A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
Baby Doe (Narrative Distribution)
Funny Money: The Dane Cook Story (Dark Star Pictures)
The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare (Netflix)
A Killer Story (HBO Max)
Lost Women of Alaska (Investigation Discovery)V
Murder in Glitterball City (HBO Max)
In 1993, Gail Ritchey, a young woman from a conservative Christian community in rural Ohio, gave birth alone and left her newborn in the woods. Now a devoted mother of three, her quiet suburban life is shattered when DNA evidence links her to the infamous cold case of “Geauga’s Child”, leading to her arrest for murder. Authorities dismiss her claim that the baby was stillborn, and the media swiftly vilify her. Facing a possible life sentence, Gail turns to her husband, Mark, and their adult children, who struggle to reconcile the woman they love with the accusations against her. With her attorney, Steven, she must confront the weight of societal and religious pressures—and her own long-buried shame—to fight for her freedom. Executive Produced by Sarah Paulson and directed by Jessica Earnshaw (Jacinta), Baby Doe cuts through the headlines to uncover the human complexity of Gail’s case. With a compassionate yet unflinching lens, the film examines the intersection of women’s health, justice, and the societal forces that continue to shape stories like hers.
This story impresses me as tragic from start to finish and I'm not sure I want to watch it.
Dane Cook had it all: fame, fortune, and sold-out arenas. Then he discovered his own brother had stolen millions. Funny Money reveals the shocking betrayal that nearly destroyed him and his fight to reclaim his life.
FUNNY MONEY: THE DANE COOK STORY is a true crime documentary exploring one of the most extraordinary stories behind the rise of a stand-up comedy phenomenon. Watch the official trailer for the new Dane Cook documentary.
This looks interesting. I know how money makes family turn on each other so I want to see how the rich and famous handle it.
On November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students—Madison, Kaylee, Ethan, and Xana—were found murdered in an off-campus home, leaving a tight-knit college town shattered. For weeks, their killer walked free.
From director Skye Borgman (Unknown Number: The High School Catfish) and Academy Award-nominated executive producer Joe Berlinger comes the definitive chronicle of one of the most chilling murder cases in recent memory.
Now, this is the kind of real-life murder mystery I'd find fascinating. That I know how it turns out doesn't change that.
Over the course of three hours, LOST WOMEN OF ALASKA reveals this haunting story and exposes the deeply disturbing mind of a predator who targeted the most vulnerable. But his arrest is only the beginning of unraveling a far deeper horror.
I'm not sure the production values and editing of the trailer does this documentary justice, although it might still get me to watch it. Just the same, it is an Emmy winner for its narration and my choice going in as the favorite.
Directed by award-winning filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, #MurderInGlitterballCity is a two-part documentary that explores a dark tale of murder, lies, and deceit.
I was wondering when the paranormal would show up in these nominees and here it is, not that it matters for anything but atmosphere.
I'm less sure about which nominee will win after watching these trailers, although I wouldn't mind if Funny Money gets the trophy. It seems to be the only one where no one dies.
That's a wrap for today. I plan on returning to this series on Wednesday. Stay tuned for a short evergreen educational entry tomorrow.
Previous posts about the 11th Critics Choice Documentary Awards
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (Focus Features)
Ghost Elephants (National Geographic Documentary Films)
Lion (National Geographic)
Nuisance Bear (Mubi)
Secrets of the Bees (National Geographic)
Time and Water (National Geographic Documentary Films)
Nuisance Bear leads with five nominations, followed by Lion with four, The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist and Time and Water tied at two, then Ghost Elephants and Secrets of the Bees with just this one. I'm embedding their trailers in that order, beginning with NUISANCE BEAR | Official Trailer | Coming Soon.
Who is the real nuisance? Watch the official trailer for NUISANCE BEAR—the Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary from directors Jack Weisman and Gabriela Osio Vanden.
In theaters November 6 in Los Angeles, December 4 in New York, Canada and the UK. A MUBI Release.
This should look familiar to those of my readers who were following this blog in 2023, when it earned two News&Doc Emmy Award nominations and when I wrote that it had won Best Short Documentary at the 2022 Critics Choice Documentary Awards, so this electorate is familiar with it and liked it the first time. Remember, electorates matter. This is a feature-length treatment of the same material, and, based on its film festival awards, the expanded content is substance and not mere filler.
I can't recommend Nuisance Bear to my students, as it won't be available to them before the end of the semester, but I can recommend the next nominee. Watch LION | Official Trailer | National Geographic.
