Petica's posterous http://peticawatson.posterous.com a place to plonk stuff posterous.com Sun, 25 Apr 2010 22:50:25 -0700 BBC series on maps http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/04/25/bbc-series-on-maps http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/04/25/bbc-series-on-maps I'm really loving the BBC series on maps... (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s5m7w_ ) I've always been overly-interested in maps, poring over medieval maps which document the Christian known world and the strange, beast-ridden lands further afield, to Google Earth which in one click allows me to see my front door, or search the jungle ruins of Angkor Wat just before I visit them, from my iphone! Maps have helped us make sense of the world, and communicate the world view of the humans who made them; they've been tools for propaganda, showing the way to Heaven, exerting control; navigation, understanding how to deal with poverty,  disease, populations... and so fascinating to see what the maps of different societies, over thousands of years, reveal about the political and cultural forces that created them. Here are some important maps everyone should know about. Here's Tupaia's navigation map from the British Library. He's always been thought of as a mere interpreter on Captain Cook's expedition, but in fact his role was crucial and they would have probably been killed and eaten without him - Polynesians saw him as the expedition leader.

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Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:27:01 -0700 The luckiest nut in the world... http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/04/22/1044 http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/04/22/1044 I don't know why I suddenly thought of her now but I've always thought Emily James was a genius after I saw this film. She worked at Fulcrum TV when I was there. Watching this film was the first time I understood what the IMF did... [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtlYyuJjACw&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Here's her blurb:
The film follows an animated American peanut, who sings about the difficulties faced by nuts from developing countries. Supported by a mixture of animation, music, our American peanut takes the viewer through the stories of the cashew, brazil and ground nuts - all of whom suffer as world trade is liberalized. But it is a different story in America - where the peanut is protected by tariffs and heavily subsidized, and worth over four billion dollars a year to the American economy. Certainly the luckiest nut in the world. The film helps people to understand how the pressure to embrace ‘free market' economics, with it's promise of a wealthy, abundant market place has actually driven many countries further into poverty. The response to the film has been amazing. After screening to over 1 million people on Channel 4, the film has been in numerous festivals, including, the One World Human Rights Film Festival in Prague, and taking Best Short Documentary at Full Frame. Christian Aid in the UK used the film and it's characters in their “Trade Rules are Nuts, Let's Crack'm!” campaign
http://www.emily-james.com/Site/THE_LUCKIEST_NUT_IN_THE_WORLD.html

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Fri, 02 Apr 2010 11:25:01 -0700 Films that will change your life... hopefully http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/04/02/films-that-will-change-your-life-hopefully http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/04/02/films-that-will-change-your-life-hopefully I've been compiling a list of films that are life-changing in some way. In style, they may not be cutting edge or even deserve to be thought of as a real 'film', however it's the content I'm interested in for the purposes of this list. How many have you seen? You may have seen many of them already. And I'm aware the list is not comprehensive ! Feel free to add any you feel should be on the list. In time these will have synopsises. Documentaries and links will also be included eventually FOOD ISSUES:
  • Fast Food Nation
  • Supersize me
  • Food Inc
  • The Future of Food
  • McLibel
  • Supersize Me
  • Supermarket Secrets
  • A Farm for the Future
BODY AND EATING:
  • The PH Miracle
to continued SPIRITUAL GROWTH:
  • What the Bleep do we know?
  • Celestine Prophesy
  • The Secret
  • Peaceful Warrior
  • Bruce Lipton: The Biology of Belief
  • Doing Time Doing Vipassana
  • tbc
ENVIRONMENT /THE PLANET/SOCIETY
  • Who Killed the Electric Car
  • The End of Suburbia
  • An Inconvenient Truth
  • The 11th Hour
  • Outfoxed
  • The Corporation
  • The Age of Stupid
  • Adam Curtis' films
  • Flow
  • A World Without Water
  • The End of the Line
  • Crude Awakening
  • Baraka
to be continued...

