MetaFilter posts tagged with rivers Posts tagged with 'rivers' at MetaFilter. Sat, 22 Oct 2016 18:40:31 -0800 Sat, 22 Oct 2016 18:40:31 -0800 en-us 60 (Or is it rivers basin?) <a href="">A visualization of the river basins of the continental United States</a>,2016:site.163017 Sat, 22 Oct 2016 18:40:31 -0800 Rhomboid riverrun... from swerve of shore to bend of bay <a href="">Rivers through time, as seen in Landsat images.</a> "Thanks to the Landsat program and Google Earth Engine, it is possible now to explore how the surface of the Earth has been changing through the last thirty years or so. Besides the obvious issues of interest, like changes in vegetation, the spread of cities, and the melting of glaciers, it is also possible to look at how rivers change their courses through time.",2016:site.158667 Fri, 15 Apr 2016 19:29:42 -0800 storybored Breaking up is easy...if you have the right vessel And it's even easier with a bit of international cooperation: <a href="">Time lapse video</a> of USCGC <a href="">Bristol Bay</a> and <a href="">CCGS Samuel Risley</a> working together to break ice from Sarnia to Windsor, Ontario, in one day. Further inland, <a href="">Amphibex icebreaking machines are used to break ice on the Red River in Manitoba</a> to <a href="">prevent flooding from ice jamming</a> ahead of <a href="">spring</a>. That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to icebreaking... <strong>Breaking ice on rivers is a start...</strong> <a href="">Red River icebreaker</a> <a href="">Ride an Amphibex icebreaker</a> The Canadian Coast Guard uses hovercraft to break ice in other areas that larger icebreaking vessels can't reach. <a href="">This is how they work</a>: <em>In a low speed mode, the hovercraft causes an air cavity to form under the sheet as it rides onto it. This causes a section of the sheet to become unsupported and fail in bending under the action of its own weight. In a high speed mode, the motion of the craft over the sheet sets up large amplitude flexural gravity waves.</em> Two Canadian hovercraft, the CCGS <em><a href="">Sipu Muin</a></em> and CCGS <em><a href="">Mamilossa</a></em>, both based in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, perform extensive icebreaking duties: <a href="">Hovercraft takes aim at thick St. Lawrence ice</a> <a href="">The <em>Sipu Muin</em> on the St-Francois river for an ice-breaking job</a> <a href="">The <em>Sipu Muin</em> on the Restigouche River</a> <strong>Canada, of course, isn't the only place with icy rivers...</strong> <a href="">Icebreaking on the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia</a> <strong>But the job gets bigger on the Great Lakes...</strong> <a href="">What Happens When a Ship This Size Gets Trapped in Ice?</a> <a href="">Canadian Coast Guard reconnaisance footage of icebreaking from above on Lake Superior</a> <a href="">CCGS <em>Griffon</em> on Lake Erie</a> <strong>And even bigger in coastal and Arctic waters...</strong> <a href="">Animation of ice in Canadian waters in the last 10 days</a> <a href="">Current ice conditions from the Canadian Ice Service</a> <a href="">Titans des mers : Brise glace géant</a> (Titans of the sea: giant icebreaker), featuring the Canadian icebreaker CCGS <a href=""><em>Henry Larsen</em></a> The <em>Henry Larsen</em><a href=""> in action</a> <a href="">See and hear the <em>Henry Larsen's</em> air bubbler system here</a> The planned CCGS <a href=""><em>John G Diefenbaker</em></a> may join the Canadian icebreaker fleet by 2022. <strong>Many countries use icebreakers...</strong> Not any vessel can be an <a href="">icebreaker</a>, though. First you need an <a href="">ice class</a> designation. <a href="">U.S. Coast Guard 2013 Review of Major Icebreakers of the World</a> <a href="">Wikipedia list of icebreakers</a> <a href="">Discovery &amp; Documentary - Icebreaker ships in action</a> <strong>So here are just a few of these icebreakers and their work, by country...</strong> <strong>United States</strong> The US has two <a href="">polar class</a> icebreakers, USCGC <a href=""><em>Polar Star</em></a> and and USCGC <em><a href="">Polar Sea</a></em>. Only the <em>Polar Star</em> is currently operating. A third vessel, the USCGC <a href="">Healy</a>, is also polar capable. <a href="">Nation's only operating Polar icebreaker, CGC Healy, breaks ice for Nome bound tanker</a> <a href="">Walking tour of USCGC Healy</a> <a href="">USCG Mackinaw in March, 2002 icebreaking in the St. Marys River and Whitefish Bay</a> <a href="">Aboard the USCG <em>Bristol Bay</em></a> <a href="">USCG <em>Bristol Bay</em> breaking ice.</a> <a href=""> This 1970s Coast Guard film entitled ICE (narrated by John Flynn) shows the icy gauntlet of the arctic, the Bering Sea, North Atlantic and Alaska.</a> <a href="">History of the U.S. Coast Guard Icebreakers</a>: <blockquote><em>This is a documentary I made the is narrated by Captain Bruce Toney. It is meant to be an educational video on the history of the mission to Antarctica and the capabilities on our ships. Some of it is a bit goofy since I made it while underway and did not take it seriously enough to be a legitimate documentary. It does, however, provide a unique perspective of the boat from the crew perspective. All video and photos were taken by U.S. Coast Guard members.</em></blockquote> <strong>Russia</strong> The world's first polar icebreaker, the <a href=""><em>Yermak</em></a>, was Russian. Russia now operates seven <a href="">nuclear icebreakers</a>, including the world's largest, the <a href=""><em>50 let Pobedy</em></a> ("50 Years of Victory") <a href="">Voyage to North Pole on Nuclear Icebreaker '50 Years of Victory'</a> <a href="">RTE documentary on the <em>50 let Pobedy</em></a> <a href="">The largest icebreaker in the world</a> The <a href=""><em>Baltika</em></a>: watch <a href="">Ice trials on 19 March - 10 April 2015</a> <a href="">Seven Seas of Ice: Russia's icebreakers traverse top of the world</a> <strong>Finland</strong> <a href="">The Finnish icebreaker <em>Otso</em> cutting sealanes across the Gulf of Bothnia near the arctic circle.</a> The <em>Sisu</em> and <em>Urho</em> are <a href="">sister ships</a>. The <a href=""><em>Urho</em></a> in action The <em><a href="">Sisu</a></em> in action <a href="">1974 documentary of the <em>Sisu</em> operating in the Baltic</a> <a href="">Walk in front of an icebreaker ship (1920s)</a> <strong>Norway</strong> <a href="">KV Svalbard</a> <a href="">Video of KV Svalbard ramming a sea ice pressure ridge</a> (with appropriate music playing on the bridge) <strong>Sweden</strong> The Swedish icebreaker <em>Oden</em> was <a href="">"built to clear a passage through the ice of the Gulf of Bothnia for cargo ships, it was later modified to serve as a research vessel."</a> <a href="">In 2006 the National Science Foundation hired the Swedish icebreaker Oden to create a channel through a 15-mile band of ice blockquoteing its Antarctic research base, McMurdo Station, from the sea.</a> The <a href=""><em>Ymer</em></a> in <a href="">action</a>. <strong>The work icebreakers and their crews do can point out consequences of climate change:</strong> <a href="">Melting Beats Coast Guard to Kennebec River Ice</a> The crew of the <em>KV Svalbard</em> made a <a href="">disturbing discovery in the Arctic this year</a>: <blockquote><em>At this time of year, sea ice usually closes in around Svalbard's northern and eastern coasts. But not this year. The sturdy 340-foot-long, 6,375-ton KV Svalbard had no ice to break, reports Oddvar Larsen, the ship's First Engineer.</em></blockquote> <a href="">NOAA animation of the Arctic's oldest ice each week since 1990</a> <strong>But back to international cooperation for a second. Meetups are easier when there's an icebreaker or two to help everyone feel at ease...</strong> <a href="">USCGC <em>Healy</em> and <em>Oden</em> meet at the North Pole.</a> <a href=""><em>50 let Pobedy</em> leaving <em>Oden</em> after working together for 14 days</a> <strong>Where are some of these icebreakers right now? You can find out...</strong> <a href="">This page provides the position and description of activities for the Canadian Coast Guard units assigned to Icebreaking Services</a> Marine traffic data for the vessels featured in this post: <a href="">CCGS <em>Samuel Risley</em></a> <a href="">CCGS <em>Sipu Muin</em></a> <a href="">CCGS <em>Mamilossa</em></a> <a href="">CCGS <em>Griffon</em></a> <a href="">CCGS <em>Henry Larsen</em> </a> <a href="">USCG <em>Mackinaw</em></a> <a href="">USCG <em> Bristol Bay</em></a> <a href="">USCGC <em>Polar Star</em></a> <a href="">USCGC Healy</a> <a href=""><em>Baltika</em></a> <a href=""><em>50 let Pobedy</em></a> <em><a href="">Otso</a></em> <em><a href="">Urho</a></em> <em><a href="">Sisu</a></em> <a href=""><em>KV Svalbard</em></a> <a href=""><em>Oden</em></a> <a href=""><em>Ymer</em></a> Previously: <a href="">"Some days we traveled backwards to travel forwards."</a>,2016:site.158027 Sun, 20 Mar 2016 00:47:01 -0800 mandolin conspiracy The Elwha River Comes Roaring Back Eighteen months after removal of the last chunks of two dams on Washington State's Elwha River, an event marked on Metafilter by this <a href="">brilliant post</a> by <strong>edeezy</strong>, the <a href="">Seattle Times documents the remarkably fast recovery of the Elwha ecosystem</a>, from <a href="">headwaters</a> to <a href="">saltwater</a>. <small><a href="">Complete Seattle Times' Elwha coverage</a></small>,2016:site.157101 Sat, 13 Feb 2016 11:28:01 -0800 Rumple Britain's water crisis <a href="">The risk here is not that millions of people in Britain are suddenly going to die of thirst. It is that after all those years in which humans settled by rivers and thrived, we are now locked in conflict with our natural surroundings. Either the humans or the rivers have to suffer. At the moment, it is the rivers, although in the longer term a sick river will produce less water, so the humans will end up in trouble as well.</a> (longformGrauniad),2015:site.153660 Thu, 08 Oct 2015 11:43:01 -0800 Kitteh The creek the city loved to hate Charlotte, NC is unusual in not being located on the coast of an ocean, lake, or major river. Instead, it has <a href="">Little Sugar Creek: The creek the city loved to hate</a>,2015:site.148400 Sat, 28 Mar 2015 15:07:46 -0800 hydropsyche Where did you all meet? Juilliard? <a href="">Remember that time the Beastie Boys met Joan Rivers in 1987?</a>,2014:site.142530 Sat, 06 Sep 2014 11:48:21 -0800 nevercalm A dot of orange beneath an art-deco masterpiece. Halfway through my three-week, 417-mile journey down the "most endangered" river in America, the water began flowing backward and the mud started talking. It spoke in baritone gurgles, like Barry White trapped in a bong. You know what this is, John? No, Barry White mud. This is <a href="">QUICKSAND</a>.,2014:site.142453 Wed, 03 Sep 2014 14:48:45 -0800 lonefrontranger On Lionfish, research, and science fairs Last month, a twelve-year-old girl named Lauren Arrington was <a href="">credited with research</a> showing that <a href="">lionfish, an invasive species, were surviving in water with a much lower percentage of salinity</a> than was thought possible. Not mentioned, however, was the previous research done by a grad student named Zack Jud, who published on the topic in 2011. <a href="">This omission is curious, because Lauren Arrington's father was an author on that paperr.