54 Watch 100 Documentaries
011. Sahara with Michael Palin (2002)
Episode 4
50 min
Creator: Michael Palin
In this four part BBC television series presented by British comedian and travel presenter Michael Palin, and broadcast in 2002. In it, Palin traveled around the Sahara Desert in Northern and Western Africa in four episodes: 1° Line in the Sand - from Gibraltar (British crown colony enclaved in Spain) to amazingly varied Morocco, Western Sahara (disputed by morocco and the Polisaro liberation movement) and Mauritania (another ultra-poor Sahel country, yet plagued by extreme obesity, even as a result of forced feeding of women as a status symbol); 2° Destination Timbuktu - Senegal and Mali; 3° Absolute Desert - Mali and Niger; 4° Dire Straits - Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Ceuta (a Spanish enclave in Morocco where refugees hope to enter Europe) and back to Gibraltar.
012. Keys to the Castle: France (2009)
60 min
HGTV
Take a look at four of the most breathtaking chateaus and castles in France that are still lived in today. The best part is you can even spend the night in some of them and experience what it's like to live like royalty!
013. Big As Life: Obesity in America (2002)
60 min
TLC
The touching lives of obese individuals are revealed as they share their personal challenges. From clubs for fat people to surgeries that result in spectacular (but often temporary) physical transformations-- witness the pain and surprising joy
014. Sahara with Michael Palin (2007)
60 min
TLC
Four morbidly obese people struggle with their weight, their addiction to food and rapidly deteriorating health. Two men are bed ridden and require constant care. Two women are dangerously close to becoming housebound.
Sunday, February 8
Documentaries I've Watched (6-10)
54 Watch 100 Documentaries
006. Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008)
68 min
Creator: Steven Smith
This documentary looks at how the social, financial and moral forces all helped shape one of the most intriguing periods in Hollywood history.
007. Russia, Land of the Tsars (2003)
120 min (including comercials)
Creator: Don Campbell
008. Great Railway Journeys of the World: Confessions of a Train Spotter (1980)
Creator: Michael Palin
Michael Palin travels from London to Kyle of Lochalsh in the north of Scotland.
009. Great Railway Journeys: Derry to Kerry (1994)
Creator: Victoria Silver
Michael Palin travels through Ireland - from Derry in the North down to his ancestral homeland of Kerry in the South.
010. Sahara with Michael Palin (2002)
Episode 3
50 min
Creator: Michael Palin
In this four part BBC television series presented by British comedian and travel presenter Michael Palin, and broadcast in 2002. In it, Palin traveled around the Sahara Desert in Northern and Western Africa in four episodes: 1° Line in the Sand - from Gibraltar (British crown colony enclaved in Spain) to amazingly varied Morocco, Western Sahara (disputed by morocco and the Polisaro liberation movement) and Mauritania (another ultra-poor Sahel country, yet plagued by extreme obesity, even as a result of forced feeding of women as a status symbol); 2° Destination Timbuktu - Senegal and Mali; 3° Absolute Desert - Mali and Niger; 4° Dire Straits - Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Ceuta (a Spanish enclave in Morocco where refugees hope to enter Europe) and back to Gibraltar.
006. Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008)
68 min
Creator: Steven Smith
This documentary looks at how the social, financial and moral forces all helped shape one of the most intriguing periods in Hollywood history.
007. Russia, Land of the Tsars (2003)
120 min (including comercials)
Creator: Don Campbell
008. Great Railway Journeys of the World: Confessions of a Train Spotter (1980)
Creator: Michael Palin
Michael Palin travels from London to Kyle of Lochalsh in the north of Scotland.
009. Great Railway Journeys: Derry to Kerry (1994)
Creator: Victoria Silver
Michael Palin travels through Ireland - from Derry in the North down to his ancestral homeland of Kerry in the South.
010. Sahara with Michael Palin (2002)
Episode 3
50 min
Creator: Michael Palin
In this four part BBC television series presented by British comedian and travel presenter Michael Palin, and broadcast in 2002. In it, Palin traveled around the Sahara Desert in Northern and Western Africa in four episodes: 1° Line in the Sand - from Gibraltar (British crown colony enclaved in Spain) to amazingly varied Morocco, Western Sahara (disputed by morocco and the Polisaro liberation movement) and Mauritania (another ultra-poor Sahel country, yet plagued by extreme obesity, even as a result of forced feeding of women as a status symbol); 2° Destination Timbuktu - Senegal and Mali; 3° Absolute Desert - Mali and Niger; 4° Dire Straits - Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Ceuta (a Spanish enclave in Morocco where refugees hope to enter Europe) and back to Gibraltar.
