timeline from God's warning to the receding waters.
Log  on http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/national-geographic-channel/all-videos/av-1539-2339/ngc-noahs-ark.html

Tuesday, December 13, 2011,
10:00 - 11:59   p.m. 
PBS
World History
Elementary, Middle and High  School

FRONTLINE: From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians

Drawing upon new and sometimes controversial historical evidence, this  2-part documentary transports viewers back 2,000 years to the time and place where Jesus of Nazareth once lived and preached and challenges familiar assumptions and conventional notions about the origins of Christianity. The first program traces the life of Jesus of Nazareth, exploring the message that helped his ministry grow and the events that led to his crucifixion around 30 C.E. The film then turns to the period that followed Jesus’ death, examining the rise of Christianity and concluding with the first revolt — the bloody and violent siege of Jerusalem and the beginning of a rift between Christianity and Judaism. The broadcast explores evidence suggesting that Jesus’ followers, because of their diversity and the differences in their cultures and languages, looked at and interpreted Jesus and his teachings in many different ways. Part 2 airs in this time-slot December 20.
Log  on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/
Wednesday, December 14, 2011,
8-10 p.m. 
PBS
Arts
Elementary, Middle and High  School

LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker

New York City Ballet’s beloved holiday favorite, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™, airs live from Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater. Set to Tchaikovsky’s glorious score, Balanchine’s Nutcracker features New York City Ballet’s entire roster of more than 150 dancers and musicians, as well as two alternating casts of 50 children from the School of American Ballet, the New York City Ballet’s official school. TV-G
Log  on http://www.pbs.org/programs/live-from-lincoln-center/

Book TV Schedule

Saturday, December 10th

9am (ET)
Approx. 3 hr.
In Depth: David Brooks
12pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
2011 Year in Books
Sarah Weinman
2:15pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 2 min.
"Grant's Final Victory: Ulysses S. Grant's Heroic Last Year"
Charles Flood
3:30pm (ET)
Approx. 49 min.
"Patriot Acts: What Americans Must Do to Save the Republic"
Catherine Crier
4:30pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 18 min.
"Worm: The first Digital World War"
Mark Bowden
7pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 12 min.
"Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America"
Melissa Harris-Perry
8:15pm (ET)
Approx. 42 min.
"Eisenhower: The White House Years"
Jim Newton
11pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 32 min.
"The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World"
John Carlos; Dave Zirin

Sunday, December 11th

2:30am (ET)
Approx. 52 min.
"No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington"
Condoleezza Rice
3:30am (ET)
Approx. 38 min.
"Scorched Earth: Legacies of Chemical Warfare in Vietnam"
Noam Chomsky; Fred Wilcox
5:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
2011 Year in Books
Sarah Weinman
6:45am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 24 min.
50th Anniversary of Joseph Heller's "Catch-22"
Christopher Buckley; Robert Gottlieb; Mike Nichols
9:15am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 7 min.
"Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President"
Ron Suskind
10:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 11 min.
"A Governor's Story: The Fight for Jobs and America's Economic Future"
Jennifer Granholm
2:15pm (ET)
Approx. 48 min.
"Growing a Better America"
Chuck Leavell
3pm (ET)
Approx. 53 min.
"War of the Worldviews: Science vs. Spirituality"
Deepak Chopra; Leonard Mlodinow
4pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 32 min.
"The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World"
John Carlos; Dave Zirin
6pm (ET)
Approx. 42 min.
"Eisenhower: The White House Years"
Jim Newton
6:45pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
2011 Year in Books
Sarah Weinman
7:45pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 18 min.
"Worm: The first Digital World War"
Mark Bowden
11pm (ET)
Approx. 49 min.
"Patriot Acts: What Americans Must Do to Save the Republic"
Catherine Crier

Monday, December 12th

2:15am (ET)
Approx. 42 min.
"Eisenhower: The White House Years"
Jim Newton
4am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 29 min.
"Allah, Liberty and Love: The Courage to Reconcile Faith and Freedom"
Irshad Manji
5:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 3 min.
"Ethan Allen: His Life and Times"
Willard Sterne Randall
6:45am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 9 min.
"Collision Course: Ronald Reagan, the Air Traffic Controllers, and the Strike that Changed America"
Joseph McCartin