</a> Judd has been distressed to discover this as the story has gotten a lot of play in the media <a href=""> without his name or research getting any mention</a> and he has commented on his Facebook, <a href="">wondering how to respond to this without quashing a young girl's scientific curiosity</a>. <a href="">Lionfish Previously</a>,2014:site.141211 Tue, 22 Jul 2014 18:10:59 -0800 PussKillian "I love my wife, but oh, you ice." <a href="">It only happens once every few years:</a> a brackish <a href="">river in New Jersey</a> freezes over, and the <a href="">iceboats</a> come out. It's happening all over the Northeast, where an unusually cold winter is welcomed with delight by <a href="">aficionados of this sport</a>. <a href="">Lightly constructed, beautiful, and <a href=""><em>fast</em></a> (the record stands at 84 miles an hour propelled by wind alone),</a> iceboats provide <a href="">a winter thrill ride like none other</a>. <a href="">Iceboating</a> or <a href="">ice yachting</a> has thrived <a href="">in pockets of North America</a> and <a href="">Europe</a> since the nineteenth century.</a> When conditions are right, see them sailing and <a href="">racing</a> in <a href="">Wisconsin</a>, on the <a href="">Hudson</a>, in <a href="">Maine</a>, <a href="">Minnesota</a>, <a href="">Prince Edward Island</a>. and wherever else <a href="">"hard-water sailors"</a> congregate.,2014:site.136053 Mon, 27 Jan 2014 06:18:10 -0800 Miko On the Red River A new critically acclaimed film (<a href="">96%</a>) is coming out soon <a href=""><i>12 Years a Slave</i></a> (<a href="">trailer</a>), the true story of Solomon Northup. His <a href="">memoir</a> is a riveting read (or <a href="">listen to Louis Gossett, Jr. reading it</a>), but this post is about where Northup was enslaved, a cotton plantation near the Red River, Louisiana. Northup spent most of his 12 years at a place called Epps "plantation", a word that should not be confused with <i>Gone With the Wind</i>, it was a small family farm run by a cruel and uneducated master. The plantation itself is long gone but the land remains largely the same and can be explored through Google Maps and streetview. <a href="">Map</a> (about where that faint "k" mark in the field is). The <a href="">Edwin Epps House</a> (historically accurate <a href="">picture</a>) has been saved but moved two times, now on the <a href="">national historical register</a>. The Epps plantation was on a bayou of the <a href="">Red River of the South</a>, as it was sometimes called (the Indians called many rivers Red since the earth in the Mississippi Delta and elsewhere often ran to that color), it is the second largest river in the southern Great Plains. The river presented a problem for settlers since it was completely block by what was called the <a href="">Great Raft</a> - a 160 to 200 mile long log jam. The jam began forming in the 12th century, with the logs reaching from the surface to the bottom of the river, from shore to shore (<a href="">picture</a>, <a href="">picture</a>). The raft was so thick that new trees, bushes and grass grew on its surface in the middle of the river. The Red River was thus not navigable, and no one believed it was possible to clear. "No hope can be entertained of the great raft ever being removed..." said Thomas Freeman, when he first laid eyes on the Great Red River Raft. Many tried and failed. Except one man had an idea. Henry Miller Shreve, a famous pioneer of the steamboat (and namesake of Shreveport, Louisiana), designed a new type of <a href="">snagboat</a> named the <i>Heliopolis</i> (<a href="">picture</a>), nicknamed "Uncle Sam's Tooth Puller". The full story of the Great Raft can be read in this fascinating piece <a href="">"The Attack on the Great Raft"</a>.,2013:site.131965 Sun, 15 Sep 2013 11:20:24 -0800 stbalbach Go With the Flow "Have you ever dropped a stick in a river and wondered where it might go if it floated all the way downstream? Now you can trace its journey using <a href="">Streamer</a>." In addition to displaying the distance traveled, difference in elevation, and number of states, counties and cities the stick will pass through before reaching its outlet point, Streamer can do an upstream trace to show you which rivers and smaller streams fed into the spot where the stick was dropped. Produced by the <a href="">U.S. Geological Survey</a>, the <a href="">National Atlas of the United States</a> has come a long way from its earlier incarnations and now offers "information presentation, access, and delivery technologies that didn't exist 30 years ago to bring you a dynamic and interactive atlas.",2013:site.131417 Wed, 28 Aug 2013 13:11:02 -0800 Rykey Paddling 1,500 Miles for Science and Adventure <a href="">Starting</a> on September 22 last year, <a href="">Professor Robert Fuller</a> of the University of North Georgia spent four months paddling down the Chattahoochee River system, from the Chattahoochee's headwaters in northern Georgia down through the Apalachicola into the Gulf of Mexico, <a href="">studying water quality</a> along the way. Then he paddled 200 miles through the Gulf, turned at the mouth of the Mobile River, and paddled another 750 miles <em>upstream</em> on the Mobile, Alabama, Coosa, and Etowah Rivers <a href="">all the way back</a> to northern Georgia—a total of just over 1,500 miles of solo paddling in his <a href="">Kruger Sea Wind</a>. Along the way, he kept a <a href="">blog</a>, <a href="">"ate a lot of Beanie Weenies"</a>, and faced difficulties including cold, hunger, injuries, and river obstructions. Incidentally, he did all this while <a href="">living with leukemia</a>. From the second to last <a href="">link</a> above, here's a little more detail on the water quality science: <blockquote>I traced a fluorescent dye going down the river from the Chattahoochee Spring, testing the temperature, pH levels, and conductivity. Conductivity tells you a lot about the dissolved minerals in the water. It shows if something is being added in the water. I saw some pristine water at the Chattahoochee Spring. As soon as you get into the suburbs of Atlanta, there's a steady increase in conductivity, indicating the runoff of minerals, most likely fertilizer from lawns.</blockquote> Fuller's blog covers some of the practicalities of moving himself and his supplies up and down undeveloped stretches of river, such as <a href="">this account</a> from the upstream portion of his trip: <blockquote>Upriver of GA 372, I encountered unpaddleable rapid that was so deep and fast that it was impossible to wade, and the banks were too steep to walk and line the boat up. In fact, the bank was too steep to stand and unload the boat, so I pulled myself up the bank with the aid of exposed roots and vines, and then pulled the loaded boat up the bank. That took every bit of strength that I had, but I got it done. Unlike an earlier portage, the growth at the top of the bank was too thick to allow easy maneuvering, so I unloaded the boat and slid it along the face of the bank, keeping it from sliding back into the water with the support of trees growing along the bank. The whole portage was no more than 80′ to 100′, but it was a challenge.</blockquote> Wikipedia links for the <a href="">Chattahoochee River</a> and <a href="">Etowah River</a>. See also the <a href="">American Whitewater River Database entries for Georgia</a> for descriptions and photos of the rivers and their rapids, such as <a href="">this</a> description of how part of the Etowah flows through an abandoned mining tunnel (and some people run the tunnel in their boats).,2013:site.130385 Sat, 27 Jul 2013 11:30:10 -0800 Orinda Twelve Missives from the Roi des Belges <a href="">Perched high up above the Thames in downtown London</a> every month this past year a different writer has spent four days living in a replica of the Roi des Belges, the boat Marlow travels up the Congo in Joseph Conrad's <a href="">The Heart of Darkness</a>. Each author would write a short text during their stay "which explores London, rivers, the work of Joseph Conrad, or even all three." They would be visited on the last day by a journalist from The Guardian who recorded them reading their essay, poem or short story. Among the poets, historians and novelists were Adonis, Jeanette Winterson, Teju Cole, Michael Ondaatje and Kamila Shamsie. These recordings, each prefaced by a short interview, are all available on the Guardian website, to stream or download. Below the cut there is a link to each recording, with a short description. January: <a href="">Juan Gabriel Vásquez</a>, Colombian novelist, delivers an essay about his relationship with Joseph Conrad's fiction and the man himself, but both have inspired his own writing. February: <a href="">Jeanette Winterson</a>, who writes fiction and memoir, recounts her experience of watching the city and the river below her. March: <a href="">Sven Lindqvist</a>, Swedish historian and reporter, writes about how he learned at a young age through books of the people on the wrong end of economic exploitation and genocide. April: <a href="">Caryl Phillips</a>, novelist and screenwriter, describes the attraction of London to West Indian immigrants and their integration into English society. May: <a href="">Maya Jasanoff</a>, American historian and Harvard professor, writes about rivers from a personal and historical perspective, and Conrad's personal and authorial journey up the Congo. June: <a href="">Michael Ondaatje</a>, Sri Lankan born Canadian novelist and poet, recounts his own journey to London from Sri Lanka and explores the role of seafaring and river journeys in history and literature. July: <a href="">Alain Mabanckou</a>, Congolese novelist, recites his essay about Conrad and the history of the Congo river. August: <a href="">Teju Cole</a>, Nigerian-American novelist and essayist, relates the story of meeting V. S. Naipaul and writes about how Africans have been described by outsiders in writing. September: <a href="">Ahdaf Soueif</a>, Egyptian novelist and political activist, writes about the history of resistance by oppressed populations. October: <a href="">Kamila Shamsie</a>, Pakistani novelist, writes about female travelers and their invisibility in history. November: <a href="">Adonis</a>, Syrian poet, recites a poem, translated into English by Khaled Mattawa, about the war that has enveloped his home country. December: <a href="">Colm Tóibín</a>, Irish novelist, reads a short story inspired by the character of Marlow. The short little descriptions reflect the content of the various texts poorly, as they are generally wide-ranging and mix contemplation with personal history. Listening to all twelve in order also gives a portrait of London changing through the seasons in a year that included both the Olympics and the Jubilee.,2012:site.123356 Mon, 31 Dec 2012 10:25:30 -0800 