Saturday, February 7
Movies I Have Watched (31-40)
53. Watch/Re-Watch 500 Movies
031: King Arthur (2004)
142 min, with Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Hugh Dancy, and Keira Knightley
032: Seconhand Lions (2003)
109 min, with Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, and Haley Joel Osment
033: Donald Strachey mysteries: Third Man Out (2005)
98 min, with Chad Allen, Sebastian Spence, Jack Wetherall, and Woody Jeffreys
034: Windtalkers (2002)
153 min, with Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, Peter Stormare, and Mark Ruffalo
035: The Italian Job (2003)
111 min, with Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Donald Sutherland, Jason Statham, and Seth Green
036: Anastasia (1997)
94 min, with Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, and Christopher Lloyd
037: Lady and the Tramp (1955)
73 min, with Peggy Lee, Barbara Luddy, Larry Roberts, and Lee Millar
038: The Rundown (2003)
103 min, with Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson, and Christopher Walken
039: Grumpy Old Men (1993)
103 min, with Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, and Burgess Meredith
040: The Da Vinci Code (2006)
149 min, with Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, and Jean Reno
031: King Arthur (2004)
142 min, with Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Hugh Dancy, and Keira Knightley
032: Seconhand Lions (2003)
109 min, with Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, and Haley Joel Osment
033: Donald Strachey mysteries: Third Man Out (2005)
98 min, with Chad Allen, Sebastian Spence, Jack Wetherall, and Woody Jeffreys
034: Windtalkers (2002)
153 min, with Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, Peter Stormare, and Mark Ruffalo
035: The Italian Job (2003)
111 min, with Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Donald Sutherland, Jason Statham, and Seth Green
036: Anastasia (1997)
94 min, with Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, and Christopher Lloyd
037: Lady and the Tramp (1955)
73 min, with Peggy Lee, Barbara Luddy, Larry Roberts, and Lee Millar
038: The Rundown (2003)
103 min, with Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson, and Christopher Walken
039: Grumpy Old Men (1993)
103 min, with Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, and Burgess Meredith
040: The Da Vinci Code (2006)
149 min, with Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, and Jean Reno
Books I Have Read
50 Read/Re-Read or "listen to" 200 Books, including 40 Non-Fiction Books, 35 books from the Modern Library's 100 Best list, and 25 books from the Forbidden Library
011: The Princess Bride
by: William Goldman
512 pages, 2 hours and 30 min audiobook
011: The Princess Bride
by: William Goldman
512 pages, 2 hours and 30 min audiobook
Friday, January 16
Documentaries I've Watched (1-5)
54 Watch 100 Documentaries
001. My Fake Baby (2008)
60 min (including comercials)
Creator: Victoria Silver
This documentary explores the lives of women who spend hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of pounds on life-like baby dolls. Known as "reborns", some of the dolls have beating hearts, others have tiny veins and even milk spots. Loved like real babies, they're taken for walks, cuddled and even have their nappies changed.
Doll designer Jaime - a mother of four - now fulfils the dreams of other women by engineering babies to their specifications in her front room. Adoptive "mums" include women with grown-up children, grandmothers living away from their grandchildren, and women who have left it too late to have their own babies.
It was interesting... but it ended up giving me nightmares. All those fake babies.
002. First Cut: Time Warp Wives (2008)
23 min
Creator: Sally Hewitt
The lives of four women who have rejected the trappings of modern life in favour of something a bit more old school.
And we're not just talking about clothing and decor - these women have vintage values to match. Having rejected the independence that comes with being a modern working woman, Joanne, Debbie, Diane and Sammi are desperate to be old-fashioned housewives.
The four women have found men who share their vintage obsession, and have turned their homes into vintage shrines, wilfully ignoring most aspects of modern life.
This was just really weird. These women living in the past. it would be a hard thing to do.
003. Young at Heart (2007)
107 min
Creator: Stephen Walker
Documents the true story of the final weeks of rehearsal for the Young at Heart Chorus in Northampton, MA, whose average age is 81, and many of whom must overcome health adversities to participate. Their music is unexpected, going against the stereotype of their age group, performing songs, for example, by James Brown, and Sonic Youth. Although they have toured Europe and sang for royalty, this account focuses on preparing new songs, not an easy endeavor, for a concert in their home town, which succeeds in spite of several real heart breaking events.