From “The Lion King” director Jon Favreau and BBC Studios executive producer Mike Gunton comes the extraordinary true story of a lion cub named Kio on his epic journey to become a king. Filmed over four years, this sweeping saga of family, hope and courage follows Kio as he grows from a vulnerable cub into a powerful leader. Along the way, he faces loss, exile and fierce rivals in a fight to survive. Combining cinematic storytelling with groundbreaking natural history filmmaking, this series captures the complete coming-of-age story of a lion — and the remarkable making of a king.
Welcome to the kind of project one can expect when Disney controls the National Geographic Channel. Fortunately, it looks like a hit with more than four million views on the trailer alone. It also looks like the kind of documentary series that would do well at next year's Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
"The most urgent film of our time.” THE AI DOC: OR HOW I BECAME AN APOCALOPTIMIST is only in theaters March 27. Watch the trailer now.
From the Academy Award®-winning filmmakers behind Everything Everywhere All at Once and Navalny; a father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity. The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist is a hand-made, eye-opening documentary about the most powerful technology humanity has ever created... and what’s at stake if we get it wrong.
Holy crap! That was scary! It made me revisit what I wrote in 'Prophets of Doom' a dozen years ago.
Both [James Howard] Kunstler and Ruppert gave their familiar peak oil perspectives on the future. Of the rest, the one who worried about the farthest off catastrophe was De Garis, whose fear was of The Singularity, the surpassing of human intelligence by artificial intelligence. When he discussed his take on the future, I figured that Kunstler would likely have none of it. Sure enough, he told De Garis that he thought that the resources and finances needed to support the research for artificial intelligence would dry up before the technology reached that point. The result was that Kunstler didn't budge, but De Garis came away convinced that the other issues were fair more pressing than his particular worry. In particular, he became most concerned about water shortages.
Renowned Icelandic poet and author, Andri Snær Magnason, is chasing something elusive. As the glacial ice of his homeland melts, he constructs a cinematic time capsule to hold onto this moment and send it to the future, before everything he loves slips away. Using his own collected archives, his grandparents’ photographs and films as well as traditional songs and folktales, Andri interlaces his family’s story with that of the land around him. From Academy Award®-nominated director Sara Dosa, TIME AND WATER is a universal reflection on the power of home and what it means to be alive amid profound epochal change.
I can see the resemblance to Fire of Love, the personal meaning of natural phenomena. I can also recommend it to my students. Welcome to blogging as professional development.
For over a decade, Dr. Steve Boyes, conservation biologist and National Geographic Explorer, has been in search of a mysterious, elusive herd of Ghost Elephants in the highlands of Angola, deep within its forests. From acclaimed director Werner Herzog (“Grizzly Man”), GHOST ELEPHANTS follows Boyes on an epic journey as he sets out with some of the best master trackers in the world, in pursuit of an animal long believed to be a myth.
I can hear why Herzog earned a nomination for Outstanding Narrator at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Too bad he didn't repeat here, but at least he earned a nomination for his film.
National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory explores the extraordinary lives of bees — among the planet’s most important animals. Over three years, special cameras opened a rare window into a single hive, revealing their hidden world. With more than 20,000 bee species pollinating one-third of the world’s food, this series uncovers their astonishing architecture and intelligence, unlocking their secrets.
I didn't include the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, but here it is. Also, I have been recommending it to my students, although none has submitted any extra credit yet.
After watching the trailers, I think Nuisance Bear is the most likely to win with The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist and Time and Water as the most likely to upset it. Lion may have more nominations than either of the latter, but I think it's more likely to win the limited series category.
BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
David Greaves – Once Upon a Time in Harlem (Neon)
Baz Luhrmann – EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (Neon)
Gabriela Osio Vanden & Jack Weisman – Nuisance Bear (Mubi)
Xander Robin – The Python Hunt (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Poh Si Teng – American Doctor (Watermelon Pictures)
John Wilson – The History of Concrete (Magnolia Pictures)
Nuisance Bear and Once Upon a Time in Harlem co-lead this category with five nominations each, followed by EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert and The History of Concrete tied at four, then American Doctor and The Python Hunt tied at two. Two of these, The History of Concrete and The Python Hunt, don't have nominations in categories I will examine in the future, so I'm embedding them here, beginning with The History of Concrete - Official Trailer | Directed by John Wilson | In Theaters September 18.
