
To describe the world is to create another. A disembodied narrator recounts the life and death of Pliny the Elder, author of the first encyclopedia. Excerpts from Pliny’s "Naturalis Historia," echo between past and present, real and virtual, tracing the evolution of knowledge from written encyclopedias to modern AI algorithms.
Pliny
7.2Many geneticists and archaeologists have long surmised that human life began in Africa. Dr. Spencer Wells, one of a group of scientists studying the origin of human life, offers evidence and theories to support such a thesis in this PBS special. He claims that Africa was populated by only a few thousand people that some deserted their homeland in a conquest that has resulted in global domination.
7.6Darwin's great insight – that life has evolved over millions of years by natural selection – has been the cornerstone of all David Attenborough’s natural history series. In this documentary, he takes us on a deeply personal journey which reflects his own life and the way he came to understand Darwin’s theory.
3.7A master of espionage is hot on the trail of a new kind of computer criminal. Lindsay is a scientist whose latest discovery in energy transformation has the potential to revolutionize the world; it also attracts the attention of Zachary, the leader of a cyber-savvy gang, and Zachary kidnaps Lindsay in order to learn her secrets. Lindsay's sister Ricki soons becomes concerned about her sister's disappearance, and contacts super sleuth Max Knight to find her. As Max searches for Lindsay, he discovers Zachary and his cohorts have strange plans for Lindsay's innovation, which could make it possible for them to leave their bodies and travel wherever they wish through the Internet.
0.0In order to escape a prison under constant and total surveillance, a jaded clone and a sensitive art forger must strike an uneasy alliance with their malevolent AI surveiller. Along the way they encounter a sentient program enslaved in the prison’s lab-grown meat farm, a tormented being who may hold the key to their escape.
0.0Angela Su’s fictional artist Rosie Leavers is the last remaining person to upload her consciousness to a video game. Contemplating during a pandemic year which also saw people’s resistance movements in many parts of the world, the work pinpoints the uncanny affinities between gaming and warfare strategies. They have mutually informed the infrastructure of both worlds since time immemorial when diplomatic conflicts played out on the battlefield of the 64 squares of a chess board to flight simulation technologies which were adapted to shape gaming experiences as we know it now. When the conflict is between the state and its people, she speculates that gaming strategies empower civilians in resistance movements to counter imperialism through its own operative logic. But once we upload our consciousness, are we able to return to the sensibilities and political motivation that inspired the revolution to begin with?
6.2Clear Skies follows a trio of down-and-out misfits who've seen no end of bad luck. John Rourke is the obstinate captain of the Clear Skies, a Tempest class battleship manufactured by the downtrodden Minmatar race of New Eden. Rourke's attitude toward his hazardous chosen lifestyle is cavalier, although this does not sit well with his friends among the crew.
5.2These likeable dropouts from the entrenched corporate lifestyle of New Eden eke out a meager living on trade runs and the odd courier job here and there. Still, they manage to find humor in their grim lot as they narrowly avoid being blown out of the stars by pirates, hired thugs, or whatever threat awaits them on the other side of the next jump gate. This is life aboard the Clear Skies.
9.0Five times, Earth has faced apocalyptic events that swept nearly all life from the face of the planet. What did these prehistoric creatures look like? What catastrophes caused their disappearance? And how did our distant ancestors survive and give rise to the world we know today?
6.2An African narrator tells the story of earth history, the birth of the universe and evolution of life. Beautiful imagery makes this movie documentary complete.
6.4Featuring Michael Pollan and based on his best-selling book, this special takes viewers on an exploration of the human relationship with the plant world — seen from the plants' point of view. Narrated by Frances McDormand, the program shows how four familiar species — the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato — evolved to satisfy our yearnings for sweetness, beauty, intoxication.
