A quick fyi, you can catch live streams of the Olympic Games via the web.
If you live in the US, you can watch at NBCOlympics.com,
If you live in the UK and Europe, you can get the stream at BBC TV Olympics
If you live on ChiÂna’s MainÂland, you can see the games at CCTVOlympics.com
And for AusÂtralian fans, watch here: http://au.sports.yahoo.com/olympics/
or http://www.abc.net.au/olympics/
via Actionooz
The BBC reports: “An archaeÂoÂlogÂiÂcal dig has recovÂered what is thought to be the remains of the theÂatre where ShakeÂspeare’s plays were first perÂformed.” Get the rest of the big stoÂry here.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
Ten DisÂcovÂerÂies That Rewrote HisÂtoÂry
Michael Wesch, a proÂfesÂsor of culÂturÂal anthroÂpolÂoÂgy, has become someÂthing of an interÂnet pheÂnomÂeÂnon, havÂing proÂduced two wonÂderÂful videos that help demysÂtiÂfy the world of Web 2.0. (DefÂiÂniteÂly check them out here and here). Now he has a new video getÂting some play. Below you can watch a talk he recentÂly gave at The Library of ConÂgress, where he uses video to disÂsect the new mediÂasÂcape that we’re livÂing in, and how it’s changÂing our relaÂtionÂships … for betÂter or for worse.
via John BatÂtelle SearchÂblog
Today we present Frank Capra’s AcadÂeÂmy Award-winÂning comÂeÂdy from 1934, starÂring Clark Gable — It HapÂpened One Night. Grab some popÂcorn. Dim the lights (even if you’re at work). And enjoy:
Here we have John GielÂgud’s first recordÂing of a scene from HamÂlet, “recordÂed shortÂly after he became the youngest actor to take the lead in the play, in the 1929/30 Old Vic seaÂson.” It’s the audio that you will want to focus on here, not the video, even though there’s someÂthing a litÂtle amusÂing about the whole idea of watchÂing an old record turn on YouTube. How quaint.
AlekÂsanÂdr SolzhenÂitÂsyn, who chronÂiÂcled the abusÂes of the SoviÂet regime and gained worldÂwide fame with A Day in the Life of Ivan DenisoÂvich, has died at 89. (Get the New York Times obit here.) Once asked what SolzhenÂitÂsyn means to litÂerÂaÂture and the hisÂtoÂry of RusÂsia, David RemÂnick, the ediÂtor of The New YorkÂer, had this to stay: “It’s imposÂsiÂble to imagÂine a writer whose affect on a sociÂety has been greater than AlekÂsanÂdr SolzhenÂitÂsyn’s affect on the fate of RusÂsia …” In the video postÂed below, RemÂnick elabÂoÂrates on SolzhenÂitÂsyn’s conÂtriÂbuÂtions, and it’s worth rememÂberÂing that RemÂnick won a Pulitzer durÂing the 90s for his bestÂseller, Lenin’s Tomb.
(Note: you can read the lecÂture SolzhenÂitÂsyn gave upon receivÂing the Nobel Prize in 1970 here, and lisÂten to his 1978 HarÂvard gradÂuÂaÂtion speech here.)
In anticÂiÂpaÂtion of the 2008 Olympic Games in BeiÂjing, The TeachÂing ComÂpaÂny has made availÂable two free lecÂtures that surÂvey the ancient Greek oriÂgins of the Olympics. PreÂsentÂed by JereÂmy McInÂerÂney, a proÂfesÂsor of ClasÂsics at the UniÂverÂsiÂty of PennÂsylÂvaÂnia, these talks, each runÂning about 30 minÂutes, bring you back to 776 BC, to the ancient Greeks, who comÂpetÂed in order to demonÂstrate their alleÂgiance to the HomeÂrÂic ideals of heroÂism, honÂor and manÂhood. You can lisÂten to LecÂture 1 here (MP3 — MP4) and LecÂture 2 here (MP3 — MP4) LINKS HAVE BEEN REMOVED AT THE REQUEST OF THE TEACHING COMPANY. And, as a quick fyi, you can downÂload a comÂplete MP3 course on Ancient Greece by the same proÂfesÂsor. (It’s on sale for $35.) I’ve actuÂalÂly lisÂtened to it, and found it to be quite good.
For more good ediÂfyÂing lecÂtures, see our big colÂlecÂtion of Free UniÂverÂsiÂty CoursÂes here.
A litÂtle sumÂmer ranÂdomÂness. It’s actuÂalÂly quite beauÂtiÂful …
(And, no, I’m not sure if this is techÂniÂcalÂly a tsunaÂmi.)
YouTube’s TrendspotÂting TuesÂday focused this past week on the growÂing numÂber of videos that can teach you a forÂeign lanÂguage (for free, of course). Among the 12 video colÂlecÂtions feaÂtured here, you’ll find ones that offer lessons in French, SpanÂish, ModÂern Greek, Latin, JapanÂese and Swahili, among othÂers. They also highÂlight clips that demonÂstrate how to write AraÂbic. (Find the first clip below.) StraightÂaway, you’ll notice that these videos have a home brewed feel to them, and they’re not necÂesÂsarÂiÂly as subÂstanÂtive as what you can get for free via podÂcast. (See our large ForÂeign LanÂguage LesÂson PodÂcast ColÂlecÂtion). But, at least when it comes to demonÂstratÂing someÂthing visuÂal (such as how to write AraÂbic) they have their purÂpose.
(P.S. With the video below, I have no idea how much the “instrucÂtor” actuÂalÂly knows about AraÂbic. The point isn’t to pass this off as a definÂiÂtive source of knowlÂedge, but more to show how the video platÂform is being used.)
By now, most everyÂone knows that Randy Pausch sadÂly died of panÂcreÂatÂic canÂcer last week. And, if you have an interÂnet pulse, you’re already acquaintÂed with his lecÂture that caught the pubÂlic imagÂiÂnaÂtion last year: RealÂly AchievÂing Your ChildÂhood Dreams. What you may not have seen is the short, six-minute speech Pausch made at Carnegie MelÂlon’s gradÂuÂaÂtion in late May — a short two months ago. The phiÂlosÂoÂphy here remains the same. The pitch is just shortÂer and to the point. It’s added to our YouTube playlist. Here it goes:
Just in case you haven’t seen it yet, some forÂmer Google engiÂneers launched a new search engine, Cuil (proÂnounced “cool”), which claims to be the “world’s biggest search engine,” indexÂing 120 bilÂlion web pages, or roughÂly about three times what Google supÂposÂedÂly does. (Get more info on the new site’s schtick here.) A quick round of testÂing indiÂcates that Cuil has some room for improveÂment — the relÂeÂvanÂcy of search results could be much betÂter. But Cuil does have some momenÂtum. On the very first day, it was the fifth largest web site referÂring trafÂfic to oculture.com, and the trafÂfic was wideÂly disÂtribÂuted. (In othÂer words, one search term didÂn’t send trafÂfic to the same page.) Not bad for the first day out of the gate.
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