America

Monday Montage

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What’s happening, what’s on and what’s interesting this week …

Celebrate Christmas in Scotland as Mary Berry spends a winter break soaking up her Scottish heritage and enjoying traditional festive delights. Don’t miss MARY BERRY’S HIGHLAND CHRISTMAS – tonight at 9 on PBS NC.

Dame Judi Dench (As Time Goes By) was feted at the Royal Albert Hall in a special holiday celebration featuring Eddie Izzard, Boy George and Ginger Spice.

At a time of heightened partisanship, discover how people across the country view the challenges before us and what can be done to surmount them. Explore AMERICA AT A CROSSROADS WITH JUDY WOODRUFF – Tuesday at 9pm on PBS NC.

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Wednesday Trivia Question

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Which US states have (so far) not been visited by ANTIQUES ROADSHOW?

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW premiered on PBS in January 1997. Since then, the appraisers have visited most of America to separate the trash from the treasure. AR has stopped by North Carolina four times and ventured into 46 other US states in its 27 seasons. It’s amazing how many exciting finds the series has unearthed over the years.

But in all the visits to the various 50 states, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW has so far missed three. You would think if they can hit California 15 times and Texas 11 times they could have made it to every state by now. Still, it brings us to a very specific trivia question…

Which US states have not been visited by ANTIQUES ROADSHOW as of yet? (Let’s stick with what’s made it to air since the crew is in the process of recording for the next season and one of these could be in the offing.) Name one and consider yourself impressive. Name two and you’re a major PBS Nerd. But if you can name all three, then you may be a staff member of the ROADSHOW!

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Sounds Familiar

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“He was a Southerner and a Northerner, a Westerner and a New England Yankee; a tireless wanderer who lived in a thousand places all around the world. He would call just two of them home: the Missouri town of his childhood, which he would transform into the idealized hometown of every American boy, and the magnificent Connecticut house he built for his wife and children, which he hoped would shelter them from hardship, but where heartbreak found them nonetheless.” – Narrator (Keith David), MARK TWAIN, a film by Ken Burns

Hey, It’s Photo Friday!

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You may have heard of StoryCorps. Founded by radio producer David Isay, its “mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.” The project started in 2003, born out of Sound Portraits Productions, and has since recorded the stories of more than half a million people. These pieces have aired on NPR and some have been animated and aired as fillers on PBS stations. I know we’ve utilized them for years and they can be hilarious and heartwarming and powerful and emotional and everything you want good stories to be.

A while back, I came across this poster StoryCorps apparently sent to member stations to remind them of the availability of these animated offerings. I keep it pinned to a board in my office.

Sounds Familiar

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“The circus had arrived in America in the nation’s earliest days, small and insignificant. But as the country grew, the circus would evolve with it into a gargantuan, industrialized entertainment, appealing to both the humble and the illustrious. It would stitch into one nation a patchwork of disconnected communities, and dazzle not just Americans but the entire world.” – Narrator (Michael Murphy), THE CIRCUS on AMERICAN EXPERIENCE