Following the finale of his acclaimed HBO series “How To with John Wilson”, NYC documentarian John Wilson looks to the bedrock of his beloved New York City for inspiration and structure. Concrete, the world's most widely used building material, appears as an ever-present life force, and John sets out to make the definitive documentary on the matter. After attending a workshop on how to write and sell a Hallmark movie, he decides to use the industry-approved Hallmark formula to tell this seemingly drab story and increase his movie’s appeal. But his foundation soon begins to crumble—literally and figuratively—as he struggles to balance artistic freedom with the realities of the modern film industry.
Directed by John Wilson
This looks more interesting than I expected. Also, while there is definitely are science, technology, and infrastructure angles and I mention concrete in my lectures, I can't tell from the trailer if I can recommend this to my students. On the other hand, I'm sure I can recommend The Python Hunt - Official Trailer - Oscilloscope Laboratories HD.
In an attempt to save the threatened ecosystem, the Florida government hosts an annual competition to remove invasive pythons from the Everglades. For ten grueling nights, python-mania overtakes the ‘glades as an eclectic group of amateur hunters contends with unforgiving terrain, aggressive nocturnal creatures and their own desires and demons that push them into the swamp, searching for slithering glory.
Directed by Xander Robin
Produced by Xander Robin, Lance Oppenheim, Lauren Cioffi, Melissa Oppenheim
I blogged about the Florida python huntthreetimes and every time it looked like wild fun in the service of biodiversity and sustainability. I think my students will generally enjoy watching this as long as killing snakes doesn't bother them.
Two nominees also earned nominations for Best Documentary, Once Upon a Time in Harlem and The History of Concrete, so they're my picks to win Best First Documentary Feature. I think the former has the inside track, but I'll re-examine this category when I cover Best Historical Documentary and Best Archival Documentary.
BEST NARRATION
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (Focus Features)
Written by Daniel Roher & Caroline Lindy
Performed by Daniel Roher & Caroline Lindy
The History of Concrete (Magnolia Pictures)
Written by John Wilson
Performed by John Wilson
Lorne (Focus Features)
Written by Morgan Neville, Alan Lowe, Jake Hostetter
Performed by Chris Parnell
Nuisance Bear (Mubi)
Written by Mike Tunalaaq Gibbons
Performed by Mike Tunalaaq Gibbons
Rehearsals for a Revolution (Sony Pictures Classics)
Written by Pegah Ahangarani
Performed by Pegah Ahangarani
Remake (Music Box Films)
Written by Ross McElwee
Performed by Ross McElwee
I'm waiting until I hear all the narration from the trailers before making my pick in this category.
A perfect autumn reminder to spread a little joy! On this episode of National Day Spotlight..., Marlo Anderson...and co-host Alice Anderson are celebrating kind gestures for National Sweetest Day...They’ll focus on sharing small gifts, supportive words, and affection with generous hearts. Join them for a heartwarming and uplifting episode.
National Sweetest Day found its beginnings in a holiday founded by the National Confectioners’ Association in 1916 called Candy Day. On October 14, 1916, candy shops around the country filled newspapers announcing their sweetest treats and delights. Originally designated to be celebrated the second Saturday of every October, the confectioners’ convention in Detroit in May of 1916 made the final resolution. Walter C. Hughes, the secretary of the National Confectioners’ Association, encouraged Americans to patronizes (sic) their local candy shops, bakers, and druggist for the highest quality confections.
...
Sweetest Day’s theme of charity and giving became apparent in 1921. At the time, four Michigan confectioners united with the Red Cross. Those confectioners included the Detroit Retail Confectioners, Detroit Wholesale Confections Club, Detroit Jobbing Confectioners Association, and the Michigan Confectioners Club. Together, they distributed thousands of bags of candy to hospitals, orphanages, shelters, and homes across Michigan. The celebration also included 100 regulation army target balloons, which dropped coupons worth a box of candy.
Yes, National Day Calendar's web page still has this description.
On the other hand, the band Control Freq, which recorded "Sweetest Day," is based in Detroit, so there is another connection between the holiday and the Motor city. I found two new uploads of the song, Control Freq - Sweetest Day (album version) and Control Freq - Sweetest Day Radio Edit by Robot Repair Works, but neither will embed. Darn. As a consolation, I'm embedding Sweetest Day by Love Song Surprise again.
At least this has a cool preview image.
I close with a trailer for a horror film about the holiday, Sweetest Day Official Trailer. It was only a matter of time before an October holiday became the subject of a horror film.
Get ready to celebrate your new favorite holiday. #SweetestDayTheMovie - Coming Soon
An original independent horror/thriller: Sweetest Day.
Dorée Seay stars as Mindy, a resilient survivor confronted by a vengeful, undead Confederate soldier that nearly ended her life once before.