Kattullus Pull my daisy, tip my cup, all my doors are open. Cut my thoughts for coconuts, all my eggs are broken. <a href="">Pull My Daisy</a> Robert Frank, Alfred Leslie - 1959. Written and narrated by Jack Kerouac. Featuring Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and Larry Rivers. An account of the making of: <a href="">The Making (and Unmaking) of Pull My Daisy</a> by Blaine Allan.,2012:site.122993 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 19:01:36 -0800 unliteral Coronet Instructional Films From the mid 40s to the mid 50s <a href="">Coronet Instructional Films</a> were always ready to provide social guidance for teenagers on subjects as diverse as <a href="">dating</a>, <a href="">popularity</a>, <a href="">preparing for being drafted</a>, and <a href="">shyness</a>, as well as to children on <a href="">following the law</a>, <a href="">the value of quietness in school</a>, and <a href="">appreciating our parents</a>. They also provided education on topics such as the connection between <a href="">attitudes and health</a>, <a href="">what kind of people live in America</a>, <a href="">how to keep a job</a>, <a href="">supervising women workers</a>,<a href=""> the nature of capitalism</a>, and <a href="">the plantation System in Southern life</a>. Inside is an annotated collection of all 86 of the complete Coronet films in the <a href="">Prelinger Archives</a> as well as a few more. Its not like you had work to do or anything right? <strong>Dating</strong><blockquote><a href="">Dating: Do's and Don'ts</a> (12:26) -1949 <em>Shows the progress of the date, from choosing the right girl and asking her through the last "good night." This social guidance "how-to" film has received more camp accolades than any other, and deserves it. Alan Woodruff ("Woody") receives a ticket to admit one couple to the upcoming Hi-Teen Carnival. "One couple," Woody reflects. "That means a date! Not like just going around with the crowd!" Woody decides to ask Ann Davis, who, the narrator points out, "knows how to have a good time." With her perpetual squint and chipmunk cheeks, Ann (pronounced "Ay-yun" by the actors in this film) is the perfect companion for super-nerd Woody. At crucial moments in the date, the narrator stops the action and presents Woody with several possible options for his actions. Happily, Woody makes all the correct decisions and ends up walking home from Ann's doorstep whistling with satisfaction at a job well done. "Thanks so much," says Ann with a toothy grin. "I had LOADS of fun." Rare (but incomplete) Kodachrome version.</em> <a href="">Going Steady?</a> (10:37) -1951 <em>Attempts to provoke teens into discussion on the complex issue of going steady. Provides little support for the practice. </em> <a href="">How Do You Know It's Love?</a> (12:58) -1950 <em>Gives students a basis for thinking clearly about real love and shows that mere conviction of love is not enough to insure lasting happiness. A drama. Young "Nora" (star of Writing Better Social Letters and future star of How To Say No) thinks she's in love with equally young Jack. Mom gives Nora some general advice (borrowed almost word for word from Are You Ready For Marriage?), and Nora and Jack have dinner with Bob (Jack's older brother) and Jean (Jack's fiance). Nora spends her time thinking about her mother's advice and comparing her relationship to Jack and Jean's. Common sense triumphs, Nora realizes she isn't really in love, and everybody is happy in the end. One of the few Coronet productions to use background music (the "wistful" theme) within the film as a narrative bridge -- to good effect. </em> <a href="">How Much Affection?</a> (19:59) -1957 <em>How far can young people go in petting and still stay within the bounds of personal standards and social mores? </em> <a href="">How to Be Well Groomed</a> (10:41) -1949 <em>This film details the grooming rituals of brother Don and sister Sue. Both are incredibly neat; in fact, grooming seems to occupy their entire day, while their evenings are spent ironing outfits and polishing shoes. The work load is so heavy it requires two narrators! Features some excellent voice over lines, including: "Sue avoids red nail polish since it would call attention to her stubby hands." "Mother too keeps up a good appearance even around the house, for that keeps up her spirits." "Their good grooming habits help them in friendships and business. For your success depends a great deal on how you look."</em> <a href="">What to Do on a Date</a> (10:46) -1950 <em>A high school senior learns how and where to ask a girl for a date, where to take her for a good time, and how to avoid spending too much money or being bored by commercialized amusements. One of the most entertaining films in the social guidance genre, principally because of the bad acting of goony "Nick Baxter." Nick wants to go out on a date with Kay, but he's afraid she'll say no. He finally works up the courage to ask her to the movies (to see Wagon Train), but since she's already seen it, they decide to go to the high school scavenger sale instead. And, boy, do they ever have fun! Nick discovers that Kay likes the same things he does (miniature golf, taffy pulls and weenie roasts) and these two social oddballs are well on their way to a meaningful relationship. </em> <a href="">Are You Ready for Marriage?</a> (16:04) -1950 <em>Two teenagers, wishing to marry early, visit their minister for advice and receive counseling, some of it quite pragmatic, the rest a little strange. Larry and Sue, a couple of fresh-scrubbed teens, want to get hitched -- but Sue's parents disapprove. The two lovebirds decide their only recourse is to visit "Mr. Hall," a marriage counselor with incredibly wide lapels on his suit jacket. He shows them some very scientific looking graphs and a "psychological distance board" complete with tiny wooden dolls tied together with piano wire and shoelaces and -- somehow -- this helps them understand that they should wait until they're older. Educational Screen remarked; "The producers are to be complimented on creating an atmosphere of life-like situations." Good stuff, and the cast is a veritable Who's Who of classroom films: "Sue" starred in How To Be Well Groomed, her "dad" had the feature role in Build Your Vocabulary, Mr. Hall played "Treadway" in The Middletons At The World's Fair, and "Larry" went on to play a heroin junkie in Drug Addiction. </em> <a href="">Marriage Is a Partnership</a> (16:21) -1951 <em>Flashback on the problems, adjustments and transformations occurring in the first year of a couple's married life. Pretty surprising film coming from Coronet about the "honeymoon is over" drama that newlyweds face. The marriage between Dotty and Pete is pretty traditional--Dotty quits her job to be a homemaker once they are married--but some more modernistic ideas come out, such as the idea that the two newlyweds decide together how the money that Pete earns will be spent, and the small mentions of sex. (!!) The "educational collaborator" listed at the beginning, Lemo Rockwood, was a professor at Cornell University, and her marriage course advocated sexual frankness and pre-marital experimentation, so it's easy to see her stamp on this film. </em></blockquote> <strong>Social Guidance for Teenagers</strong><blockquote><a href="">Are You Popular?</a> (9:53) -1947 <em>Dramatizes behavior of two teen-agers to illustrate characteristics of personality which lead to popularity &amp; success in dating. Contrasts carolyn, attractive newcomer in high school, with ginny, who is willing to date all the boys but is unpopular with both boys &amp; girls. Shows how carolyn &amp; wally are careful of their appearance, polite, considerate in arranging dates, etc. One of the best examples of post-World War II social guidance films, with examples of "good" and "bad" girls, proper and improper dating etiquette, courtesy to parents, and an analysis of what makes some people popular and others not. A scream and a sobering document of postwar conformity. Mind-boggling double-standard for the "bad" boy and the "bad" girl. Classic Coronet. "Caroline and her mother had found one way a girl can repay a boy for entertaining her [...] perhaps they could bring another couple home with them. That would be fun." </em> <a href="">How to Say No: Moral Maturity</a> (10:31) -1951 <em>How to say no to unwanted smoking, drinking and petting, and still keep your friends. "How can you say no and still keep your friends?" A discussion group of earnest, clean-cut teens talk directly to the camera as they (and we) flash back to situations where they had to say no: Drinking beer after football practice, smoking cigarettes at a pajama party, and the ever-popular "petting." </em> <a href="">Control Your Emotions</a> (13:18) -1950 <em>Well-balanced emotions help to create a well-rounded personality, especially in teenagers. This bizarre film is hosted by an unnamed "psychologist." While spouting Pavlovian claptrap such as "Fear is triggered by loud noises" and "Your emotions can be your own greatest enemy," he repeatedly interrupts the story of "Jeff," the film's protagonist. Jeff -- who looks like a heroin addict -- has a lot of trouble controlling his emotions, and the psychologist is always ready to pop in with statements such as "If this kind of behavior is repeated often, it might lead to a permanently warped personality."Control Your Emotions doubles as a lesson in behaviorist psychology and an admonition to postwar American children. "Before man learned how to control fire and put it to work, it was man's greatest enemy. In much the same way, your emotions can be your own greatest enemy." Similar messages percolate throughout the social guidance films of the 1940s and 1950s (see, for example, A Date With Your Family, where the narrator intones, "Pleasant, unemotional conversation helps the digestion"). The links between the effort to manage and regulate outbursts of feeling and the national offensive to smooth out adolescent behavioral excesses often seem obscure. There is no doubt, however, that the architects of Fifties consensus (psychologists, educators, the judiciary, sociologists and advertisers) wished to discourage "unproductive" and negativistic behavior. "Severe emotional stress," says the narrator of this film, "often decreases efficiency." What seems clearest is that for Americans, recovery from wartime damage was more about drawing away emotionally from war's stresses and strains than digging graves and sweeping up rubble. After twelve years of economic depression and almost four years of world war, parents (and the authorities on child development that stood behind them) wanted a peaceful and disruption-free world for their kids, and they don't seem to have distinguished between internal and external turmoils. All were undesirable. Responsive both to the demands of the era and the process of individual maturation, Control Your Emotions ultimately promoted social adaptation over self-expression. It assumed that kids' behavior was a vehicle for emotions that were essentially uncomplicated, individual rather than social. In