Faith & Survival

Today I began showing this amazing documentary short to my students as we begin the final unit of the school year. In it we will be discussing the origins and course of the Arab-Israeli conflict including Zionism and the four major Arab-Isreali wars as well as the War on Terror and how European Imperialism and decolonization as well as the Cold War figure in this story. I will ultimately tie this into decolonization and the Cold War and not failing to mention the Treaty of Versailles.

Tank Duel in Cologne

I have encountered this 10-minute long rather remarkable short documentary titled "Battle for Cologne" before now. However, with my ongoing obsession with German tanks of World War Two thus far this year, I was roaming across Youtube this past weekend and encountered it once again. For reasons I cannot fathom, I have not previously shared this here. Tonight I am finally getting around to sharing it here. This is perhaps the most famous tank duel in history if for no other reason than it was filmed and photographed more than any other in history. It featured a German Panther tank versus two American M-4 Sherman tanks, of which it destroyed one of them in a single shot, killing three of five crew members and forcing the other tank to retreat. An American M-26 Pershing tank came to their aid and hit the German tank thrice, killing one of five crew members. The "Battle of Cologne" occurred on March 6, 1945, in a final stand for the Germans. The dead German gunner can be seen, legless, laying dead atop the turret of his tank as the second shot from the Pershing tank hit as he was exiting the turret a few seconds too late. Another, more detailed analysis using the same footage, but with the addition of some computer animations and more accurate analysis can be viewed below.
*NOTE: there is some graphic violence in this historic footage as the Sherman tank commander (who died a short time later) can be seen sans the lower part of one leg stumbling out of his tank and a dead German sans both his legs can be seen atop his tank as fire erupts out the hatch next to his remains.

All Along The Watchtower Revisited

The announcement two days ago that Bob Dylan won the 2016 Nobel Prize for literature has led to an explosion of interest in and discussion of his career and works. Unfortunately, this has included some debate and controversy as to if he was deserving of the prize or if the prize should even be awarded to song lyricists at all. In the meanwhile, I cannot avoid thinking of his most important song (in my humble opinion). Below is an excellent, but short analysis of it. Note: I have opined upon this song on this blog previously back in 2012 which you can read HERE.

La La Land's Architectural Rememberer in Miniature

I can't explain why I find this documentary short so compelling and perhaps even a bit haunting. Perhaps it is the skill of the documentarian Matthew Arnold-Ladensack and the score by Rhian Sheehan or perhaps it is the history being discussed or perhaps is the story of the miniature-maker-turned-amateur-historian Gerald William Cox. Probably it is a bit of each. Watch and enjoy!

LA // 1:87 from Humanity Pictures on Vimeo.

Tough Guise

I watched this in my sociology class and found it rather insightful and not a little disturbing.


Tough Guise - Violence Media and the Crisis in... by yourfiction

Sylmar Quake Anniversary!

Forty-three years ago this morning the Sylmar Quake a.k.a., the San Fernando Earthquake, rocked Southern California. For those of you who remember it or who weren't born yet and missed it you are invited to watch this contemporary documentary about it created by the then-President's Office of Emergency Preparedness and the Civil Defense Preparedness Agency.

Christian The Lion

I realize these sorts of stories can be presented in a rather sappy fashion as they oft appear in chain emails or on Youtube. However, the story of Christian the Lion is special and stands out from most in my judgement. It hit the internet in the early 2000's and went viral at which time I discovered it. Something reminded of it today and it occurred to me that some people visiting this blog actually might not have seen it for one reason or another. Below is the original documentary in its entirety unlike the much shorter maudlin music video versions most of you have seen before.

Keep Calm & Carry On

The story of Keep Calm and Carry On is a remarkable little side-story to World War Two-era England... and what a cool bookstore Barter Books is and what a wonderful message for us today that old poster contains!