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Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:24:32 -0700 People in Order: Age http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/03/29/people-in-order-age http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/03/29/people-in-order-age [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUHLa1qSy24&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

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Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:23:46 -0700 People in order: Love http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/03/29/people-in-order-love http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/03/29/people-in-order-love http://www.lenkaclayton.co.uk/ Made by Fulcrum TV

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Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:47:34 -0700 Where can you educate and stimulate yourself easily and for free? http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/03/23/where-can-you-educate-and-stimulate-yourself-easily-and-for-free http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/03/23/where-can-you-educate-and-stimulate-yourself-easily-and-for-free

Open University videos on iTunes U

I've been working for the Open University for a long time now, re-organising their audio-visual archives so that they can be accessed free online through ITunes software, on ITunesU. It's a fantastic resource that hardly anyone seems to know about. Universities all over the world are uploading their visual content in the hope that potential students will be impressed and want to study a given course at that institution. Open University's material is the best of course. There are skillfully put together documentaries on all sorts of subjects (called albums), divided into short chunks or "tracks" . Open iTunesU on your computer and go to the Store. Click on the tab iTunesU and surf from there. Here's an example.

http://itunes.open.ac.uk/r/1vTBeR

The universities have the content, the videos and web provide the platform, and hey presto, a very useful service.

And here we have a San Francisco based company doing something similar - except, these are only filmed lectures, rather than professionally edited documentaries. Also, they're streamed, so you have to sit through their annoying initial student blurbs about when they've got to hand in their essays etc. Here's their blurb:

Academic Earth is an organization founded with the goal of giving everyone on earth access to a world-class education.

As more and more high quality educational content becomes available online for free, we ask ourselves, what are the real barriers to achieving a world class education?  At Academic Earth, we are working to identify these barriers and find innovative ways to use technology to increase the ease of learning. We are building a user-friendly educational ecosystem that will give internet users around the world the ability to easily find, interact with, and learn from full video courses and lectures from the world’s leading scholars.  Our goal is to bring the best content together in one place and create an environment in which that content is remarkably easy to use and where user contributions make existing content increasingly valuable. We invite those who share our passion to explore our website, participate in our online community, and help us continue to find new ways to make learning easier for everyone. http://www.academicearth.org/about and here's an example of a lecture: http://www.academicearth.org/lectures/sustainable-systems-in-sustainable-living (Gosh American uni students are pretty rowdy and excitable don't you think!)

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Sun, 21 Mar 2010 22:17:12 -0700 Foodie documentaries on BBC4 http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/03/21/foodie-documentaries-on-bbc4 http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/03/21/foodie-documentaries-on-bbc4 I've just been watching "The Man Who Ate Everything" presented by Andrew Graham-Dixon, about Alan Davidson, a diplomat who wrote the first Oxford compendium of food in 1978, and founded Petits Propos Culinaires, a journal of food studies and history. He had travelled widely and tried everything- when I switched on Andrew G-D was in Laos, funnily enough where I've just been and where he was ambassador until 1975. Diplomats are - so lucky - particularly in those days, like my parents, they were discovering the world and could bring it back to Europe and in a way that is no longer possible. Sallie Morris was another diplomatic wife friend of ours in Malaysia who was also writing about south east Asian food in the 70's. These great docs are of course, on BBC4, part of the Exquisite Cuisine Season..here they are: (Funny to see Fast Food Nation in the list though, it's a drama film made by American Eric Schlosser who recently did Food Inc ..) Bread: A Loaf Affair. The story of the rise of the popular loaf and how it has shaped the way we eat in Britain. _____________________________________________________________ Carluccio and The Leopard. Antonio Carluccio travels to Sicily to discover more about Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's novel The Leopard. _____________________________________________________________ Christina: A Medieval Life. Michael Wood traces the story of a real-life peasant of 14th-century Hertfordshire. _____________________________________________________________ Clarissa and the King's Cookbook. Clarissa Dickson Wright tracks down Britain's oldest cookbook and traces its influence. _____________________________________________________________ Fast Food Nation. Film in which a fast food marketing executive takes an eye-opening trip around Middle America. _____________________________________________________________ Fat Man in a White Hat. New Yorker magazine writer Bill Buford dons a white hat and works in a series of French kitchens to investigate whether French food is all it's cracked up to be. _____________________________________________________________ Fear of Fanny. Dramatisation of Fanny Cradock's career, based on interviews with her friends and family, revealing the private vulnerability behind her tart public persona. _____________________________________________________________ France on a Plate. A gastronomic tour through French history, from Versailles through to ethnic fusion food. _____________________________________________________________ Hannah Glasse: The First Domestic Goddess. Clarissa Dickson Wright presents a profile of the author of The Art of Cookery, the best-selling cookery book of the 18th century. _____________________________________________________________ In Search of the Perfect Loaf. Documentary which follows Tom Herbert's efforts to bake a prize-winning loaf of bread. _____________________________________________________________ Kings of Pastry. Documentary chronicling the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France pastry chef competition. _____________________________________________________________ The Man Who Ate Everything. Andrew Graham-Dixon presents a profile of the influential food writer Alan Davidson.