its scheme, teenagers' emotions weren't linked with any cultural or social contradictions, but simply combinations of the three basic emotions: rage, fear and love. So while other Coronet films like Shy Guy hinted at the existence of a youth culture with its own rewards and pressures, Control Your Emotions saw teens more as creatures of their hormones than of their times. </em> <a href="">Law and Social Controls</a> (9:40) -1949 <em>Uses the story of teens trying to extend the hours of their "Teen Canteen" as a vehicle for explaining customs, moral codes, and laws. The gang at the "Teen Canteen" can't decide if they should close their establishment at ten thirty or eleven. Adult advisers guide them to the correct decision (ten thirty). Coronet obviously felt it plausible that resolving an issue such as this would require the efforts of both teens and adults -- though it's doubtful anyone else would. Some narration and crude animation. "Jane" also appears in Going Steady and you might recognize "Edward" from Dating Do's and Don'ts. This one grows on you. </em> <a href="">Act Your Age</a> (13:22) -1949 <em>Jim, an emotionally immature teen, learns to evaluate his personality and to better work out his problems. Mind boggling expose of a delinquent (?) teen who gets frustrated with school and starts vandalizing his desk, only to be sent to the principal to discuss "infantile reactions." Even the wise old janitor gets in on the action. Classic film about using logic to guide your complex, multi-faceted emotions. </em> <a href="">Fun of Being Thoughtful, The</a> (10:09) -1950 <em>Social guidance film for teenagers encouraging insight into the motives, tastes and desires of others. "Everywhere you go, people talk about thoughtfulness." With this premise in mind, we are wisked into the life of "Jane Proctor," a happy teen who is slavishly devoted to her "fine, thoughtful family." While uttering lines such as "It'd be the thoughtful thing to do," and "That's what makes thoughtfulness worthwhile!" Jane tidies her room, fixes dinner for the family, and fixes her geeky brother Eddie up with a date. In the end, Jane's thoughtfulness pays off ("A new dress!!!") and we leave the Proctor family basking in the sunshine of family togetherness. The script for this film flies in several directions at once, which makes it fun but a little hard to follow. </em> <a href="">Everyday Courtesy</a> (8:56) -1948 <em>Courtesy in connection with invitations, telephone conversations, introductions and entertaining guests. Possibly the first feature to star John Lindsay, who later achieved immortality as "Woody" in Dating Do's And Don'ts. In this film he plays "Bill Anderson," a young fellow who proudly shows his mother around the "courtesy" displays in his classroom at Sunnyside School. This scenario allows the narrator to teach us the time-worn fundamentals of social courtesy, but the only thing you'll remember from this film is Woody, who is a much better actor here than he was later in life. A film with lots of potential, but no payoff. </em> <a href="">Better Use of Leisure Time</a> (10:33) -1950 <em>How to make the most of your free time. "Ken" has nothing to do, but the helpful interactive narrator soon puts a stop to that. Sensible leisure activities (bird watching and reading, for example) help Ken "prepare himself for better living" and "use his time well." This film is more imaginative than most when it comes to visual gimmickry. Ken later starred as Chuck-of-the-future in Good Table Manners. Keeping the world safe from beatniks, juvenile delinquents, and riff raff one 72 hour work week at a time. </em> <a href="">Mind Your Manners</a> (10:42) -1953 <em>How teenagers can cultivate good manners by manifesting a real desire to get along with others. This classic stars "Woody" from Dating Dos and Don'ts -- a few years older, but just as out of touch with reality. As "Jack," he goes through this entire film being unbelievably polite, but the weird leer on his face makes you wonder what he's really thinking. Don't miss the soda shop populated by waitresses in Hans Brinker costumes(!), or the montage of adults thinking approvingly of Jack's behavior. </em> <a href="">Overcoming Fear</a> (12:39) -1950 <em>How Bill overcomes his fear of the water through understanding its sources. </em> <a href="">Right or Wrong? (Making Moral Decisions)</a> (10:53) -1951 <em>Assessing the behavior of a juvenile delinquent who refuses to rat on his companions. A gang of "toughs" breaks some warehouse windows, and the night watchman recognizes one of the punks as youthful Harry Green. He's hauled into the police station and he has to decide which is worse -- "squealing" on his friends, or "hiding lawbreakers." This dark film takes place entirely in one night, and as we encounter each character we hear them agonizing to themselves in VOs as they make moral decisions. Sgt. Kelly ("It'll be much easier for you if you help us") played Dick York's weird dad in Shy Guy. </em> <a href="">Shy Guy</a> (13:36) -1947 <em>Phil (Dick York), new in his high school, follows his father's suggestion and observes the most popular students to determine what makes them popular. By offering to help others he becomes popular himself and sheds his shyness. Phil (played by Dick York) is the son of an apparently single father who seems recently to have undergone corporate relocation, and things are very different for Phil. He has a problem "fitting in." Everything from the nature of the kids in the new town ("different") to what they wear ("not jackets like me, but a regular sweater") sets Phil apart. Armed only with confusing advice from his father, Phil has to reorganize his behavior and make a new home for himself. Shy Guy marks a kind of turning point in postwar history. When Mr. Norton advises Phil to "look around him" and see what the other kids are wearing and how they behave, he's conceding parental authority to the "gang" and, ultimately, helping to legitimize the formation of a distinct youth culture that rests on group identity and validation rather than the authority of elders. Such a youth culture probably has its roots in the wartime autonomy that teens experienced, but here the adults are okaying it. This change, of course, is one of the key social currents in postwar America. This is Dick York at his dorkiest. Dick's father is especially strange in this classic. Shy Guy is the film that established Coronet as THE social guidance filmmaker. Required viewing. </em> <a href="">Self-Conscious Guy</a> (10:22) -1951 <em>Shows how feelings of self-consciousness keep a high school boy from doing his classwork well or making friends easily. Shows how the feelings of self-consciousness keep a high school boy from doing his class work well or making friends easily. The boy discovers many of his classmates suffer from similar feelings, but that several of them have overcome these feelings and developed poise and self-assurance. If you watch this bland film expecting to see another Shy Guy you'll be disappointed. It follows the tribulations of "Marty," who wants a part in the school play but whose self-consciousness dooms him to the inferior role of stage hand. He feels, he explains, "as if there was a spotlight on me," and the inferior stage hands at Coronet help us understand this by shining a spot on Marty whenever he has a nervous moment. Cheap, but effective. Happily, Marty's life turns around when he discovers that he's more confident than leading man "Jack" when it comes to ping pong. Marty, who also starred in How To Say No, has a swath of shaved skin around his ears so wide you could park a truck on it. </em> <a href="">How Honest Are You?</a> (13:50) -1950 <em>For teenagers, honesty can come easy or hard, depending on the stakes. Did basketball star Bob really steal money out of Ben's locker? Since this is a Coronet film he probably didn't, but the characters in this production have to flesh out the truth for themselves. Lots of deep self-examination of motives and what was and wasn't seen, lots of interplay with the camera, and acting that's actually pretty good. There's even a plot twist, when "Rose" confesses her real reason for ratting to the coach about Bob. "I can just see it," she says, as the camera dollies in for a CU of her glazed eyes. "You'll get Bob off the team and Terry will become the regular center. MY Terry. He'll be the star of the team. And I'll be sitting on top of the world!" Whew, pretty heady stuff for Coronet. </em> <a href="">Snap Out of It! (Emotional Balance)</a> (12:06) -1951 <em>Discusses why an achievement-conscious boy becomes emotionally upset when he fails to get an expected 'A' in a history course. This film follows the frustrations of confused teen Howard Patterson, who won't show his report card to his parents because he "should've gotten" an A in social studies. "Sometimes we expect great things," Mr. Edmunds reflects, leaning back in his chair as Howard looks on. "And when we're severely disappointed, we become emotionally upset." Mr. Edmunds counsels Howard against "expecting too much" and tells him to keep his emotions "in balance." "If your emotions are in balance, you channel your emotional energy into a direct attack on your problem!" Howard promises to lower his expectations and be more balanced, and another member of the Silent Generation leaves a Coronet film to paint the world gray. </em> <a href="">Benefits of Looking Ahead, The</a> (10:30) -1950 <em>Nick cannot plan ahead, but is convinced to do so after imagining himself as a drifter or a bum. "Nick Baxter" is a sloppy teen with greasy hair and a poorly-knotted necktie. His clean-cut friend, "Don," tells him that he'll end up on skid row if he doesn't come up with some detailed plans for his future. Nick's hammy acting make this a fun film. The fantasy sequences -- where Nick imagines himself as a bum and then a successful businessman -- are high points. "Who are the people most likely to succeed?" asks the narrator. Well, not Nick Baxter, a senior in high school and slacker in the making, who can't plan ahead. Whether it's building a table in shop class or planning his life's future, he's clueless and, unless he gets his act together, destined to be a bum. Let's assume for just a moment that Nick is a real person. Since this 1950 film shows him at age 17 or 18, he would have been born in 1932 or 1933--the two hardest years of the Great Depression. This makes him one of the left-behinds--one of the Depression children who didn't get to fight in the war, a sort of middle child between two groups of people who underwent profound experiences completely beyond their control. Is it any wonder that, for Nick, reality bites? Of course, the other, perhaps more valid, argument is that Nick just doesn't understand what it takes to make it in the fabulous Fifties. Don: "To succeed in something, you have to have a purpose, and make plans for reaching it, and work at it all the time." Nick: "Sounds crazy to me." But Nick's friends get the message, and even Nick sees their futures are pretty much assured already. When Don blithely tells Nick that he's "least