The film also stars Nate Boyer, Morgana Shaw, Deborah S. Craig, Chris Labadie, Mary Manofsky, Gina Su, Gaku Space, Catherine Corcoran, Andy Davoli, Kelli Maroney, Russell Todd, and Alex MacNicoll.
Doug Hawley makes his feature directorial debut adapted from his 2022 proof-of-concept short film of the same name. Hawley and Boyer penned the script, based on a story by Hawley and Seay.
Chris Gierowski, Clive Hawkins, Matthew Hersh produced alongside Hawley, Labadie and Boyer. J.W. Crane and Seay are executive producers with Logan Fulton as director of photography and original music by Frank Dormani.
IMDB lists this film as in post-production. May it be released by next Sweetest Day.
30 for 30 (ESPN)
American Masters (PBS)
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix)
The Food That Built America (History)
Hazardous History with Henry Winkler (History)
Independent Lens (PBS)
Untold (Netflix)
30 for 30 has won this award four years in a row, so it's my pick to repeat. That works for today also being NationalSports Day, as does the nomination of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, but I chose this category for The Food That Built America. In addition, American Mastersincludes chefs among the artists and performers it profiles, including Marcella Hazan last year, and Independent Lens has featured documentaries about food, including King Corn, which my students can watch for extra credit.
We have created songs in support of Ukraine since the 2022 invasion, but this latest is in response to the grotesque decision by Trump to agree to buy Russian diesel in the coming months - a new level of violation (including quite possibly a violation of recent US law) that undermines Ukraine's resistance to Putin's ongoing attacks. In step with our "Don't Abandon Them" ( • "Don't Abandon Them" - Marsh Family adapta... ) we are adapting an intimate and simple Bob Dylan refrain and using only three voices.
"It Ain't Me, Babe" is one of Ella's favourites - which she first came across in the recent biopic starring Timothee Chalamet ("A Complete Unknown") - though the original was released in 1964 on Dylan's fourth album "Another Side of Bob Dylan" and quickly picked up and reworked by many iconic artists. But it's something like that soundtrack arrangement - based on the Newport Folk Festival duet with Joan Baez - that we aimed for as a framework, albeit with extra harmonies.
This news reminds me that people have been reading Trump and Putin, a bad bromance lately. I had no idea how right I was back then!
We put together this version of Dylan's iconic rhetorical question song from 1963, "Blowin' in the Wind" because so much is hanging in the air at the moment after the alarming diplomatic announcements by Trump, Hegseth, and Vance in the last 48 hours, seemingly giving Putin much of the negotiating capital he wants - and in the face of the wishes and needs of Ukrainian and European leadership. We went for a threesome along the lines of the Peter, Paul and Mary cover version - partly out of necessity as others were away. But what better use to make of Valentine's night than to show love and respect for the courage and sacrifice of the people of Ukraine, and send a small musical message of solidarity?
The people of Europe stand with Ukraine against the threat of a false peace as much as a brutal war.
Because of our shared history.
Because of our shared future.
Because it is just.
Because it is necessary.
And because they deserve nothing less.
Don't abandon them.
Here's hoping and praying for a swift peace on terms that they can conscience, and that offer security against future invasions.
What is the Tully Monster? It might be a vertebrate, or it might not, but scientists have unable to agree for 70 years.
The first time I saw the Tully Monster, it was as a painting on the side of a U-Haul as the Illinois State Fossil. Wooster College has the image.
That's an unusual claim to fame. Since then, I've been curious about it, so of course I featured this video today. As for it being either a chordate or a mollusk, well, it would be even weirder than a conodont as a chordate and among the weirdest mollusks.
The Cretaceous Period is famous for enormous ocean-dwelling beasts. New research shows it boasted the biggest octopuses, and maybe the biggest invertebrates, of all time.
Hosted by: Savannah Geary (they/them)
Yikes! And I thought the Mesozoic oceans, particularly during the Cretaceous, were dangerous and scary enough. Oh, and the Tully Monster makes a cameo here.
400 million years ago, Prototaxites might have towered high above all other terrestrial life. Ever since its discovery, we've been trying to figure out what this massive ancient organism could possibly have been. For a while the leading theory was that it was a fungus, but recent studies suggest Prototaxites might have been something we've never seen before...
Hosted by: Savannah Geary (they/them)
I showed a PBS Eons video about Prototaxites to my organismal biology students as an example of ancient fungus. If I were to ever teach that class again, I'd have to remove it. Good thing I'm retiring!
The United States Navy (USN) is the United States Armed Forces’ naval warfare service branch and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States.
