Brad Bird on THE IRON GIANT
In 1999, Warner’s released THE IRON GIANT. Well… released may not be the best term. Slipped into theaters under the cover of night so that anyone who might be remotely interested couldn’t possibly know of its existence… yeah, that’s the term. Despite the stealth marketing, director Brad Bird’s animated tale of a young boy who lives in red-scare, 1950’s America and manages to bond with a giant, gentle, metal-eating robot managed to catch a few discerning eyes (mine included), and has since been championed as a tremendously entertaining animation classic. As for Bird, well, the guys at Pixar took note, too, and Brad wound up helming a couple of minor trifles you might have heard of: THE INCREDIBLES and RATATOUILLE.
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Scientific American Podcast aka Science TalkAnna Deavere Smith: Let Me Down Easy
Actor, playwright and journalist Anna Deavere Smith talks about the health care crisis and her play about people dealing with illness, health and the health care system, Let Me Down Easy.
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The Korea Society
After the G20: Issues & Outlook
On November 18, 2010, Ambassador Thomas Hubbard, Chairman of the Korea Society, hosted a discussion of the economic, trade, and regulatory issues covered at the G-20 Summit. The panel included Ambassador Young-Mok Kim, Consul General of The Republic of Korea in New York, William Rhodes, senior advisor to Citigroup and a G-20 participant, and James E. Glassman, a managing director and senior economist at JPMorgan Chase.
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Stuff You Missed in History Class
Did Empress Wu's reign change China?
During the Tong Dynasty, Chinese women were often treated as second-class citizens. This made the rise of Empress Wu even more extraordinary. But did her work have a lasting effect? Learn more about how -- or if -- Empress Wu permanently changed China.
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4 comments:
Our family was among those few who actually saw Iron Giant in theaters. We enjoyed it immensely and bought it for home viewing. Naturally we have followed Brad Bird through the rest of his movie career thus far. He's just soooo good.
A question, Anne. How accurate do you feel Stuff You Missed in History Class is? I like the subjects they choose but must say that whenever they discuss anything that I know about, they generally get some facts wrong. So I yo-yo back and forth, wanting to listen but feeling I can't trust their info fully.
Good question Julie. Personally I have never been very fond of Stuff You Missed in History Class -- too superficial for my taste. As a consequence I have heard the podcast only a handful of times. I do not recall to have ever caught them with getting anything wrong. But I have always felt that their presentation was a tad too simplified.
I occasionally add them to my heads-up because I know there are a lot of people out there who like the show.
As to the Empress Wu, my information has come from UCSD's MMW series and from the China History Podcast, which, incidentally, has just republished its issue about her.
That was one of my favorite China History episodes, by the way. I am one of the few that enjoyed the scattershot jumping around in time that Lazlo used to do. However, he has told me that once he's gone through the history timeline, he'll return to more of that format.
Interesting, I am on the other hand one of those who prefer the chronological approach he has adopted
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