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Music for a Transit of Mercury | Video Worth Watching

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A propos of the solar eclipse coming tomorrow, here’s a video set to music of another relatively rare solar phenomenon: a transit of Mercury. About 13 times per century Mercury passes between the earth and the sun. That small black dot you see moving across the face of the sun in this video is the planet Mercury. The most recent occurrence of a transit was a little over a year ago on May 9th, 2016, from 4:12 am – 11:42 am PDT. The orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory obtained an uninterrupted vista, recording it not only in optical light but also in bands of ultraviolet light. Featured here is a composite movie of the crossing set to music.

Credit for this video goes to: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Genna Duberstein; the images are from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO. Credit for the music: Encompass by Mark Petrie.   [Read more…]

Time to Take Five | Video Worth Watching

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Has this been a crazy week or what?!? Ready for a little break? I think it’s time to Take Five …

Paul Desmond (alto sax), Joe Morello (drums), Eugene Wright (bass) and Dave Brubeck (piano) – Live in Belgium 1964   [Read more…]

Learning To Hate – the Brown Eyes / Blue Eyes Exercise | Video Worth Watching

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A recent tweet from Barack Obama’s Twitter account featured a quote from Nelson Mandela: “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion … People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love … For love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” It now holds the record for the most “Liked” tweet of all time with 2.723 million times as of Tuesday evening (8/15/17).

For insight into how one might learn how to hate, here is a video that features highlights of the PBS documentary “A Class Divided” which describes an exercise conducted by Jane Elliott in 1968 after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.   [Read more…]

Heather Heyer’s Mother Delivers Eulogy | Video Worth Watching

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“They tried to kill my child to shut her up. Well guess what? You just magnified her.” Full remarks from Heather Heyer’s mother, Susan Bro, at her memorial service in Charlottesville.   [Read more…]

Who Are These Defenders of Confederate Statues? – Charlottesville: Race and Terror | Video Worth Watching

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“VICE News Tonight” correspondent Elle Reeve went behind the scenes with white nationalist leaders, including Christopher Cantwell, Robert Ray, David Duke, and Matthew Heimbach — as well as counter-protesters. VICE News Tonight also spoke with residents of Charlottesville, members of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the Charlottesville Police.

From the neo-Nazi protests at Emancipation Park to Cantwell’s hideaway outside of Virginia, “VICE News Tonight” provides viewers with exclusive, up close and personal access inside the unrest.   [Read more…]

What’s on your Mind?

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San Diego Free Press editor and Starting Line columnist Doug Porter is enjoying a California style stay-cation until Friday 25th. Daily editors Annie Lane and Rich Kacmar will continue to post articles and read our emails with some pinch hinting from Anna Daniels.

In lieu of Doug’s analysis of the local and national scene, we invite you, our readers, to let us know what is on your mind in our comment section, or send a full length submission to contact@sandiegofreepress.org
  [Read more…]

Confederate Monuments – Grind the Stone Into Dust | Video Worth Watching

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What is to be done with the monuments to Southern white supremacy? New Orleans has already begun the process of removing these symbols of white supremacy and New Orleans mayor, Mitch Landrieu, revealed to the Atlantic, some of the issues raised by this project.

Then there’s Daily Kos blogger, Hunter, who weighed in recently with a post titled “Tear Them Down”. Pointing out that nearly all of the monuments nationwide were erected long after the end of the Civil War, most were less an attempt to honor the exploits of those fighting to preserve slavery than a demonstration of the continued dominance of white power and privilege. Putting them in historical context he says:   [Read more…]

I’m Not the Angry Racist You See In That Photo | Video Worth Watching

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The Twitter image of Peter Cvjetanovic somehow belies his claim, as reported in a Raw Story post, that “I’m not the angry racist you see in that photo”.
What comes to mind for me is the “Cabaret” sequence ‘Tomorow belongs to me …’ and the question that the protagonist poses to his companion near the end of the sequence: “You still think you can control them?”   [Read more…]

Mad World – There Are No Answers, Only Mysteries | Video Worth Watching

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It’s a “Mad World”. Yes it is. If only it were so, simply for the reasons presented in this quirky little video directed by Michel Gondry, rather than for the actual tragic and frightening events of the last few days. Well, we can dream … and this video conjures up a poignant dreamscape.

Some of you may recognize this Gary Jules and Michael Andrews cover of the Tears for Fears song as the musical leitmotif from the movie “Donnie Darko” (an underappreciated cult indy movie which, if you haven’t seen yet, consider doing now). This video treatment, though, is completely unrelated to the movie, creating its own atmosphere and sense of time. The overhead views of the schoolchildren creating animated tableaux pan away to distant vistas, to the singer, then return to the children, still constructing the dynamic scenes which can only be appreciated from on high. There are no answers, only mysteries …   [Read more…]

Sun Ra on Nuclear War – If They Push That Button, Your Ass Gotta Go | Video Worth Watching

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I couldn’t find any videos of Sun Ra’s ‘Nuclear War’ that were of a live performance illustrating Sun Ra and his Arkestra in their glorious glittery outsider finery. This compilation of blast footage, however, is perfectly apt for the work, and a well crafted statement in its own right. “If they push that button, your ass gotta go …”   [Read more…]

Facebook Isn’t Free | Video Worth Watching

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From the good folks at College Humor we have an amusing parody of the Matrix franchise which enlightens us to the fact that Facebook isn’t free and tells us exactly how much it costs! What it doesn’t tell us is where to send the check. Or rather, what is to be done if we’re disturbed by this new knowledge. Although, honestly, positing a remedy for this state of affairs is beyond the scope of such a short work. I guess it’s up to us to start working on the sequel.

It features a brief cameo by Ethan Zuckerman (credited with proposing the “cute cat theory of digital activism”) whose MIT Center for Citizen Media, may provide some pointers.   [Read more…]

Border Patrol Boost – Been There, Done That, Let’s Not Do It Again | Video Worth Watching

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Trump is calling for increasing the number of Border Patrol agents by 5,000. What could possibly go wrong? Could history provide some guidance? John Oliver reminds us that in the aftermath of 9/11 there was a surge in the hiring of Border Patrol agents, doubling the force from 10,000 to 20,000. Might that experience provide some guidance for today? For example, what happens when the demand to boost numbers results in lax screening process? Hmm, might that result in hiring applicants that are unfit and in fact a danger to the force? John, with his engaging and wry delivery, calls up footage from that period as well as post-mortem studies of the events that show “Corruption and excessive force skyrocketed …” , including the case of an agent whose brother was in the Gulf cartel! But John believes we can learn something from this episode in border enforcement and presents his vision of a hiring campaign designed to recruit the right kind of applicant.   [Read more…]

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