Saturday, May 30, 2009

WILD PROVENCE

Synonymous with lazy days spent in the afternoon sun, Provence is a land of vivid contrasts. From the rugged limestone terrain of the north to the wetlands in the south, it's a place that has always attracted people. Journey through an aromatic wilderness of wild herbs and lavender, and immerse yourself in the sun-drenched landscape.

America's Greatest Monuments

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Click to play!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

THE LIFE OF BIRDS

David Attenborough presents a ten-part insight into the evolution and behaviours of birds. In this first programme, computer graphics recreate the period 150 million years ago when small, fast-running dinosaurs evolved feathers and took to the air. In New Zealand, David examines the environment required by birds which have survived without recourse to flight, and enjoys a midnight encounter with a kiwi, captured on a starlight-sensitive camera.



David Attenborough offers an array of insights in to how birds have adapted to the air space and perfected the skills needed to fly. Though take-off is exhausting, and landing can be fraught with difficulties, birds are the masters of the air. They can fly with their wings back at speeds in excess of two hundred miles per hour, or remain in a completely stationary hover. But how do birds even manage to stay airborne?



A beak made from horn, without any teeth, might seem a clumsy implement for gathering food. Yet David Attenborough discovers that birds have evolved an amazing range of bill shapes and sizes designed to hammer out grubs from trees, winkle out tiny seeds from fruits, and sip nectar from the deep recesses of flowers.



From meat eating parrots in New Zealand to massive eagles that catch monkeys and flamingoes in Africa, David Attenborough looks at the dramatic ways in which these birds hunt their prey. To hunt, birds need super-senses and great skill. Some birds use exceptional hearing to track down their prey, while others use their supreme vision or a heightened sense of smell.



Fresh and salt waters all over the world are rich in food and birds are the best fishers there are. David Attenborough follow birds from across the globe, including common mallards, revealing them as exquisite divers and American dippers who prise small creatures from underneath rocks in Yellowstone National Park. Wherever there is water, there are birds, who have learnt to get food there.



David Attenborough reveals how birds have become expert communicators and use extraordinary patterns of colour and beautiful songs to deter predators, intimidate rivals and even impress potential mates. In Patagonia, he enters into a morse code conversation with one of the worlds largest woodpeckers. While the lyrebird of southern Australia has its own comprehensive selection of musical notes, but it also steals sounds from its environment and incorporates them into its own repertoire.



David Attenborough reveals how male birds use both extraordinary displays and bizarre rituals in order to turn a females head, and how for many species its girl power that rules the dating game. Curassows and guans have bizarre calls that sound just like dropping bombs and electric drills. On the Galapagos Islands, frigate birds pump up their vivid red throat pouches. While the tiny fairy wren of southern Australia is revealed as the most promiscuous bird in the world.



David Attenborough explores the extraordinary variety of ways in which birds from all over the world construct their nests and protect their eggs from predators. Because birds need to be light in order to fly, each egg must be laid as soon as it is produced and then kept both warm and protected. So the vast majority of birds make nests of some kind. Australian warblers use their beaks like a sewing machine to stitch leaves together, and apostle birds use them to trowel mud on their nests.



David Attenborough looks at the fascinating diversity of feeding practices and behavioural patterns employed by birds. Sweeping through an incredible range of species, including pelicans, sea eagles, babblers and finch chicks, it offers a thorough study of the way in which birds solve the problems of parenthood.



David Attenborough concludes his series exploring the evolution and behaviour of birds by looking at how birds cope with living in some of the harshest and most bizarre places on the planet. From huddled masses of emperor penguins in the Antarctic winter to the sand grouse in the burning African desert, it is a story of surviving the Earths extremes.

INSIDE THE VATICAN

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Tuesday, May 26, 2009

HARD TIMES

Bronson plays an itinerant bare-knuckle street fighter in the 1930s who makes his living beating the brains out of those foolish enough to think they can take the graying tough guy. Coburn is the New Orleans promoter who arranges illegal bouts for Bronson, and Ireland has a fling with the fighter.
Click to play the movie!
Click to play the movie!

AIR FORCE ONE

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MOUNT ST. HELENS ERUPTION

Explore the events that led up to the massive explosion of the Mount Saint Helens volcano.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Carrier At War: USS Enterprise

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KINGDOM OF DAVID

In 586 B.C., exiled Israelites write down stories of Judah.


Ezra reads the Bible to illiterate Judeans in 458 B.C.; the Maccabees defend their religious freedom.


Conflict erupts between Jews and Romans when Pompeii enters Judah in 63 B.C.


Conflict erupts between Jews and Romans when Pompeii enters Judah in 63 B.C.

Friday, May 22, 2009

SECRETS OF LOST EMPIRES

PHARAOH'S OBELISK:
Discover how ancient Egyptians used nautical experience, ingenuity, and unwavering faith to raise massive 500-ton granite monoliths that have stood for thousands of years in tribute to their unparalleled early civilization.


EASTER ISLAND:
Travel to Easter Island to discover the secrets of this vanished civilization through the "moai," the massive headstones that these ancient islanders created to achieve peace and harmony, yet resulted in geological disaster.


ROMAN BATH:
Tour the crumbling public baths of Rome to learn intimate details of what life was really like for ancient Roman citizens, and in the process, discover the engineering feats that made these baths such an impressive achievement.


CHINA BRIDGE:
Travel to 12th-century China as engineers, scientists and scholars help reveal the intricate mysteries behind the revolutionary strength and elegance of the Rainbow Bridge.

Angkor Wat

The History of Angkor Wat (Playlist):





Angkor Wat (Playlist):



Tuesday, May 12, 2009

OBAMA STAND-UP-IN-CHIEF



First Lady Michelle Obama Assists In Giving Out Scholarships @ White House Correspondents Dinner - 05/09/09:





Wanda Sykes at the White House Correspondents' Dinner:





2009 White House Correspondents' Dinner Arrivals: