The Velvet Claw.1of7.The Carnassial Connection (BBC, 1992)
From tiny weasels to big cats and bears, this series follows the sometimes surprising evolution of the Carnivora - the mammals that eat meat. Using computer graphic techniques and full colour animation to bring to life long-extinct lineages, it journeys from the carnivore's roots at the end of the dinosaur era right up to the present day. Narrated by Derek Jacobi
The Carnassial Connection Introductory programme of a seven part series, exploring the evolution of the carnivores as a successful and highly diverse mammalian group.
--- This is shared without profit for educational and historical purposes ---
Sixty-five million years ago, a giant meteor hit the earth causing a global catastrophe that destroyed an estimated three quarters of the plants and animal species on the planet, including the mighty dinosaurs. Little was known about the survivors who lived in this post-apocalyptic world until a mining operation in Cerrejon, Northern Colombia — excavating coal cut from deep within the earth’s crust — exposed an important layer in the earth’s geological history laid down more than 10 million years after the extinction of the dinosaurs. In 2003, when paleontologist professor Jonathan Bloch, University of Florida, first heard that this important layer had been exposed, he and his research team rushed to Columbia. He had spent his career studying this Paleocene period in the earth’s geological history. Could this be the lost world he’d been searching for?
Alex4History's supplementary notes:
From the Secrets of the Dead series
Narrated by: Jay O. Sanders
What links Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler and a priceless Celtic cauldron recently discovered at the bottom of a lake in Bavaria? In this film an investigation uncovers allegations of mafia involvement, an international fraud trial where millions of dollars are at stake and a forensic discovery that stuns the archaeological world and steers the mystery towards Himmler's SS shrine at Wewelsburg and Hitler's obsessive quest for the Holy Grail. This seemingly priceless and beautiful object has brought death and disaster to everyone who has attempted to own it but who did make it and why?
Hosted by Shaun Dooley
Secrets from history are revealed when oceans are drained. Pirates, gangsters and other villains have been swallowed up by the sea; cutting-edge technology reveals the secrets of the sea floor and exposes the shaky ground on which humans live.
Alex4History Supplemental Notes:
From "Drain the Oceans" series 1.
Narrated by Russell Boulter
Explorations include:
1. Port Royal, Jamaica 17th Century
Known as the "storehouse and treasury of the West Indies" and as "one of the wickedest places on Earth", Port Royal was, at the time, the unofficial capital of Jamaica and one of the busiest and wealthiest ports in the Americas, as well as a common home port for many of the privateers and pirates operating on the Caribbean Sea.
On June 7,1692 a massive earthquake struck Port Royal. A stopped pocket watch found in the harbor during a 1959 excavation indicated that it occurred around 11:43 AM local time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1692_Jamaica_earthquake
2. Alcatraz Island
United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, also known simply as Alcatraz or The Rock, was a maximum security federal prison on Alcatraz Island, 1.25 miles (2.01 km) off the coast of San Francisco, California, United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcatraz_Federal_Penitentiary
Featuring:
Dr. Jon Henderson (Archaeologist, University of Nottingham)
Prof. Ronald Hutton (Historian, University of Bristol)
Prof. Donny Hamilton (Archaeologist, Texas A&M University)
Prof. Iain Stewart (Geologist, Plymouth University)
Ranger John Cantwell (U.S. National Park Service)
Tom Parsons (Geophysicist, U.S. Geological Survey)
John Martini (Alcatraz Historian)
Patrick Barnard (Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey)
Chapters:
Intro 00:00 - 01:09
Port Royal Earthquake 01:09 - 23:17
Alcatraz 23:17 - 40:00
Conclusion and peril of the San Andreas fault
+++ One of my all-time favourite stars. Recently seen on this channel in Colditz. I am also a huge Sapphire & Steel fan. Watched a bit of NCIS in it's early seasons but eventually lost my interest, as happens with most US TV shows that go on for too long. He'll never be forgotten. RIP David - Alex +++
David Keith McCallum Jr. (19 September 1933 – 25 September 2023) was a Scottish actor and musician. He gained wide recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. His other notable television roles include Carter in Colditz (1972–1974) and Steel in Sapphire & Steel (1979–1982). Beginning in 2003, McCallum gained renewed international popularity for his role as NCIS medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard in the American television series NCIS. On film, McCallum notably appeared in The Great Escape (1963).
Gorilla My Dreams is a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical animated short directed by Robert McKimson and written by Warren Foster. The short was released on January 3, 1948, and stars Bugs Bunny.
The story is a parody of the many jungle films that were prominent in the 1930s and 1940s which often featured gorillas extensively (though not always behaviorally accurately), most notably the Tarzan films. The title is a play on the expression "Girl o' My Dreams". The short featured Gruesome Gorilla, who reappeared in Hurdy-Gurdy Hare and as a boss in Bugs Bunny and Taz Time Busters.
The cartoon was remade in 1959 as Apes of Wrath.
Music:
All Songs listed are uncredited
"Down Where the Trade Winds Play", music by Cliff Friend, lyrics by Charles Tobias, sung by Mel Blanc
"Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals", music by Raymond Scott
"Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat", written by Leon René, Otis René and Emerson Scott, sung by Mel Blanc
"Sweet Dreams, Sweetheart", music by M. K. Jerome
"Congo", music by M.K. Jerome
"Goombay Drum", written by Charles Lofthouse, Schuyler Knowlton and Stanley Adams
"Ahí, viene la conga", music by Raúl Valdespí
"Hey, Doc", music by Edgar M. Sampson
"Valurile Dunarii (Danube Waves)", music by Iosif Ivanovici
The Romans were among one of the most monetized societies of the ancient world. They had coins for everything: From small pocket change to buy your daily bread to gold coins worth months of salary for a skilled labourer. Such a reliance on coins meant a substantial networks of mints were established, producing coins in industrial quantities.
Today, lets explore some of these important mints, and look at some examples from each mint.
Recommended Literature:
100 Greatest Ancient Coins - https://amzn.to/3hKz1o4
Roman Coins and Their Values - https://amzn.to/3kEY6CS
The Handbook of Ancient Greek and Roman Coins - https://amzn.to/3iTB1vv
Greek Coins and Their Values - https://amzn.to/3mKng4S
Video created by Classical Numismatics
https://www.youtube.com/c/ClassicalNumismatics/videos
-- This is shared without profit for educational and historical purposes ---
'Roman Siege Warfare' details the mass mobilization of its troops that allowed Rome to conquer all before it. Episode opens with some fascinating demonstrations of siege equipment, including devastatingly deadly bolt-firing catapults and stone-throwing ballistae. The famous sieges of Jerusalem (in 66 AD) and Masada in Judea are covered, then the programme describes the life of a soldier in a typical Roman fort, such as Vindolanda on Hadrian's wall, illustrating the change in the army from an offensive to a defensive force.
Join experts as they uncover the truth behind the find of the century; an alleged proof copy of Galileo's "Sidereus Nuncius" with the astronomer's signature and seemingly original watercolor paintings that changed our understanding of the cosmos.
Alex4History's supplementary notes:
From the Secrets of the Dead series
Narrated by: Jay O. Sanders
+++ Very high quality rip - Alex +++
90125 is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released in November 1983 by Atco Records. After Yes disbanded in 1981, following the Drama (1980) tour, bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White formed Cinema, and began recording an album with guitarist and singer-songwriter Trevor Rabin and original Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye, who had been fired in 1971. They adopted a more commercial and pop-oriented musical direction as the result of their new material, much of which derived from Rabin's demos, with former Yes singer Trevor Horn as their producer. During the mixing stage, former Yes singer Jon Anderson, who had left in 1980, accepted the invitation to return and record the lead vocals, and subsequently Cinema became the new lineup of Yes.
Named for its Atco catalogue number, 90125 was released to a generally positive reception and introduced the band to a new generation of fans. It reached No. 5 on the US Billboard 200 and No. 16 on the UK Albums Chart, and remains their best selling album with over 3 million copies sold in the US. Of the album's four singles, "Owner of a Lonely Heart" was the most successful and is their only song to top the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Cinema" earned the group a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Yes toured for the album in 1984 and 1985 which included two headline shows at the inaugural Rock in Rio festival. It was remastered in 2004 with previously unreleased bonus tracks.
Tracklist:
00:00 - Owner of a Lonely Heart
04:31 - Hold On
09:51 - It Can Happen
15:22 - Changes
22:00 - Cinema
24:03 - Leave It
28:27 - Our Song
32:40 - City of Love
37:33 - Hearts
Yes
Jon Anderson – vocals
Trevor Rabin – guitars, keyboards, vocals
Chris Squire – bass guitars, vocals
Tony Kaye – Hammond organ, electric piano
Alan White – drums, percussion, backing vocals, Fairlight CMI
Additional musicians
Deepak Khazanchi – sitar and tanpura (track 3)
Graham Preskett – violin (track 6)