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Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:04:21 -0800 videos to Explore http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/03/01/videos-to-explore http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/03/01/videos-to-explore http://www.explore.org/videos/library/ explore is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. explore’s growing library consists of more than 250 original films and 30,000 photographs from around the world. We showcase our work at film festivals, on over 100 public broadcast and cable channels, and on numerous online destinations including explore.org, Snag Films, Hulu and TakePart. “At explore we are archivists,” explains founder Charles Annenberg Weingarten. “We strive to create films that allow the viewer to join us on our journey as we go on location and experience what unfolds. It’s like the viewers are traveling with the team.” explore features a wide range of topics—from animal rights, health and human services, and poverty to the environment, education, and spirituality. Delivered in short, digestible bites, explore films appeal to viewers of all ages, from children learning about other cultures for the first time to adults looking for a fresh perspective on the world around them. explore films include: a woman in Mumbai who has dedicated her life to rescuing young women from prostitution, a priest in Los Angeles who helps gang members reintegrate into society, a project to protect wild mountain gorillas in Rwanda, and an environmental university in Costa Rica that focuses on sustainable development. Individuals and organizations featured in many explore films also receive explore funding in the form of Annenberg Foundation grants. To date, over $15 million has been awarded to more than 100 non-profit organizations worldwide. explore.org, the online portal for explore, is a community destination where people share thoughts, engage in dialogue, view and email films and photographs, and embed their favorites on blogs and social networking sites.

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Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:51:17 -0800 The Secret (my notes) http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/01/17/the-secret-my-notes http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2010/01/17/the-secret-my-notes Well here is the first 20 mins. It's definitely something everyone should be aware of, but you don't need to watch it 'cos I've summed up most of it below! It's nothing new, spiritual groups and self-help books have been saying this stuff for yonks - indeed centuries - but it's the way it's packaged that's so anthropologically interesting. It's purposefully quite Dan-Brown-Da Vinci Code style grab it's audience. I slightly hate that, but I slightly feel drawn in by it too - because it IS an amazing idea and I know it to be true from my own life experiences. The cinematic, over-the top style is just an attempt to reflect and enhance the shivers-down-your-spine nature of the idea, so maybe I forgive it. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b1GKGWJbE8&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Things to remember: THOUGHTS. BECOME. THINGS. What you think about, you bring about. Emit on that thought frequency on a consistent basis, and it will become reality. It's all quantum physics. We are icebergs, but we only see tips. Everything we observe with our physical senses is an energy vibration. (See Celestine Prophesy chapter 3 for more on this!) Everything in the universe is made of the same energy. And every thought has a vibrational frequency. So, the Law of Attraction: Make it clear what you want. (I know, this is my problem -it's hard to choose!) Whatever's going on in your mind, you're attracting to you. You're a magnet. Like attracts like. You become or attract what you think about most. The Law doesn't care whether it's good or bad. Conscious and unconscious both count. And when you focus on something with lots of passion, you get what you want even faster. An affirmative thought is 100 times more powerful than a negative one. The EVIDENCE is long in coming. It doesn't happen immediately. Your thoughts CAUSE your feelings. There are are only 2 emotions: good or bad. When you are thinking about bad stuff or your emotions are bad, it's not in line with what you really want. It's the GOOD emotions that are when you are in alignment. Your present thoughts are formulating your future experience. The Universe will correspond to the nature of your song. The Universe is not hearing words from you. It's responding to your thought and feeling. PLACE YOUR ORDER WITH THE UNIVERSE ALLOW YOURSELF TO WANT WHAT YOU TRULY WANT. Most people don't, because they worry about how it will manifest. But you don't need to understand that bit) BRING YOURSELF INTO ALIGNMENT WITH WHAT YOU ARE ASKING FOR. If you are feeling despair etc, that is not alignment with what you want. TURN ONE FANTASY INTO REALITY - it means even bigger fantasies can come true next. Do what you have to do to generate the feelings of having IT now. Trust that the next 200ft will unfold before you, like car headlights. People wonder how long it will take. The more in alignment we are, the quicker. If you are just thinking about what IS, rather than the possibility of what could be, that's all the Universe will give you. You doom yourself to have nothing more than more of the same in the future. List things to be grateful for: what you have and feel. Every morning while brushing teeth! VISION BOARDS VISUALISATION! THE UNIVERSE WILL FIGURE OUT HOW TO MANIFEST IT See work of James Arthur Ray, Esther Hicks, Jack Canfield, Dr Michael Beckwith, Alan Wolf, When you have an inspired thought, you have to trust it and act on it. (yeah that got me into trouble as too many inspired thoughts!) That's what affirmations are for: "Money comes easily and frequently". Money is only a part of wealth - wish for abundancy! Our physiology creates dis-ease to give us feedback. No STRESS. The difference between fear and hope. Body heals itself If you push against the unwanted, you add power to it. Mother Teresa said" Invite me to a Peace rally!" If you are anti-war, be pro-peace. IGNORE the things you do not want. Give your power to the things you do. You are an energy field operating in a larger energy field. What are you going to do now? Begin where you are. NEVER THINK: I'm NOT...enough to do that!" There is no blackboard of God's in the sky - you create your own mission! Put yourself constantly in a state of JOY - it draws more power. A NEW ERA is dawning - it's not about the frontiers of space, it's the MIND. You are a magnificent creator. Attract life experience to help you decide what you want. But your real work is to decide what you want, and set about creating it.