likely to succeed," and well on the way to becoming a drifter or a bum, this is the kick in the pants Nick has been waiting for. "That could be me...nothing but a bum." Nick finds a worthy metaphor for all of his unfinished business in the school shop. Realizing that drawing up a plan is necessary to building a table that can stand on its four legs, he decides to draw up a plan for his own life. "Plans...sketches...measurements...that's what I have to do with my own future...I've got to look ahead and imagine...what I want it to be like...". He is shortly back on course and in command of his future, and fantasizes himself telling his father that he's been elected chairman of the "Community Club." "Yes, I want a future that's something like that. I want to be happy. Be somebody. Have a good job. Friends. A home. A wife and kids. But how do I get there? If that's my purpose, how do I reach it. How? A detailed plan. How to achieve my purpose. And I'd better be getting at it right now." Although Nick does lack a detailed plan, he's already got something much more important--a sense of middle-class entitlement peculiar to that postwar period. This is the feeling that the world is made to help him achieve his goals, that it can offer him what he needs if he can only figure out how to take it. I'm not so sure Nick (or even Don) would feel the same way in the 1990s. What's going to take the place of a "future that's something like that?" This film represents a whole culture of vocational guidance, a panorama of alternative futures for the young that has given life to thousands of books, films and training aids. In this visually minded century, these publications have focused on visual means of expressing abstract ideas like planning ahead, avoiding vocational deadends, and measuring progress towards concrete objectives. But whether it's little cartoons about the "steps to success" or parables taking place in the carpentry shop, the prejudices and kitschiness of this culture have hardly been explored and urgently await the attention of historians. </em> <a href="">Understand Your Emotions</a> <a href="">2</a> (12:54) -1950 <em>Biology teacher explains emotions, voluntary and involuntary behavior. </em> <a href="">Friendship Begins At Home</a> (15:40) -1949 <em>How a strong family group helps teenagers learn to form strong friendships. Barry is a teenager who doesn't appreciate his family. "Everybody's always picking on me," he whines. "I declare, Barry," replies mom. "I do wish you'd show as much consideration for the members of your own family as you do for your outside friends!" "Maybe I would," he snorts, "if my family'd show me as much consideration as my friends do!" Barry decides to be a brat and not accompany his family on their annual two-week fishing trip. "I'd rather stay here with my friends," he mutters, sulking. "Don't you consider your FAMILY your friends?" asks kid sister Diana. "How can a guy be friends with his family?" Barry snaps back. But dad is agreeable; Barry is left money for food and the family departs. "We're going away to have FUN," dad declares. Barry's first few hours of freedom are glorious, but he quickly discovers that his "friends" aren't as dependable as his family. George won't invite him over for dinner (Barry eats canned beans and soup for two weeks). Heartthrob Lorraine gets sick and cancels her party. The rest of Barry's friends are either away, working, or on vacation (with THEIR families, no doubt). This mid-section of the film is a thespian tour-de-force for Barry, as his non-stop internal sentence fragment monologue takes the place of a narration, saying things that no outside voice over could get away with. The Coronet "wistful" theme builds as the camera dollies in for close ups of Barry at critical points; he affects these moments of deep thought by suddenly raising his head, narrowing his eyes, and looking up and off-camera at a 45 degree angle. "Why haven't any of my friends called me?" he muses. "Not much fun spending the day alone." (NOTE: No TV in Barry's home) "Nobody to do things with. What are friends FOR, anyway?" Though Barry is a "free man," his friends can't match the "thoughtfulness" of his family. "I never before listened to an -- empty house," he reflects. And now he's visited by ghosts! -- double-exposure images of his family doing thoughtful things that Barry had, until now, not appreciated. Barry realizes that he probably took away some of his dad's "fun" by staying home. "That's a selfish thing to do," he concludes. Mom offers ice cream, Diana offers to get his suit pressed, and kid brother Dick plaintively asks to play checkers. "Boy," Barry cries, "how I'd like to play checkers with you right now!" "They're swell people!" Barry declares, scales falling from his eyes. "ALL of them! They do the kinds of things you expect of your friends! FRIENDS! That's it!!!" Now Barry is a changed young man. His family returns to find him scrubbing the kitchen floor ("You know, mother, you never really appreciate your family until they're not around"), he's bought Dick a new tennis racket ("Gee, Barry, you're swell!"), and he takes his kid sister to a dance when her date backs out ("Wow! Is that my sister? Well -- no WONDER all those fellows telephoned while you were away!"). The gulf between the America that applauded this production and the America that cheered Tom Cruise in Risky Business is what the study of these films is all about. </em> <a href="">Understanding Your Ideals</a> (13:37) -1950 <em>A high school boy primarily concerned with automobiles, dates, and parties learns from his father's example that ideals are really based on honesty, sincerity, and good sportsmanship. </em> <a href="">What About Juvenile Delinquency?</a> (11:27) -1955 <em>Jim leaves the gang after it attacks his father, and joins other teenagers at City Hall to argue against the imposition of a curfew. Drama filmed in Lawrence, Kansas. </em> <a href="">What Makes A Good Party?</a> (10:33) -1950 <em>Shows teenagers how to plan and attend a party, suggesting games to play and songs to sing ("Jimmy Crack Corn"). This film creates a world so innocent that it's embarrassing. Jean, Nora and Eileen are high school girls who want to throw a "coming out" party to introduce college boy "Steve" to the rest of the gang. But whoa, let's not be impulsive, the narrator cautions, for "a successful party needs planning and skill." Accordingly, every detail of the get-together is mapped out beforehand, from the refreshments (hot chocolate and sandwiches) to the "well-chosen games" (a hat-making contest and Charades). "Everyone's out to have fun and to help OTHERS have fun," the narrator emphasizes. This need to do everything collectively, to allow no room for individual interests, to "help keep the party fun for all," is shown when Nora attempts pull Steve aside for some conversation. Nuh-uh! Who knows where that behavior would lead! Jean drags the two rebels back into the group, and the gang soon has a grand time singing Jimmy Crack Corn around the piano. The narrator offers one last nugget of wisdom -- "Part of a good party is knowing when to go home" -- and the kids do just that. The disapproval of anything impulsive or individual in this film shows a really warped sense of "democracy," and more closely resembles socialism, if you think about it. According to Ted Peshak, "This whole part of the north Chicago area has changed because of that film." </em> <a href="">Writing Better Social Letters</a> (10:31) -1950 <em>While a teenage brother and sister write a thank-you note to their grandmother after visiting her on vacation, we learn the five parts of a friendly letter and more about why and how to write one. </em></blockquote> <strong>Social Guidance for Children</strong><blockquote><a href="">Developing Responsibility</a> (10:06) -1949 <em>Tells story of how frank assumes his everyday responsibilities at home, at school, &amp; on his paper route, &amp; is rewarded by being given a pedigreed dog by a man on his paper route who has observed his acceptance of responsibility. </em> <a href="">Why We Respect The Law</a> (12:54) -1950 <em>Ken and three friends steal boards to make backstop for baseball field. Ken suffers from guilt &amp; sees family lawyer who helps him develop respect for laws. Ken then helps other boys settle accounts with the construction company. Explains the importance of law in keeping order in a society. Shows that respect for the law is developed by a realization that law represents accumulated wisdom, that it is in harmony with laws of nature and that it is necessary to prevent trouble In the most jaw-droppingly awful defense of the law ever put to film, the lawyer steals Ken's shoes, imagines a world where hillbillies attack homes at random, and makes the following deductions: - The universe has physical laws, therefore laws are a part of nature. - A child who starts out stealing pennies from his mother's change will end up an armed felon. He actually says, "Peace and happiness are impossible unless our individual possessions are secure." So remember kids, things = happiness.</em> <a href="">Joan Avoids a Cold</a> (10:26) -1947 <em>How young children must behave to avoid transmitting germs to one another. </em> <a href="">Ways to Settle Disputes</a> (10:07) -1950 <em>Everyday incidents at school and at play teach Alice, Jerry and Eddie to resolve conflicts by compromise, by obeying rules, by finding facts, or finding opinions. </em> <a href="">Fun of Making Friends, The</a> (9:19) -1950 <em>Discusses the values of friendships and how to make and keep friends. </em> <a href="">Beginning Responsibility: Taking Care of Things</a> (9:20) -1951 <em>Instructs children how to care for toys, clothing and other property; to have a definite place to keep belongings, and how to store and handle possessions properly. Young Andy learns that "cleaning up after yourself is a grown-up way to behave." The narrator helps us become motivated by reminding us that as long as we're messy, we'll be shunned (loners were always given a wide berth in the fifties). The best moment occurs when Andy comes home from school to his messy room: Narrator: "And here are Andy's tadpoles." CU of bowl. "Aw. They're dead."</em> <a href="">How to Study</a> (8:50) -1946 <em>Jim prepares a civics report on labor unions. He uses four different types of reading: scanning, rapid reading, careful slow reading &amp; re-reading. He organizes his information, collects further data, writes his report. </em> <a href="">Good Sportsmanship</a> (9:30) -1950 <em>How sportsmanship enriches daily living: a lesson for teens. This film for pre-teens teaches youngsters to "think of what's best for the group." Even if things don't work out the way you'd like, the narrator explains, "it's more pleasant just to take what happens." And if you don't put up a fuss, "everyone will like you better." 