WOSU Arts Blog

“Although there are hundreds of millions of workers and peasants, they don’t count. You can ignore them. You can also rob and exploit them. It’s not a problem. The most important thing is to get the powerful on your side.” — Kang Xiaoguang, Professor of Regional Economics and Politics

Kang is not a stupid man, but I’m flabbergasted by this quote.

For a thorough review of one of his speeches, head to: http://www.franzbleeker.de/modern_society_kangxiaoguang_confucianism_001.html
An excerpt:

Confucianism´s strengths, according to Kang, lie in its ability to commiserate with the miserable. The value it could thus offer China is compassion. With “benevolent government”, China could maintain the advantages of the status quo, and eliminate its disadvantages.

If you want to watch a lo-res version of “China from the Inside: Power and the People,” which features Kang and others, see below, or tune into WOSU TV on Friday night at 10:30 to see a better version.

It’s a 2007 BBC/PBS documentary that holds up well. Like many big countries, China faces myriad problems: pollution, a widening gap between rich and poor, an ongoing tension between tradition and change.

It isn’t easy, running China, with its 1.3 billion people and 56 officially recognized ethnic nationalities. It’s a vast mix of languages, living standards, beliefs and customs. Run it successfully, and you have a prosperous, innovative, powerful empire to rival any the world has seen. Make mistakes, and the chaos will be vast and terrible.

– Scott

In my family, I am known as the brains, my step sister is known for her sports, my step brother for his music skills, and my little sister is best known for her artistic talent.  I spent many long nights studying while I was younger, trying to get the best possible grades.  On the other hand, my little sister would spend hours sketching or painting.  She has always been a free spirit.  Although the most I can render is a stick figure, she has the ability to draw detailed drawings that make you feel you are there seeing what she is seeing.

I have always been envious of her unique talents.  She isn’t limited to paints or pencils either.  She can bead, sew, crochet, knit, sculpt, and even write.  Anything that requires a little bit of creative thought, she absolutely excels in it.  Where I have to be content with textbooks and highlighters, the world is her palette.  I wish I were half as creative as her.  Although I am not, I still appreciate art and the time and effort that artists put into their work. 

While my fiancé Jason and I were in California a few summers ago, we made it a point to visit the de Young Museum.  It featured many different types of artistic creations.  Recently, we went to New York and toured the American Museum of Natural History.  While we were there, we saw art from many different eras in history.   

Recently, I discovered WOSU’s ArtZine.  This month it features the local poet Andrew Hudgins, a behind the scenes look at ProMusica, a look at the magic of James Turrell’s new light installation at the Franklin Park Conservatory, then a meeting with painter Ellen Hoover.  WOSU TV airs segments of ArtZine and a list of show times can be found at: http://wosu.org/artzine/

-Jessica

In a previous blog, I wrote about my Italian heritage and how I make delicious pasta and bake mouth-watering biscotti.  I absolutely love to cook.  I don’t just enjoy making Italian foods either, even though they are my specialty.

I can remember experimenting in the kitchen even as a little girl.  When I was younger, my favorite foods to make were oatmeal cookies and macaroni and cheese.  My little sister was such a sport, trying everything I made.  Not everything I made turned out good though.  I remember the peanut butter cookie fiasco where my peanut butter cookies looked more like chocolate cookies since I left them in the oven too long.

I learned most of what I know about cooking from watching my mother and grandmother cook.  Pasta sauce is my mother’s specialty.  She can make a sauce that would make anyone proud.  My grandma makes the world’s most delicious pizzelle.  She even uses my great grandmother’s pizzelle iron to make them.

To this day I love to push my culinary skills to the max.  Last night I attempted my first batch of risotto.  It took me long enough to prepare the ingredients, but it ended up tasting wonderful.  My entire family enjoyed it.  There really is nothing like making a dish and everyone absolutely love it.

I love learning as much as I can about how to cook.  On August 14, WOSU TV will air Everyday Food: Casual Dinner Party at 12:00pm.  I will certainly be tuning in to with the hope of furthering my culinary skills even more.

-Jessica

WOSU TV is wrapping up another August pledge. If you were able to renew your membership or decided to become a new member during this August pledge drive, we thank you very much. For those of you who have patiently been waiting for your favorite shows to return, the wait is almost over. Beginning at 8pm on Wednesday evening we return to regular programming with a replay of our very successful series THE HUMAN SPARK.

Hosted by Alan Alda, THE HUMAN SPARK series explores one central question: what makes humans unique? Three and a half billion years of evolution have produced all types of living species. But only one — humans – have developed the kinds of characteristics that make us unique, the “spark” that makes us human.

If you’ll indulge me, I do have another thought provoking offer for you this week. If you’re up late Thursday night or happen to get up early Friday morning, whatever your preference, there is a program I’d like to recommend; ORIGINAL INTENT: THE BATTLE FOR AMERICA.

