Historian David McCullough passed away over the weekend. He was 89.
The venerable McCullough penned books about America’s past and biographies of US presidents, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Truman in 1992 and John Adams in 2001. He was awarded the Presidential medal of Freedom in 2006.
Continue readingDo you you remember the Civil War Experience? I’m honestly asking because I’m not sure I do. It wasn’t a program that we broadcast (at least, it isn’t in our program database) so my guess is it was an event held to commemorate Ken Burns’ landmark mini-series in some way. I know the film was remastered for its twelfth anniversary so that seems a good guess as to the reason for the shindig.
The point is an event was held in 2002 at Bennett Place in Durham, the site of the last surrender of a major Confederate army in the American Civil War. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, Bennett is operated by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The lanyard and pass pictured would have probably been worn by staff and volunteers working the event, possibly even the attendees. As I said, I don’t recall the event. It might have been a special screening of the Burns’ series or a lecture by a historian, perhaps both. If you were there, please drop me a line with your memories.
The animated series LIBERTY’S KIDS ran on PBS Kids from 2002 to 2003 (one season, 40 episodes). The plot centered on Benjamin Franklin and four fictional youthful associates during the American Revolution. It’s listed as historical fiction and seemed like a neat little series if you were its target audience.
I never watched it myself but I did happen upon this nifty little pencil sharpener made to promote the series. Check it out. It’s a replica Liberty Bell with the show’s name on it. And, yes, as you can see from the third picture it is a functional pencil sharpener.
In what state was the series MERCY STREET set?
MERCY STREET may end up being a footnote in the history of PBS programming but the short-lived (two seasons, 12 total episodes) American-made program had promise – and some interesting names attached (Ridley Scott was an executive producer and the series starred Gary Cole, Josh Radner and Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Critics treated it favorably but it just couldn’t catch the excitement of an audience seemingly eager only for more DOWNTON ABBEY.
The show was set during the American Civil War at a Union hospital and went above and beyond to be historically and medically accurate. And perhaps that was the problem as the review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes pointed out the “intriguing setting and talented cast can’t compensate for the overall lack of excitement in a period drama that’s traditional to a fault.” Continue reading
What’s happening, what’s on and what’s interesting this week …
Explore a defiant movement that’s transforming politics from the ground up by fighting for a truly reflective democracy. Tune in as POV premieres the two-night event AND SHE COULD BE NEXT – beginning tonight at 9 on UNC-TV.
Ian McKellen (Vicious) is planning to play Hamlet in an age-blind staging at Theatre Royal Windsor. Continue reading
“Before the War, it was said ‘the United States are.’ Grammatically it was spoken that way and thought of as a collection of independent states. And after the War, it was always, ‘the United States is,’ as we say today without being self-conscious a’tall. And that sums up what the War accomplished. It made us an is.” – Shelby Foote, KEN BURNS’ THE CIVIL WAR
“It is an improvisational art, making itself up as it goes along, just like the country that gave it birth.” – Narrator (Keith David), JAZZ, a film by Ken Burns
What American Founding Father is X the Owl’s hero?
The Neighborhood of Make-Believe on MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD is home to a colorful array of characters. One of the regulars and fan faves is X the Owl. Voiced by Fred Rogers, X is curious and eager to learn. X often receives lessons from the Owl Correspondence School. An avid reader, he loves poetry and rhymes. Continue reading
“In the autumn of 1875 on a quiet residential street in Paris where nothing much had ever happened, work began on a statue unlike any ever built before. It would be a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States and it would celebrate an ideal – liberty.” – Narrator (David McCullough), The Statue Of Liberty (Ken Burns, 1985)
“As a nation, we began by declaring that ‘All men are created equal.’ We now practically read it, ‘All men are created equal, except Negroes.’ Soon, it will read, ‘All men are created equal, except Negroes, and Foreigners and Catholics.’ When it comes to this, I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty. To Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.” – Abraham Lincoln (Sam Waterston), Ken Burns’ THE CIVIL WAR
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