1950 must have been a strange year to be a kid. </em> <a href="">Build Your Vocabulary</a> (10:37) -1947 <em>Dramatizes the story of a father, who, after finding himself at a loss for words at a public meeting, follows his son's lead and starts a campaign of vocabulary improvement. The film opens at a "civic association" meeting, probably a familiar setting for its late forties audience. "Mr. Willis" wants to speak his mind, but he lacks the vocabulary he needs to articulate his thoughts properly. Afterward, as he sulks at home, dutiful son Pete asks him to read his term paper before he hands it in -- a paper about the need to turn public parks into "playgrounds for the direction of youthful energy into character-building channels." Mr. Willis is impressed with Pete's "explicitness," and Pete encourages him to keep a "vocabulary notebook" in "a business-like way." "People can be interested in new ideas," the narrator explains, but apparently only if they're articulated correctly. Mr. Willis doesn't find building his vocabulary easy ("Nobody can learn all these words!" he yells at one point, "I'm going to bed!"), but in the end it pays and he becomes the star of the next civic association meeting. Who says the young can't teach the old? All interiors. Some nice low-light photography as dad struggles at his desk at night. Some actual intended humor as dad's secretary flees from his silent scowling. Nice use of layered voices echoing inside dad's head as he wrestles with his conscience. The camera actually dollies in for reaction shots; unusual, tricky and effective. </em> <a href="">Let's Play Fair</a> (8:43) -1949 <em>Sharing, taking turns and obeying rules are the basic elements of fair play. If Coronet would ever make a German Expressionistic film, it would certainly look like this. </em> <a href="">Let's Share With Others</a> (10:27) -1950 <em>A kid-centered pitch for fair play and thoughtfulness. This film is an excellent window on the weird fifties concept of profit through communal living. Young "Jimmy Blake" has a lemonade stand that he wants to run all by himself, even though the narrator warns us that "when we share things there is often more for everybody." Sure enough, Jimmy's off-the-job responsibilities start cutting into his lemonade sales and he quickly realizes that the way to success is through shared effort. Jimmy calls in his friends to help and soon "EVERYONE is having fun. Sharing with others certainly is a good idea, isn't it?" This may not be a very exciting film to watch, but its equating of "fun" with profit, "sharing" with a business, and group action with popularity make it worth viewing. "Learn to share with others. You'll like it. Your friends will like you, too!" </em> <a href="">Developing Self-Reliance</a> (10:20) -1951 <em>Social guidance film showing how necessary self-reliance is to all successful endeavors and happiness. The narrator explains that some people like "being dependent," but that those who do "never do any more than just 'get by'." Alan understands this, and after being chided by his dad ("Haven't you read Emerson's Essay On Self-Reliance?") Alan develops leadership qualities and becomes "a happier and better person." As he becomes more and more confident, he starts wearing ties on dates (Does he bring flowers, if it's a ritzy affair?.. oops, wrong movie) and settling school issues on his council. </em> <a href="">Am I Trustworthy?</a> (10:22) -1950 <em>How a child learns to return borrowed items, keep promises and fulfill assignments. his film follows young "Eddie" as he learns to become trustworthy. Actually, "trustworthiness" in this film is pretty loosely defined -- it seems to be synonymous with "obedience" and "conformity." Eddie, at the prodding of his dad and the narrator, quickly and eagerly sees the value of trust (he even makes his own Trustworthiness Chart), and we leave the film knowing that Eddie is well on his way to normalcy. "People have to show they can be trusted with little things if they want to be trusted with big things." </em> <a href="">Family Life</a> (9:48) -1949 <em>Impossible drama proving that proper management of schedules, responsibilities, privileges and finances leads to a happier home. Another winner from Coronet Instructional Films! Get a little organized and you too will be able to afford those major medical expenses and finally get your hair under control! </em> <a href="">Sharing Work At Home</a> (10:21) -1949 <em>A family cooperates to an unbelievable degree. The Taylor family -- Mom, Dad, Howard and Martha -- live in a messy house and, what's worse, they don't seem to care. But Martha has culled some modern ideas from her home economics textbook and the Taylor renaissance is about to begin. "General housekeeping is made much easier if each person picks up after himself," Martha reads to Howard; he thinks for a moment and responds, "Hey, sis...maybe we should get organized!" As anyone familiar with postwar Coronet films knows, "get organized" is an unresistable rallying cry. Soon, the Taylors are making neat, handwritten lists for everything, and smiling so broadly that it must hurt. "Here! It's all organized!" cries Howard as he holds aloft yet another list. "That's the idea! Each of us picks up after himself!" echoes Dad. In less time than it takes to pull a tally sheet out of the Job Jar, the Taylors have become "a far happier and better family." "This is more than just a story of wallpaper and slipcovers," the narrator proclaims. "It's a story of improvement in the Taylors themselves!" </em> <a href="">Your Thrift Habits</a> (10:35) -1948 <em>Modern-day moral tale resembling Ben Franklin's autobiography. Irresponsible "Jack" is envious of the camera that sensible "Ralph" has just purchased. How can Jack possibly save the money he needs to buy one for himself? "Are budgets just for parents?" the narrator asks, mockingly. "If he'd do without extravagances he could save every week!" Jack concedes that he should learn to budget his income, so he devises a "cameragraph" and attempts to follow it. This isn't always easy, but the narrator is always on hand to humiliate Jack whenever greed and gluttony surface. "Too many movies! Too much candy!" he chides. "You can't have EVERYTHING you want!" Needless to say, Jack does finally save enough money to buy his camera -- and probably had a good laugh at this film once the unthrifty fifties got rolling. </em> <a href="">Your Family</a> (7:37) -1947 <em>Family values in action bring happiness and concord. "Your Family" details a happy go-lucky family willing to jump through hoops to do family chores so they could get dinner over with so they can watch their home movies of them shoveling snow. All the family has duties, Mom takes care of the house, Tony takes care of the unfortunately-named terrier Fluffy, Nancy sets the table, and Dad, well, he doesn't deserve to do anything, as he's of course had a hard day at the office. </em> <a href="">How Quiet Helps at School</a> (10:28) -1953 <em>Social guidance film for young children suggesting that they take their noise out to the playground. This film starts off dull, but then it gets pretty strange. First, we're taken on a tour of a typical, boisterous grade school classroom ("You couldn't be proud to be part of such a noisy room, could you?" asks the narrator), and then we're taken into the classroom of "Miss Bradley" -- a place where all sound has apparently been banished. Miss Bradley tells us that keeping a classroom this quiet is good because it's "like an office," and that "knowing when to be quiet is a part of growing up." A cheerful geek named "Bobby" then gives several demonstrations of quiet behavior, and the narrator ends the film by asking, "This is a good room, isn't it?" Pretty weird stuff; lots of dead air. Watch for the scenes displaying the strange, tabletop "model farm." </em> <a href="">Good Table Manners</a> (10:20) -1951 <em>A bad-mannered 14-year-old meets himself as a young man of 21, and learns the fundamentals of good table manners. The best of the table manners films. "Chuck" has terrible table manners. But then he's visited by himself, several years older (and with even less acting ability), and Chuck-from-the-future teaches Chuck-of-the-present how to "park your fork" and countless other details of table etiquette. "People judge many things about you just by the way you eat!" </em> <a href="">School Rules: How They Help Us</a> (10:13) -1953 <em>Shows everyday scenes in which rules influence our behavior. Shows ways new student can learn rules, why exceptions can't be granted. Discusses rules and stresses the point that rules are ways of making life more pleasant, smooth and safe. Rules are good for you. Obey. Obey. </em> <a href="">Social Courtesy</a> (10:17) -1951 <em>Dramatic film offering instruction in basic social graces. Sour-puss "Bill" is invited to a "hard times" party with his girlfriend Carol, but he believes that social courtesy is "old fashioned." Whoa, just a minute there, says the feisty interactive narrator, who soon sets Bill on a proper course. Bill takes the narrator in stride, as he does being teleported through space and backward in time (repeatedly) in this very bizarre Coronet production. "Let's take a picture of this situation," the narrator says as a strobe flashes from behind the camera and the scene we just saw is transformed into a photo on a wall in the next scene. "You'd better back up and start all over again. Maybe you'd better try to be more FRIENDLY this time." Bill beckons the invisible narrator closer so that he can discuss things in private, and the camera obligingly dollies in while the other teens at the party remain utterly oblivious. "You discourage others when they want to be friendly," the narrator scolds. "You're supposed to rise when an adult speaks to you; everybody knows that." "Come on, Bill. Sit up! That's a chair, not a bed." You have to wonder why Bill, who is so rude to his friends, puts up with this invisible nagging narrator (you also have to wonder why he has any friends, period). Even the party is surreal. Signs such as "hobo jungle" and "bum's rest" (over the couch) hang on the wall, which is spotted with weird, unexplained stains. One of the girls, suddenly aware that Bill is having a solo conversation, asks "Are you talking to yourself?" which, in the early fifties, was much worse than talking to an invisible narrator. "Learn from watching others," the narrator concludes. "You can even get a book on courtesy from the library. Be friendly. Thoughtful. YOU'LL get along!" It works; the mom chaperon exclaims "Isn't that the boy who used to be so rude?" and Bill is accorded the ultimate symbol of fifties' conformist success; he's invited to another party. "Those changes made a big difference, didn't they!" he exclaims in wonder. "Social courtesy DOES pay! Thanks!!!" Certainly one of the most inventive Coronet films ever made. Good camera work by Bruce Colling. </em> <a href="">Appreciating Our Parents</a> (10:00) -1950 <em>Shows Tommy's development into responsible family member after he is brought to realize depth of parent's affection for him and their sacrifices. He tries to help family by saving money, putting things away, drying dishes and repairing broken furniture.