ORIGINAL INTENT is the judicial philosophy of originalists who believe the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted in the way the Founding Fathers understood it in 1789. Others believe the Constitution was crafted in broad, open-ended language and that its meaning evolves over time. So the question to ask is do the originalists promote a fair and neutral way for judges to interpret the U.S. Constitution or does the meaning of the U.S. Constitution evolve over time? ORIGINAL INTENT: THE BATTLE FOR AMERICA examines the meaning of the U.S. Constitution and how justices and judges decide cases. A distinguished panel representing both sides will present their views throughout the program.

Given the recent appointments to the Supreme Court, I thought this might be a timely program you may like to watch and discuss. No matter what side of the issue you happen to believe in, tune in to WOSU TV on Friday morning at 4am for what I hope you’ll find as a thought provoking program worth staying up for or to enjoy with that first cup of coffee.

Stacia H.

There are a few memories that always stick out when I think about my childhood.  I can’t recall growing up without thinking about my grandparents.  They were like second parents to my sister and I. We would see them almost every day after school and they would entertain us until my mom came to pick us up.  Some nights we would even spend the night at their place. 

I remember nights full of cards and dominoes.  I remember orange sherbet before bedtime.  I can even remember bike rides around the neighborhood on the back of my grandpa’s tandem bicycle because I was still too little to ride in front.  

The other day, while I was flipping through channels, I saw a show on WOSU TV that immediately brought me back to my childhood.  One of the things my grandparents and I used to do was watch reruns of the television show Are You Being Served.  They would pour my sister and I a bowl of cereal and we would all sit and watch the crazy antics of Mr. Humphries, Capitan Peacock, Mrs. Slocombe, and the rest of the wild characters. 

 Seeing the show the other day on WOSU TV was just a great reminder of all the fun times I had growing up with my grandparents.  I will definitely be tuning in more often to watch it.

To see the broadcast schedule click here: http://www.wosu.org/television/broadcast-schedules/

-Jessica

This is the time of year when I become obsessed with our kids programming and then start to fret over the September schedule. Why is that you may wonder?  Well every year in July, PBS releases the kids program schedule for the new school year and the changes, of course, begin in September.  This year we have a great new program CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT.

It’s a cute new program, and like DINOSAUR TRAIN last year, SID THE SCIENCE KID the year before and CURIOUS GEORGE, we hope CAT IN THE HAT will be a program kids will love.

However when one new program comes on the schedule it means one program has to come off the schedule. It also means some programs will have to shift start times to make room for the changes. Kids and parents, I have learned, have their favorites and most often their daily routine may revolve around those particular favorites. So my obsession and fretting begins.   Changing the kids program line-up is one of the most difficult tasks I face this time every year.

Some programs on the schedule we only have access to 26 episodes and after running those same 26 episodes for the entire year, our ratings show us we need to go with something a little fresher. Some programs only aired on Sunday mornings and looking at the feedback,  kids want to see them more than just once a week.  Then we have to deal with the programs that we no longer have the rights to air. This is the case for IT’S A BIG BIG WORLD and beginning the end of August DRAGON TALES.  I  spend a lot of time looking at new offerings, reviewing our current line-up, looking at kids ratings over the past year and checking to see what other stations are doing.  Quite a bit of time and discussion goes into determining what changes, if any, need to be made to our kids schedule because I know how much you and your children care about your favorite programs.

The new kids line-up is all set and will start airing on WOSU TV  Monday, September 6. You’ll continue to see some of your favorites, CLIFFORD AND CAILLOU just in a different time slot, and you’ll see some new programs, ANGELINA BALLERINA THE NEXT STEPS. You’ll still see lots of programs that didn’t go anywhere, thankfully not everything changes. In the end I hope you and your children continue to enjoy all the great quality PBSKids and PBSKidsGo programs you tune in to see on WOSU TV.

This animation shows extracts from the new graphic biography of Anne Frank. The biography tells the story of Anne Frank’s life, and ends with the return of Otto Frank — who was the only one of the eight people in hiding in the secret annex to survive the Holocaust — and the publication of Anne’s diary and the opening of the Anne Frank House.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLSvdEUA2wI

The biography will be published at the beginning of July in the Netherlands, and later this year in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

You can hear more about upcoming summer reading at 11am on Friday’s All Sides Weekend, featuring WOSU FM Classical Music Host Christopher Purdy, with WOSU book critic Kassie Rose, book critic Bill Eichenberger, and Capital University English Professor and poet Kevin Griffith.

- Scott

I am a senior at The Ohio State University and am graduating at the end of August.  I am also a commuter and drive from Pickerington to come to class.  One benefit includes saving money, since I still live at home. But I am not on campus for long periods of time since I head home when class is over. Because of the half-hour drive to campus, I feel like I have missed out on some things. For instance, it was only about two weeks ago that I first had time to go to the new Ohio Union.