9.0Earth teems with a staggering variety of animals, including 9,000 kinds of birds, 28,000 types of fish, and more than 350,000 species of beetles. What explains this explosion of living creatures—1.4 million different species discovered so far, with perhaps another 50 million to go? The source of life's endless forms was a profound mystery until Charles Darwin brought forth his revolutionary idea of natural selection. But Darwin's radical insights raised as many questions as they answered. What actually drives evolution and turns one species into another? To what degree do different animals rely on the same genetic toolkit? And how did we evolve?
10.0The mockumentary opens with the line: “In the summer of 2010, Pleasantview witnessed a series of killings no one could explain... except the children.” Over a span of two weeks, five Sims are found dead under eerie and impossible circumstances — strangled in locked rooms, drowned in empty pools, or simply vanished. All the victims had previously reported seeing “the pink one” — a term children use for the elusive, silent figure known as the Social Bunny.
0.0Weeping Rocks follows Art, an entomologist nearing the end of his life, who has spent over five decades walking the same ten trails, meticulously counting every butterfly he sees and witnessing the slow erosion of the world. His eccentric, patient research has uncovered patterns of decline that went unnoticed for years, revealing the deep environmental impact of detrimental human activities. As time reshapes the landscape and species fade, Art’s journey becomes a meditation on mortality, change, and the beauty of what remains.
0.0From homosexual penguins and sex-transitioning fish to pregnant male seahorses and sexually dominant female bonobos, thousands of species defy our expectations of gender and sexuality. Director Drew Denny takes the nature documentary to a whole new level in this eye-opening and entertaining expedition to the places David Attenborough overlooks, where giant duck penises and corkscrew vaginas take center stage. Debunking myths that females are “inferior” and being queer is somehow “unnatural,” Second Nature explores the 1500+ animal species that engage in same-sex sexual behavior and parenting, change sex, form matriarchies, and more.
5.5A documentary that explores the natural world of the sea, from the single-celled organism to more complex forms of life, OCEAN ORIGINS was originally filmed in the IMAX large format, which adds a crispness and clarity to the images. This documentary film seeks to examine the process of evolution by looking at the many creatures of the sea that can illustrate the way multi-cellular life emerged over the course of four billion years. OCEAN ORIGINS is a creative film that uses fascinating documentary footage to look at scientific theories and principles in an interesting manner
0.0A dinosaur-obsessed teen and his filmmaker father travel the world interviewing paleontologists about the latest discoveries, tracking down the crew of Jurassic Park, digging up 150-million-year-old bones, and meeting dino fanatics of all walks of life.
8.3How did your body become the complicated, quirky, amazing machine it is today? Anatomist Neil Shubin uncovers the answers in this 3-part science series that looks at human evolution. Using fossils, embryos and genes, he reveals how our bodies are the legacy of ancient fish, reptiles and primates — the ancestors you never knew were in your family tree.
7.4A documentary series from Channel 4, hosted by professor Richard Dawkins, well-known darwinist. The series mixes segments on the life and discoveries of Charles Darwin, the theory of natural selection and evolution, and Dawkins' attempts at convincing a group of school children that evolution explains the world around us better than any religion.
7.2Something Strange in Strangetown is a short horror machinima that follows the unexplained events unfolding in the desert town of Strangetown. After a series of strange lights appear in the sky, several Sims go missing under mysterious circumstances. The story focuses on one Sim's attempt to uncover the truth, only to discover something far more disturbing — and inhuman — than expected.
In this DVD, Mr. Riddle shares the results of his much reading and research in the area of Carbon 14 dating, and explains the importance of Carbon 12 in conjunction with C-14. He explains in simple terms the molecular breakdown process. He also discusses other dating methods and the underlying assumptions the methods are based on, the correctness of which are brought into question. Mike is an interesting and dynamic speaker. His visual aids are excellent. Mike Riddle has degrees in mathematics and education. He's a former Marine, national decathlon champion, former technical specialist and manager for Microsoft, and teacher at ICR's graduate school.