</em></blockquote> <strong>Science &amp; Health</strong><blockquote><a href="">Nature of Light, The</a> (8:28) -1948 <em>Demonstrates light as a form of radiant energy. Explains the principles of reflection &amp; refraction &amp; shows how these principles apply to the science of optics. Shows how 2 boys on early a.m. Fishing trip discover principles of reflection and refraction of light through simple experimentation. Diagrams explain the operation of camera &amp; human eye. </em> <a href="">Nature of Sound, The</a> (10:45) -1948 <em>Boy uses his radio equipment to demonstrate how sound is produced and transmitted. </em> <a href="">Attitudes and Health</a> (9:56) -1949 <em>Demonstrates how self-confidence and right attitudes are necessary to good health. This film tells the story of "Marvin Baker" -- "an average fellow from an average home in an average town" -- who learns that having an "attitude" can make him sick and a failure in life. Happily, by the end of the film, Marv has adopted a "better perspective" and makes the first team in basketball. Watch for the montage of people with bad attitudes, including a woman with giant shoulders and scary eyebrows, and a fat-faced man with a "tick." </em> <a href="">Exercise and Health</a> (9:51) -1949 <em>How exercise will make you healthy and popular. Ernie, Jean, and Hal are three teens who have problems: Ernie is in "a run down condition," Jean is "shy and withdrawn," and Hal is "tense and irritable." But then all three join the Acrobatics Club at school and get into shape. Now Ernie, Jean and Hal "make friends easier" and have "outlets for their emotional tensions." But they're still painfully dull. </em> <a href="">Good Eating Habits</a> (9:46) - 1951 <em>Drama focusing on gluttony and "hidden hunger," where well-nourished people eat poorly and malnourish themselves. </em> <a href="">Rest and Health</a> (10:36) -1949 <em>Dick York plays a high-school track star whose running lags because of his lack of sleep.</em></blockquote> <strong>Geography</strong><blockquote><a href="">Alaska: A Modern Frontier (Revised edition)</a> (10:20) -1948 <em>Views of the Territory of Alaska. </em> <a href="">Life in the Central Valley of California</a> (10:23) -1949 <em>Shows the agriculture, trade and infrastructure of California's Central Valley, all made possible by irrigation. </em> <a href="">Mighty Columbia River, The</a> (9:59) -1947 <em>Hydroelectric power, shipping, irrigation and salmon fishing. </em> <a href="">Rivers of the Pacific Slope</a> (10:39) -1947 <em>The Columbia, Sacramento, San Joaquin and Colorado river systems. </em> <a href="">Who Are the People of America?</a> (10:07) -1953 <em>Explains how the United States came to be a diversely populated nation. Not a very exciting film, but one with an interesting, transitional attitude -- forties' One-Worldism diluted by fifties' "sharing." The narrator tells us that Americans are "a mixture of the people of the world" and that "much of that which is American is of the world." We're shown a montage that includes spaghetti, baseball, a jukebox, and hot dogs, and the narrator explains that "these are some of the things we share as Americans. For we have become Americans through the process of sharing." Lots of stock shots from previous Coronet films litter this production (along with the obligatory cheap animated lines and arrows converging on a map of the U.S.), but it's all incidental eye candy to hold our attention while the narrator delivers his social utopian blarney. "Playing together, growing together, learning together," he declares. "America is a land whose people shared what they knew." This film is one of Mel Waskin's favorites; he claims he wrote the script and then assembled the film "rhythmically" at home using footage from the Coronet stock library. According to Mel, this film brought tears to Jack Abraham's eyes when he first viewed it. </em></blockquote> <strong>Work</strong><blockquote><a href="">Work of the Stock Exchange</a> (15:40) -1941 <em>Examines each step of incorporation and listing of stock. Illustrates the details of buying and selling operations on the exchange floor and in the broker's office, showing how these operations bring to land, labor and management the necessary capital for production. </em> <a href="">Corporations: "What Is A Corporation"</a> (10:26) -1949 <em>Discusses the principal forms of business ownership-single proprietorship, partnership and corporation-and explains the advantages and disadvantages of each. </em> <a href="">Selling as a Career</a> (10:34) -1953 <em>Typical Day Of Work Of Art Williams, Salesman Of Sporting Goods. Preparations At Home For Next Day's Work, Fills Out Reports, Estimates Sales Prospects, Schedules Calls. Focuses On Procedures &amp; Personal Characteristics. </em> <a href="">How to Keep a Job</a> (11:23) -1949 <em>What you need to do to stay employed: choose the right job, get along with colleagues, maintain positive attitude, etc. "Ed" is a teen seeking employment at the "Star Products Company." His interviewer, Mr. Wiley, is a little leery of Ed, since the brash teen had the audacity to quit his prior job. "Nobody thinks very much of a man who talks against the company he works for," Mr. Wiley explains. However, Ed "might really amount to something," so Mr. Wiley tells him the story of identical twins Bob and Walter Anderson, who worked in the Star Products shipping room. Through the miracle of split screen photography (pretty daring for Coronet), we see that teen actor Bob is presentable and conscientious (he gets a promotion) while identical teen actor Walter is sloppy and ungrateful (he gets the boot). "Wouldn't you like to have Bob working for you?" asks Mr. Wiley. Ed is humbled and promises to be a good corporate man from now on. Let's hope he didn't rush out and buy a suit jacket with lapels as wide as Mr. Wiley's. </em> <a href="">I Want to Be a Secretary</a> (15:52) -1941 <em>Follows a young woman through her clerical training and job search. Shows pre-World War II offices and office workers, primarily women. One of Coronet's earliest educational films. Great title, but the muddled soundtrack and bargain basement production of this early Coronet effort make it less satisfying than other "career woman" films. The stilted interaction between the aspiring secretary and her various elders is okay, but nothing to write a memo about. This film's soundtrack was re-recorded when it was re-scripted and re-edited down to a 10-minute version in 1951. It was then remade in 1954 as the less-dogmatic Do I Want To Be A Secretary? </em> <a href="">Supervising Women Workers</a> (10:37) -1944 <em>Management addresses the special problems of women workers with concern and a heavy dose of sexism. </em> <a href="">Secretary's Day, The</a> (10:47) -1947 <em>Compares daily activities of a secretary with those of a stenographer. This film takes us through a typical work day of "Jean Carroll," a professional secretary who is tactful, courteous, poised, alert, personable, efficient, prompt, neat, and orderly. We learn that Jean's morning dictation period is "the foundation of secretarial skill," and are given many opportunities to view her invaluable calendar pad. A more or less typical secretarial film. Jean's boss, "Mr. Williams," plays the young politician in Political Parties. </em></blockquote> <strong>Economics</strong><blockquote><a href="">Banks And Credits</a> (10:36) -1948 <em>Coronet Instructional Films (a division of Esquire Inc.) presents Banks and Credit. Educational collaborator James Harvey Dodd, PhD., Professor of Economics and Business Administration, Mary Washington College at University of Virginia </em> <a href="">Understanding The Dollar</a> (9:39) -1953 <em>A dramatization which explains the essential purposes of money as a medium of exchange, analyzes factors which affect the value of the dollar, and shows the effects of rising prices on people with various types of income. </em> <a href="">Capitalism</a> (9:24) -1948 <em>A group of teenagers on a high-school radio program discuss just what capitalism is, seizing onto the example of the butcher who supplies the weenies for their picnic. Capitalism is one of many "free-enterprise education" films released in the first few years of the Cold War. Unlike many films produced under corporate sponsorship, it avoids taking jabs at socialism, Russia or New Deal government programs. Nonetheless, it uses the common Coronet device of showing a group collectively engaged in coming to terms with an idea -- a process with predetermined conclusions. In this respect, I imagine that it's not so different from Soviet educational films. </em> <a href="">Introduction to Foreign Trade</a> (10:38) -1951 <em>Cold War-era treatise on globalization. </em> <a href="">Trading Centers of the Pacific Coast</a> (10:38) -1947 <em>The Pacific Rim at the start of the air age. </em> <a href="">What Is Money?</a> (10:33) -1947 <em>Following the journey of a five-dollar bill through many transactions, the film shows how money functions as a standard of value and future payment, a storehouse of value and a convenient medium of exchange. This film follows a five-dollar bill (Federal Reserve Note G12463089B, series 34E) as it flows from person to person and performs different functions in the money channels of America. The narrator explains that money is "a quick and easy medium of exchange," which we use because "life today is too complex." Actually, money is a pretty abstract concept, and this film does a good job of making us aware of it. Watch for the cameo by "Mrs. Moore," who later played roles in Making Your Own Decisions and Political Parties. </em> <a href="">What Is Business?