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Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:06:10 -0800 documenting good-doers http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2009/11/16/people-doing-things-id-have-done-if-id-just-had-time http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2009/11/16/people-doing-things-id-have-done-if-id-just-had-time This is an environmentalist who now takes photos. She did some studies of people who are doing things to make a difference to the world, using her photography and the short films are on the Community Channel. http://howtomakeadifference.net/about/

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Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:01:19 -0700 Foodie Films http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2009/08/28/foodie-films http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2009/08/28/foodie-films

1 Babette's Feast

Gabriel Axel, 1987

Parisian chef Babette becomes a cook in a strict Lutheran community in 19th-century Denmark. When she wins the lottery, she decides to repay her dour employers and the villagers by preparing a celebration meal, but the locals fear that such indulgence will be corrupting. Finest food moment (FFM): The heart-warming scenes as, despite themselves, the guests begin to enjoy the meal.

2 Big Night

Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci, 1996

Set in Fifties America, this is the story of two Italian brothers in search of the American dream who open a restaurant. Teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, they decide to host a sumptuous banquet for singer Louis Prima in the hope that this will pull in the punters. FFM: The loving attention to detail with which the timballo is prepared is enough to make you cry, and the eventual creation of a dish that is just too magnificent to eat.

3 The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie

Luis Bunuel, 1972

Bizarre interruptions from clergymen, military manoeuvres and unexplained food shortages, prevent a group of friends from enjoying a meal together, no matter how they try. The director, Bu�uel, creates a series of situations that reveal the hypocrisy and empty ritual of the privileged classes. FFM: The exasperated expressions of the protagonists hoping for food but never getting any.

4 Felicia's Journey

Atom Egoyan, 1999

A poor Irish girl becomes pregnant after a brief affair with an English soldier. Misled about his identity, she embarks on a fruitless search for the father of her unborn child. Once in England, she is befriended by a lonely, middle-aged catering manager. But, all is not as it seems... FFM: Bob Hoskins, as the bachelor, spending his evenings recreating the dishes demonstrated on television by his celebrity chef mother, Gala.

5 Chocolat

Lasse Hallstrom, 2000

An attractive single mother and itinerant chocolatier, Vianne, opens a chocolate shop in a French village in the Fifties. She encounters fierce opposition from the mayor who fears the effect her indulgent, magic confections will have on the strait-laced residents. FFM: The villagers' faces as, one by one, they give in to temptation and enjoyment as they sample those irresistible cakes, truffles, hot chocolate and much more.