This was a great show. I really enjoyed the Young at Heart singers. Made me laugh and cry. Everyone should see!
004. Trembling Before G-d (2001)
84 min
Creator: Sandi Simcha Dubowski
Built around intimately-told personal stories of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who are gay or lesbian, the film portrays a group of people who face a profound dilemma - how to reconcile their passionate love of Judaism and the Divine with the drastic Biblical prohibitions that forbids homosexuality.
Struggle between doing right by your God, and the laws of the church, and what you feel and who you are is very interesting. I was just fascinated by this show.
005. Ask Not (2008)
73 min
Director/Writers: Johnny Symons
http://www.sf360.org/features/sfiff51-johnny-symons-and-ask-not
A film that reveals the personal stories of Americans willing to risk their lives for a country that criminalizes the act of coming out. Current and veteran gay soldiers reveal how "don't ask don't tell" affects them during their tours of duty, as they struggle to maintain a double life. The film also follows gay veterans and young organizers turning to forms of personal activism to overturn the policy
So much information about gays in the military that I never knew. 13% of the military wouldn't be bothered about gays in the military when Don't Ask Don't Tell was put into effect in 1993. Today that number has gone up to 70%. I hope that ALL those who would like to enlist will some day soon be able to.
001. My Fake Baby (2008)
60 min (including comercials)
Creator: Victoria Silver
This documentary explores the lives of women who spend hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of pounds on life-like baby dolls. Known as "reborns", some of the dolls have beating hearts, others have tiny veins and even milk spots. Loved like real babies, they're taken for walks, cuddled and even have their nappies changed.
Doll designer Jaime - a mother of four - now fulfils the dreams of other women by engineering babies to their specifications in her front room. Adoptive "mums" include women with grown-up children, grandmothers living away from their grandchildren, and women who have left it too late to have their own babies.
It was interesting... but it ended up giving me nightmares. All those fake babies.
002. First Cut: Time Warp Wives (2008)
23 min
Creator: Sally Hewitt
The lives of four women who have rejected the trappings of modern life in favour of something a bit more old school.
And we're not just talking about clothing and decor - these women have vintage values to match. Having rejected the independence that comes with being a modern working woman, Joanne, Debbie, Diane and Sammi are desperate to be old-fashioned housewives.
The four women have found men who share their vintage obsession, and have turned their homes into vintage shrines, wilfully ignoring most aspects of modern life.
This was just really weird. These women living in the past. it would be a hard thing to do.
003. Young at Heart (2007)
107 min
Creator: Stephen Walker
Documents the true story of the final weeks of rehearsal for the Young at Heart Chorus in Northampton, MA, whose average age is 81, and many of whom must overcome health adversities to participate. Their music is unexpected, going against the stereotype of their age group, performing songs, for example, by James Brown, and Sonic Youth. Although they have toured Europe and sang for royalty, this account focuses on preparing new songs, not an easy endeavor, for a concert in their home town, which succeeds in spite of several real heart breaking events.
This was a great show. I really enjoyed the Young at Heart singers. Made me laugh and cry. Everyone should see!
004. Trembling Before G-d (2001)
84 min
Creator: Sandi Simcha Dubowski
Built around intimately-told personal stories of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who are gay or lesbian, the film portrays a group of people who face a profound dilemma - how to reconcile their passionate love of Judaism and the Divine with the drastic Biblical prohibitions that forbids homosexuality.
Struggle between doing right by your God, and the laws of the church, and what you feel and who you are is very interesting. I was just fascinated by this show.
005. Ask Not (2008)
73 min
Director/Writers: Johnny Symons
http://www.sf360.org/features/sfiff51-johnny-symons-and-ask-not
A film that reveals the personal stories of Americans willing to risk their lives for a country that criminalizes the act of coming out. Current and veteran gay soldiers reveal how "don't ask don't tell" affects them during their tours of duty, as they struggle to maintain a double life. The film also follows gay veterans and young organizers turning to forms of personal activism to overturn the policy
So much information about gays in the military that I never knew. 13% of the military wouldn't be bothered about gays in the military when Don't Ask Don't Tell was put into effect in 1993. Today that number has gone up to 70%. I hope that ALL those who would like to enlist will some day soon be able to.
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