DOCUMENTARIES & FUN STUFF
198 Network- I'm Mad as Hell 4:12
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The classic speech that reveals it's all BS and then the man says the famous line. Good stuff.
156 BBC The Story Of One 59 min
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Terry Jones, writer and historian, best known for his work with Monty Python, presents The Story of 1, a one-off BBC One documentary on the history of numbers in which he merges slapstick, quirky humor and learning.
157 NOVA: Lost King of the Maya 56 min
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In an ancient Mayan arena, enemies of notorious King Yax K'uk Mo square off in a ball game that appears much like modern soccer. But in this fateful contest, winners live and losers lose their heads. From 200 to 900 A.D., the dynasty of Blood Lords presided over the Maya city of Copan, conducting hallucinogenic vision quests, ritual warfare and human sacrifice.
158 NOVA: Curse of T. Rex 57 min
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A perfect rare T Rex is uncovered in South Dakota unleashing a hail of claims to ownership rights and court battles. The group who found it had permission from the land owner and paid $5,000 to take the bones away for their local museum. Yet the government took the T Rex from the finders and proceeded to investigate everything they'd ever done spending millions of taxpayer dollars to investigate and prosecute them. Science whines that no one should be able to experience finding and owning a fossil except for them because only they do it "right". The people who dig fossils to sell them disagree. And for the locals who want to casually dig and hope to find something, well, they're called poachers. In the end the finders are lucky to get away without having to spend 300 years in prison for having done nothing wrong in the first place. Who ended up the legal owner of Sue the T Rex?
159 When the Moors Ruled in Europe 1 hr 42 min
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Depicting Middle Eastern and Muslim history, architecture, culture, science, medicine, education, politics and war. Focuses on Spain and unravels a few of their favorite heroes, holidays and historical beliefs, revealing Muslims, not Christians are at the root. There is a lot of gorgeous architecture and art to marvel at, which have historical relevance in many of our modern sciences; for example the Fibonacci numbers. It's a rare introduction to the unfamiliar history of the middle east. The purpose of the film clearly, is to educate a western audience about and around the prominence of the middle east historically and it's influence on many aspects of western civilization. I'm sorry that the writers felt the need to weave in somewhat incendiary remarks occasionally, as it simply defeats the purpose of the film. It will definitely turn some folks away from an otherwise enlightening and worthwhile film. If you aren't prone to have a cow over every little perceived slight in life, then you'll likely be able to appreciate the film for what it has to offer. But if you're the fly off the handle type ("we're number one in spite of reality") then skip it.
167 Ghosts On Tape 41 min
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This professionally produced made for TV program is pretty darned creepy. Very scary footage of ghosts and other phenomena, none of which I'd ever want to see at my house. When my furniture starts moving around by itself and my walls start bleeding, I am SO gone. Fun to watch.
179 Ghosts of the Underground 47 min
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Fun and spooky visit with workers of London's Underground who have seen, heard and even talked with ghosts. Also interesting photographic phenomena and the creepy revelation of the many deaths in and around the tube that correlate with witness experiences.
168 Cartoon: Destination Earth 14 min
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Cartoons from the 60's were the best. This one is visually fun with a political message from the American Oil Institute. It's about competition in the oil industry, and spreading the wealth and power vs total Oil-igarchy. Set in outer space, it's a nice distraction for a few short minutes. It even has a happy ending.
113 George Carlin - Life is Worth Losing 1 hr 14 min
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Irreverent, foul mouthed, sometimes disgusting and occasionally out in the weeds, George Carlin lets 'er rip with a scathing indictment of modern America. He is always brilliant but this is razor sharp. George never says a word that isn't a serious message so if you're new to him you can get some practice reading between the lines. If you're not new, you won't be disappointed. His opening bit alone is amazing. (He hates trite politically correct buzzwords and I think he about uses them all in his intro.) Not for the faint of heart or panty wad types.