While I was channel surfing yesterday, I came across the Big Ten Network.  I am not much of a sports fan, so I went to hit the button to see what was on the next station.  Right before I switched stations, though, I read the title of the show that was coming on in five minutes and tuned in. The title listed on the TV guide was Ohio State Programming; The program featured a new episode of O-H-I-O.  It gave me the opportunity to see some of the things I may have missed on campus, and to see a few new projects at Ohio State. 

The episode I watched: O-H-I-O Lastest Episode

In yesterday’s episode, the show covered a lot, including summer research, the pod house, and Pelotonia.  One additional topic that really stood out for me was the solar decathlon.  Students from 18 different academic departments worked together to create a solar powered house.  I remember seeing the house being built across from the RPAC during Autumn Quarter, but I had no idea what it was for.  This summer, when I visited the Zoo, I saw the completed house near the new polar bear exhibit.  I learned yesterday that the house was built for a competition in Washington, D.C., and the students discussed how they had to strategically build it so it could be easily transported from Columbus. 

I have only a month left at The Ohio State University.  Although I am excited to graduate and see what the world has to offer, I will miss my alma mater. At least now I know that I can count on the Big Ten Network to air new and exciting info about Ohio State. Not to mention, if I miss the show on the Big Ten Network, I can always watch the episode segments at: http://www.osu.edu/watch/index.php?id=21&f=4A70AD1917D843D7

I am definitely going to tell my friend, who happens to be an Ohio State alumni, that a re-run of yesterday’s episode will air on Sunday, August 1, at 7pm.  This campus programming is produced by WOSU Public Media for Ohio State.

Here’s when Ohio State campus programming will air on the Big Ten Network in August:

http://www.wosu.org/o-h-i-o/

-Jessica

It’s pledge time here at WOSU TV, which means the schedule is subject to change. Why we change the schedule goes hand in hand with one of the frequently asked questions we receive during pledge, “Why do you air the same program over and over?” Actually that’s a nice way of phrasing the comments we usually get about airing a program over and over. The answer to both questions is really simple; we air the programs that you, the viewers, enjoy and respond to in terms of pledge dollars.

We really appreciate your support during pledge. I know it interrupts your regular programs and you get tired of tuning in and seeing another broadcast of Dr. Wayne Dyer but in the scheme of things we really only do this on-air, about four times a year. There are lots of great programs out there, but they cost money and without your support we wouldn’t be able to bring you the wide variety of programming you now enjoy.

So let me recommend a couple of good music programs you’ll see this weekend to start our August pledge drive. We’re very excited to be able to offer you tickets to these two upcoming concerts as thanks for your support. To help get you in the mood for the Dublin Irish Festival, tune in on Friday, July 30 at 8pm  for CELTIC THUNDER: ITS ENTERTAINMENT.

We’ll have tickets and meet and greet opportunities. The guys are coming to Columbus in September so you have time to plan ahead.

If you’re a HEART fan you won’t have long to wait. On Saturday, July 31 at 11:30pm we’ve got a great

show from HEART with tickets to their August 5 concert at the Ohio State Fair. Since the concert is next week we’re only able to give you two chances to catch the show. If you miss it on Saturday, you’ll have another chance to see it on Sunday at 10pm. I’m a big fan of HEART so I’m particularly excited about this program.

Hang in there with us during pledge. I hope you’ll spend a little time this weekend enjoying the great music programs. If you like what you see or just want us to take Dr. Dyer off, whatever your motivation, your support during this August pledge drive is much appreciated!

Stacia H.

I remember when I was little I would ask my mother about our family history and all she ever talked about was Italian.  Although I can make some darn good pasta and bake some mouth-watering biscotti, I am still curious what the other half of my heritage might be.

About half of my ethnic background can be definitively traced.  My mother’s mother is 100% Italian and my father’s mother is 100% German.  The other 50% of my heritage is a bit of a jumbled mess.

I wonder if I might be French since I love baguettes so much, or perhaps I am Scottish since I have taken a liking to plaid.  Although those both sound plausible I think I am most akin to Irish.  Although they have fantastic food and even enjoying donning plaid, my favorite part about the Irish is their music.

I cannot name a time when I have heard an Irish song I have disliked.  Not only does the Irish accent have a soothing aspect to it, the music always has a way of lifting anyone’s spirit.

Irelands Call

I think my luck has kicked in too since Celtic Thunder, an Irish musical group, will be performing on Monday, August 2 on WOSU TV at 8:00pm.  I have already set my DVR to record just in case I can’t make it home in time to watch the live performance.

Also, one of my favorite things to do every summer is go to the Dublin Irish festival.  This year’s festival is the weekend of August 6^th and admission is only $10.00 at the gate.  I promise I will be there one of the days trying to get in touch with the Irish in me. 

 -Jessica