</a> (9:49) -1948 <em>Business produces Mother's pen, the bread on the breakfast table, and the pop-up toaster into which the bread goes. "The world we live in is a world of business." This postwar paean for the glories of free enterprise showers much praise on the Trinity of production, distribution and communication, which "have made the world of business TRULY one world." There's no narrative story line in this film, just a general overview, and much impressive talk about how business is "essential to our modern mode of living" and "helps fulfill our desires for a better way of life." As the camera pans down the storefronts of Main Street, the narrator cries, "Just think what it would mean if all this were taken away!" The battle lines of the Cold War couldn't have been drawn more succinctly. </em></blockquote> <strong>War</strong><blockquote><a href="">Communism</a> (10:41) -1952 <em>Educational film on the Cold War conflict. Unlike Capitalism, this Coronet film has no dorky teenagers or weenies in it. Classic cold war propaganda film. </em> <a href="">Starting Now</a> (10:44) -1951 <em>High school students anticipate and prepare for the military draft. (Are You Ready for Service? No. 4) </em> <a href="">Getting Ready Emotionally</a> (10:25) -1951 <em>(Are You Ready for Service? No. 6) </em> <a href="">Getting Ready Morally</a> (10:43) -1951 <em>(Are You Ready for Service? No. 7) </em> <a href="">Getting Ready Physically</a> (10:29) -1951 <em>Korean War-era film encouraging high school boys to use the physical training, health and recreational resources of their communities so as to be ready for military service. </em> <a href="">Service and Citizenship</a> (11:03) -1951 <em>Korean War-era film points out that military service should be understood as part of citizenship and that training in the everyday duties of citizenship is a part of the preparation for military service. </em> <a href="">Powers of Congress, The</a> (10:30) -1947 <em>Mr. Williams drops off to sleep for a few minutes to find himself confronted with a world in which Congress has been suspended and federal authority dissolved. This film marks Coronet's earliest excursion into surrealism. It opens in the living room of "Charles Bentley," whose checked suit and zebra-striped tie clash maddeningly with the room's bulls-eye wallpaper pattern, and give some hint of the strange sights to come. "Congress this! Congress that!" Bentley snorts as he throws down his newspaper. "I've got more things to think about than Congress!" He stomps down to the post office to mail his tax return, and continues his tirade for the benefit of his strange-looking friend, "Williams." "What's Congress ever given me except a lot of trouble?" Bentley grunts. "You know what I think? I think we'd be better off if there WASN'T any Congress!" CUs of soap bubbles suddenly appear as Bentley is catapulted into a black void nightmare world where all the sets are built on German Expressionist angles and everyone's voice has an echo. "LOTS of things are different without the powers of Congress!" cackles Williams, who has been transformed (thanks to low-angle lighting) into a kind of omnipresent demon. "YOU'LL see! Hee hee hee hee...." Bentley quickly discovers that, without Congress, his money is worthless, his court system is in ruins, and, worst of all, Social Security is bankrupt. "You'll have to look out for yourself when you lose your job!" Williams crows. Next, Bentley's wife arrives, sobbing that without Congress "our FHA loan was no good" and that now the Bentley's have been thrown out on the street! Thankfully, the soap bubbles reappear and Bentley wakes up back is his nightmare-inducing living room. It was all a dream! "NOW I know what to put in my speech for the club!" he chuckles, and we leave him with a better attitude and a Social Security system that his beloved Congress would eventually leverage into bankruptcy anyway.</em></blockquote> </em> <strong>Race</strong><blockquote><a href="">Plantation System in Southern Life, The</a> (10:39) -1950 <em>Eurocentric view of the plantation system and its effect on Southern U.S. culture. </em> <a href="">Palmour Street</a> (23:54) -1957 <em>Everyday aspects of mental health in an African American community in Gainesville, Georgia.</em></blockquote> Much of the annotation of this post was written by <a href="">shaggylocks</a> and the good folks at the <a href="">Internet Archive</a> - where all of these videos should be accessible in perpetuity if their current links die.,2012:site.121468 Thu, 01 Nov 2012 12:32:58 -0800 Blasdelb Rivers Lost and Found London's <a href="">River Fleet</a> may be the <a href="">best</a>-<a href="">known</a> <a href="">buried</a> <a href="">river</a>, but there are examples around the world, including the <a href="">Bievre</a> in Paris, the <a href="">Wein</a> in Vienna (<a href="">as featured in The Third Man</a>), the <a href="">Neglinnaya</a> in Moscow, the <a href="">Tank Stream</a> in Sydney, the <a href="">Minetta Brook</a> in New York and the <a href="">lost streams</a> of Los Angeles. Some buried rivers are now being <a href="">restored</a> to the <a href="">urban landscape</a>. Why bury a river? Well, Ben Jonson's <a href="">On the Famous Voyage</a> gives an idea of what the Fleet was like in the 17th Century. [The <a href="">Cheonggye Stream previously</a>. LA and New York articles via <a href="">bldgblog</a>],2012:site.121204 Wed, 24 Oct 2012 03:07:18 -0800 gnimmel Beating the heat, and the pollution, in New York rivers The <a href="">long-polluted New York rivers</a> are <a href="" title="Is the Hudson Swimmable? New Partnership Tests the Waters; July 25, 2008">getting cleaner, but can still be dangerous to swim in</a>. There are <a href="" title="Polluted Bronx River the focus of major cleanup effort by three counties, 15 towns; January 28, 2011">efforts underway to clean up the Bronx River</a>, but that will take years, if not decades. Until then, <a href="">signs are posted, warning would-be swimmers</a>, yet people still risk sickness to battle the heat. One current safe solution is <a href="" title="The Floating Pool Lady Surfaces for the Summer; June 15, 2010">the Floating Pool Lady</a>, a barge that was remade into an 82-foot-long city parks department swimming pool. <a href="" title="Floating Pool Lady Moves to the Bronx; June 13, 2008">She first arrived in the Bronx in 2008</a>, and <a href="">she'll return to the Bronx in a week</a>. There's a new Big Idea to bring swimmers back into the rivers: <a href="">the +Pool, a floating swimming pool located within a river</a>, designed with a series exterior walls to filter the river water and make it safe to swim in. While that's in the early design stages, you can take a chance and <a href="">jump in a swimming hole</a>.,2011:site.104891 Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:28:40 -0800 filthy light thief How a river works <a href="">What We've done to the Mississippi River</a>: An Explainer <em> The lower reaches of the Mississippi River are being hit by record floods, as detailed on <a href="">our In Focus photography blog</a>. While there are thousands of news stories about what's happening, I found myself wanting basic knowledge about how the Mississippi works now. It's such a complex hybrid human-natural system with a deep and complex history that it's hard to know where to start. While Humans vs. The Mississippi was most elegantly laid out in John McPhee's stunning story "<a href="">Atchafalaya</a>," we found ourselves wishing for a simpler tech explainer (or companion piece). How is a levee built? What's a revetment? What does the crucial Old River Control Structure look like? This explainer is intended to delve into these issues.</em> Also: <a href="">Restoring America's Delta</a> a film by Cornell University. <a href="">Previously on Mississippi Flooding</a>,2011:site.104118 Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:49:43 -0800 Potomac Avenue Larry Rivers' Archives When "Proto-Pop" artist <a href="">Larry Rivers</a>' died in <a href="">2002</a>, he left behind extensive archives of his letters, paperwork, photographs and film documenting the New York artistic and literary scene from the 1940s through the 1980s. They chronicle his friendships and relationships with dozens of artists, musicians and writers, from Willem de Kooning and Andy Warhol to Frank O'Hara. Also included: films and videos of his two adolescent daughters, naked or topless, being interviewed by their father about their developing breasts. Now, one daughter, who says she was pressured to participate beginning when she was 11, is <a href="">demanding that material be removed from the archive and returned to her and her sister.</a> Per <a href="">the NYTimes article</a>, the archives have been purchased from the Larry Rivers Foundation by New York University for their an undisclosed amount. They may eventually intend to exhibit the work. <a href="">Child porn or Coming-of-Age film?</a> More on Larry Rivers: Obit: <a href="">Barbara Rose on Larry Rivers</a>. She describes him as <i>"...the hostile, affectionate, generous, stingy, gregarious, insecure, serious, superficial, all-American mutt who managed to offend most deeply those he loved the most."</i> View his work online: <small>(<i><b>Some works may be NSFW. To the best of my knowledge, there are no depictions of child pornography at these links.</b></i>)</small> * <a href="">The Larry Rivers Foundation</a> * <a href="">Flickr</a> * <a href="">Smithsonian American Art Museum</a> * <a href="">Hirschorn Museum and Sculpture Garden</a> * <a href="">Museum of Fine Arts: Boston</a> * <a href="">The Parrish Art Museum</a> * <a href="">MOMA</a> * <a href="">Metropolitan Museum of Art</a> * The Seavest Collection of Contemporary Realism: <a href="">1</a>, <a href="">2</a> * <a href="">"I Like Olympia in Black Face"</a> 1970 / Centre Pompidou, Paris YouTube Videos: Interview: <a href="">Inside New York's Art World: Larry Rivers, 1978</a> Archived film: <a href=" ">Nobody Home</a> Interview clip: <a href="">Speaking about his son, Sam</a>,2010:site.93546 Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:04:32 -0800 zarq 3D Mapping <a href="">Durango Bill's Home Page.</a> With topics that include: <a href="">3D end-to-end tour of the Grand Canyon</a>, the <a href="">origin and formation of the Colorado River</a>, and examples of river systems that cut through mountain ranges instead of taking easier routes around them in <a href="">Ancestral Rivers of the World</a>. But if geology and 3D mapping isn't your thing, Bill also entertains and informs with his evaluations of <a href="">creationism</a> and religious cultists, an <a href="">energy/oil analysis</a>, gaming probability analysis, graph and number theories and applied mathematics. Durango Bill is a busy dude.,2009:site.83509 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:44:55 -0800 netbros Jimmy Smith Park <a href="">Jimmy Smith Park.</a> Breadcrumbs so you can find your way back: <a href=''>Jimmy Smith Park</a> -&gt; <a href=''>About</a> -&gt; <a href=''>Rivers Park</a> -&gt; <a href=''>Dreams</a> about <a href=''>Drunks</a> -&gt; The evolution of <a href=''>previously</a>.,2009:site.79389 Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:26:05 -0800 xorry Nature Creates a River While God was fooling around with his celestial SimCity control panel, he accidentally built a river <a href="">right through the middle of a road.</a> [NOT THEIST],2007:site.66376 Fri, 09 Nov 2007 10:56:42 -0800 brain_drain What's in the Mississippi, where it goes <a href="">Dead Zones - Causes and Consequences</a> Found by way of <a href="http://">this article series</a> where I read: "Ask scientists, government types, fishermen, almost anyone about the low-oxygen zone coming off the mouth of the Mississippi River and one question spills from their lips. "Have you talked to Nancy Rabalais?" ... marine ecologist Rabalais has led the search for answers to the 8,500-square-mile zone and the charge to find a solution. " ----- From the first linked page, you can view eight video clips -- each about 9.5 minutes long -- of a February 2005 slide lecture. She's awesome.,2005:site.44887 Tue, 06 Sep 2005 17:43:11 -0800 hank Joan on Boobs <a href="">Joan Rivers on the subject of Boobs:</a> "I think the stereotype that if you ah big breasts you can't be smart came from the fact that your breasts hid your schoolbooks. So it was a little harder to learn." A&amp;E tackled the subject of <a href="">cleavage</a> in a special that aired first in 2002 and again last night. SFW unless you work for the Archdiocese.,2005:site.43325 Thu, 07 Jul 2005 13:39:21 -0800 kahboom