The U.S. Navy is currently the largest, most powerful navy in the world, with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage. The service has over 340,000 personnel on active duty and more than 71,000 in the Navy Reserve.
Seven uniformed services? Actually eight, in addition to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Space Force, there are the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps).
What is the true meaning of the 4th of July and American independence? This special episode of A People's History of Native America argues that the 4th of July’s roots are further from patriotism and closer to propaganda. Rather than independence, this day represents the centuries-long seizure and ethnic cleansing of Native American land. By looking at the history surrounding the American Revolution, we will uncover that Native Americans were an unexpected threat to the founders’ vision for their future country and plans for Westward expansion.
After watching this video, I feel even more strongly that Americans who worry about genocide and ethnic cleansing should focus on its survivors here before displacing their guilt elsewhere. Of course, I would feel this way, because, as I wrote 14 years ago, "My wife, my ex-girlfriend, and my ex-wife all have Native American ancestry. At least two of them would qualify as Native Americans under U.S. government policy, and one of them is enrolled as a Cherokee..." My wife and I put our money where our mouths are by donating to a charity in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. It's the least we can do.
As dozens of Native Americans braved the heat and wind in Northern Arizona to uphold a beloved tradition that falls days before the 250th anniversary of the US this year, some reflected on what the milestone means to them.
Again, the high proportion of Native Americans who served shows up again in this video.
RuPaul's Drag Race leads nominations with nine (eleven for the franchise), followed by six for The Traitors, five each for Dancing with the Stars and Survivor, and four for Top Chef. The prognosticators at Gold Derby orders the top two like they did last year, when I wrote 'RuPaul's Drag Race' leads nominations for Outstanding Reality Competition Program, but 'The Traitors' will likely win again. Every editor, 95.2% of experts, and 93.5% of users think The Traitors will threepeat. The fans and the professionals diverge on the next most likely, with 4.3% of users rooting for RuPaul's Drag Race to upset, while the remaining 4.8% of experts and 1.8% of users selecting Survivor. Dude, I used to be such a big Survivor fan that I was a moderator of a reality TV forum; I get it, but it's not happening this year. Top Chef trails with the last 0.4% of users, while no one is picking Dancing with the Stars.
By the time of the live televised awards, every expert and editor along with 95.9% of users had consolidated around The Traitors, Survivor sat in second with 1.9% of users, RuPaul's Drag Race dropped to third with 1.6%, 0.6% of users moved to Dancing with the Stars, and Top Chef lost all of its support. All the professionals and the overwhelming majority of users got it right. Watch Reality Competition Program: 78th Emmys.
Alan Cumming and the team behind The Traitors accept the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Competition Program at the 78th Emmys.
Yes, it is amazing how a show about treachery and betrayal can bring people together, but not surprising if one is a reality show fan like I was. Survivor did the same thing a quarter century ago. Also, thanks to Cumming for reminding the audience to register to vote. I've been slacking on that.
For some reason, hurricanes are terrified of South America. In fact, as long as we’ve been keeping track, it’s only EVER been hit by ONE! Hurricane Catarina was the hurricane that, according to meteorology, never should have happened. So how did it? On this episode of Weathered, we take a tour of hurricane regions around the world to answer that question. And we find out what Catarina can teach us about how hurricanes really work, and how they’re changing.
Catarina features in An Inconvenient Truth as a possible example of climatechange affecting hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, and tropical storms: "Explain how the 2004-2005 hurricane seasons fit with predictions based on global warming." That no hurricane has formed in the South Atlantic since shows that it was most likely a fluke and may have nothing to do with climate change. That doesn't detract from what Maiya May and other meteorologist learned from it nor from the other predictions, that hurricanes will get stronger and rising sea levels will increase the amount of storm surge, making coastal flooding worse. That's the answer to a question I ask in Chasing Ice, which replaced An Inconvenient Truth: "What effect will rising sea level have on hurricanes and typhoons?" California is seeing that right now as a result of ElNiño amplifying the waves of Tropical Storm Rachel, something I'll mention to my students next week.
In my Environmental Science class, the lab I run is one to introduce my students to the metric system, which many of my students struggle with. In fact, their issues with it are such that I tell my students a joke about it. "There are only three groups of students in community college who understand the metric system, the science nerds, the foreign students, and the drug dealers." That never fails to get a laugh.
My job would be a lot easier and I could cover something else if the United States fully adopted the metric system.
My joke has changed a little over the past 13 years, as some gamers also understand the metric system thanks to their games using it, but my opinion hasn't.
