PROGRESS UPDATE
A goal of Richard on their 101 Things in 1001 Days list with a status of Done.
1) Horizon: Are Health Tests Really a Good Idea? November, 2015.
Basically, most of them are not a good idea. They're often wildly inaccurate, and as such needlessly create anxiety,
2) Every breath we take: Understanding our atmosphere. November, 2015.
This documentary looked at the discovery of air and its constituent properties, along with a description of individuals like Scheele, Priestley, & Lavoisier who were all involved in our greater understanding of air. Once the constituent parts of air were separated, and a use was found for them, it changed the World we live in. For instance, the industrial revolution was made possible when the smelting of iron ore into steel could be achieved through an injection of oxygen to remove the impurities. Nitrogen is used as a fertilizer to rapidly increase plant growth and carbon dioxide is used in the manufacturer of all plastics including packaging to keep food fresh.
The one issue I had with the programme was that it dealt with one particular theory as fact, which was that; all our energy comes from oxygen reacting with the food inside us. However the cost of burning that energy results in the creation of free radicals which slowly kill us. Every breath we take, they argued, literally rips to pieces the cells inside us to extract all the required energy we need. Is that a fact? Really? Hmmm....
3) The second episode of the BBC Nature series called, 'The hunt,' which takes a look at the different strategies involved in animals hunting for their prey. November, 2015. Fantastic photography. Not so nice seeing little animals being eaten by much bigger animals!
4) 'The most dangerous man in Tudor England.' The story of William Tyndale's achievement of translating the Bible into English in defiance of the Pope and the Catholic Church-an achievement which of course led ultimately to his martyrdom. I learnt in the documentary that 82% of the King James Bible's New Testament was written by Tyndale despite Henry VIII ensuring that Tyndale received no credit for this epic scholarly work. Tyndale's translation is responsible for so many idioms we still use today such as; 'lick the dust' , 'under the sun”, “signs of the times”, “let there be light”, “fall flat on his face”, “the land of the living”, “pour out one’s heart”, “the apple of his eye”, “go the extra mile,' and many others. He wrote these phrases 500 years ago! Think about that. When we discuss the lasting impact on everyday culture-other then Shakespeare, is there anyone else we could say had a bigger impact on the English language?
5) Panorama: Terror in Paris. Tragic and heartbreaking details of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris.
6) Britain's Ultimate Pilots: Episode 1, Inside the RAF.Oh, to be a Red Arrow Pilot!
7) The ecstasy of Wilko Johnson. I always loved Wilko Johnson, for me, one of the best guitarists who ever lived. This documentary told the story of his recent encounter with pancreatic cancer. Instead of going through the accepted process people go through when told such news; denial-anger-bargaining-depression-acceptance, Wilko said that he felt more alive then he'd ever felt before. He experienced life as the miracle it really is. Ten months after diagnosis when he should have been dead, he was given a life saving operation, where there was little chance of survival because the tumour in his stomach involved so many other vital organs. He survived. Watching the documentary and listening to his experience, really makes me want to go and see him perform now. An amazing man.
8) Guy Martin: Last flight of the Vulcan Bomber.
9) Edward VIII's murderous Mistress
10. Building Hitler's supergun.
Basically, most of them are not a good idea. They're often wildly inaccurate, and as such needlessly create anxiety,
2) Every breath we take: Understanding our atmosphere. November, 2015.
This documentary looked at the discovery of air and its constituent properties, along with a description of individuals like Scheele, Priestley, & Lavoisier who were all involved in our greater understanding of air. Once the constituent parts of air were separated, and a use was found for them, it changed the World we live in. For instance, the industrial revolution was made possible when the smelting of iron ore into steel could be achieved through an injection of oxygen to remove the impurities. Nitrogen is used as a fertilizer to rapidly increase plant growth and carbon dioxide is used in the manufacturer of all plastics including packaging to keep food fresh.
The one issue I had with the programme was that it dealt with one particular theory as fact, which was that; all our energy comes from oxygen reacting with the food inside us. However the cost of burning that energy results in the creation of free radicals which slowly kill us. Every breath we take, they argued, literally rips to pieces the cells inside us to extract all the required energy we need. Is that a fact? Really? Hmmm....
3) The second episode of the BBC Nature series called, 'The hunt,' which takes a look at the different strategies involved in animals hunting for their prey. November, 2015. Fantastic photography. Not so nice seeing little animals being eaten by much bigger animals!
4) 'The most dangerous man in Tudor England.' The story of William Tyndale's achievement of translating the Bible into English in defiance of the Pope and the Catholic Church-an achievement which of course led ultimately to his martyrdom. I learnt in the documentary that 82% of the King James Bible's New Testament was written by Tyndale despite Henry VIII ensuring that Tyndale received no credit for this epic scholarly work. Tyndale's translation is responsible for so many idioms we still use today such as; 'lick the dust' , 'under the sun”, “signs of the times”, “let there be light”, “fall flat on his face”, “the land of the living”, “pour out one’s heart”, “the apple of his eye”, “go the extra mile,' and many others. He wrote these phrases 500 years ago! Think about that. When we discuss the lasting impact on everyday culture-other then Shakespeare, is there anyone else we could say had a bigger impact on the English language?
5) Panorama: Terror in Paris. Tragic and heartbreaking details of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris.
6) Britain's Ultimate Pilots: Episode 1, Inside the RAF.Oh, to be a Red Arrow Pilot!
7) The ecstasy of Wilko Johnson. I always loved Wilko Johnson, for me, one of the best guitarists who ever lived. This documentary told the story of his recent encounter with pancreatic cancer. Instead of going through the accepted process people go through when told such news; denial-anger-bargaining-depression-acceptance, Wilko said that he felt more alive then he'd ever felt before. He experienced life as the miracle it really is. Ten months after diagnosis when he should have been dead, he was given a life saving operation, where there was little chance of survival because the tumour in his stomach involved so many other vital organs. He survived. Watching the documentary and listening to his experience, really makes me want to go and see him perform now. An amazing man.
8) Guy Martin: Last flight of the Vulcan Bomber.
9) Edward VIII's murderous Mistress
10. Building Hitler's supergun.
Posted 9 years ago