6 Eat Drink Man Woman

Ang Lee, 1994

A widowed chef tries to hold his family of three daughters together, but their only communication is over Sunday dinner. In this gentle comedy of food and family life, primary needs are asserted over more ephemeral desires. FFM: As the opening credits roll, it is such a pleasure to watch the chef preparing the Sunday meal, even the way he cuts the vegetables is inspiring.

7 Like Water For Chocolate

Alfonso Arau, 1991

Set against the backdrop of the 1910 Mexican revolution, the plot centres around a widow and her three daughters.The youngest girl, Tita, has the ability to transmit her feelings to anyone who tastes her cooking. FFM: Tita cooks quails in rose petal sauce and her passion for the dish so affects her sister that, unable to contain her desire, she runs from the shower naked, jumps on to the horse of a passing trooper and rides off with him.

8 Tampopo

Juzo Itami, 1986

Tampopo satirises Japanese society's view of the relationship between food and sex in a series of amusing vignettes. A wandering troubleshooter helps the heroine transform her nondescript ramen restaurant into culinary perfection. FFM: The lips of a gangster and his moll meet only after using their mouths to pass a raw egg yolk from one to the other.

9 Tom Jones

Tony Richardson, 1963

Based on Fielding's 18th-century novel, this is the story of an orphan adopted into an aristocratic household. Our hero's fun-loving attitude makes him fatally attractive to women, including the squire's daughter. FFM: Tom enjoying a bawdy meal with a buxom wench.

10 What's Cooking

Gurinder Chadha, 2000

A hilarious film looking at how four ethnically diverse families celebrate Thanksgiving in LA. On the day, tensions rise and boil over with surprising results. FFM: It's fascinating to see how the same ingredient, such as yam, is prepared differently by each family. courtesy of Waitrose

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Sat, 28 Jul 2007 15:52:27 -0700 Plastic Planet: The Curse of the Carrier Bag, 2006 http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2007/07/28/plastic-planet-the-curse-of-the-carrier-bag-2006 http://peticawatson.posterous.com/2007/07/28/plastic-planet-the-curse-of-the-carrier-bag-2006 In 2006 I made a no-budget short film about plastic bags. Put it on Myspace and then suddenly the whole world was contacting me wanting to use it in anti-plastic bag campaigns. At least 40 campaigns from Canada to India to Australia showed it to public gatherings to raise awareness. I think people latched onto plastic bags as a ubiquitous symbol of all that is wrong with our unsustainable way of living these days. Anyway, The Cooperative group in the UK showed it internally, Liverpool projected it in their town square on an open film day, it won a Green TV competition at the Sheffield Documentary Film Festival and Discovery Channel asked to put it on their interactive website to show what's happening at grass roots level, I think as part of their buying the TreeHugger site. I hope to embed the film here but it doesn't work at the moment. Interviewees in the film are : Satish Kumaar, ex-Jain monk and environmentalist, started Resurgence, Mukti Mitchell, eco-designer, Jonathan Porritt, Sustainable Development Commission Diana Verde-Nieto from Clownfish, and ethical PR company, Jessica Symons, social entrepreneur the lovely Jeffrey Davies running a plastic bag factory in London (Polybags), telling us why biodegradable bags aren't the answer a waste-worker in Brighton, Irish minister talking about the banning of plastic bags there My favourite bit is the fact that I found a song with the most perfect chorus, and got permission to use it: Simon Denyer's Plastic Bag song. A little bit too catchy...and I like the 50's archive material with its enthusiasm about plastic. Anthony Alexander edited with a great deal of talent and commitment, and I got Rosanna Jon to draw these cartoons for me with her animation expertise, using photos I had taken of plastic bags arranged with blue tac on my wall in certain positions. They appear at the end of the film depicting the nicknames which people have given the plastic bags you see strewn all over the place : Landfill snowbirds, witches' knickers, urban tumbleweed, Tundra ghosts, and one to do with kites which I've now forgotten... 2 of the cartoons below.
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Also, some of the horrid photos that didn't make it into the film. (All copyright permissions cleared in 2006) Every time you throw away a plastic bag into the bin going to Landfill, conjure these images to mind.
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