Six Picks: Recommendations from the Monitor staff
stone in hot water
Tom Selleck reprises his role as a small town police chief with a conscience, a history, and more than a few problems, most of his own making. A modern, darker take on the classic loner TV cop/detective, the Jesse Stone franchise is surprisingly satisfying both as drama and detective work. Jesse Stone: Thin Ice, which mires Stone in a kidnapping and a shootout, airs March 1 at 9 p.m. on CBS.
History Bytes
This week the History Channel launched a 13-episode, original Web series called "Great and Telling Tales" with historian and storyteller Timothy Dickinson. These quirky two-minute animated history "snacks" offer a humorous take on such offbeat subjects as the death of Rasputin, the struggle to make people believe in dinosaurs, and enormous subjects such as the history of drugs. Check them out at www.history.com/timothydickinson.
steinbeck classic
Fans of Jane Seymour can now get their hands on what the actress considers the best role of her career in the 1981, award-winning six-hour miniseries, East of Eden, available on DVD March 3. Enough time has passed that the pacing will feel, let's just say "measured" to some folks. But the series holds up well in this version of what John Steinbeck himself considered his quintessential novel.
'The Thinking Read'
Rousseau, Hume, Kant, Camus – unless you're a philosophy major, their relevance to your daily life might seem tenuous. But A.C. Grayling, a British philosopher, gives their ideas a fresh cast in the first of his new monthly columns for the Barnes and Noble Review (www.barnesandnoble.com/bn-review/). So whether you lead a life of passion or empirical common sense (Rousseau versus Hume), Grayling offers erudite and accessible commentary. Future columns will explore books on history and science, as well.
What's NEWS, worldwide?
Curious what landed on the front pages in Moscow, Mumbai, or Montreal? Then check out www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages. Every morning, more than 700 newspapers around the world send electronic copies of their front page to the Newseum, a Washington, D.C., museum dedicated to, you guessed it, news. With a link to each paper's website you can delve down deeper, or just enjoy the carnival of politics, sport, and local news that parade across their pages.
Wanna be a dj?
Admit it, you've had fun setting up playlists with iTunes. With blip.fm, you can take it a step further: Be your own DJ and share your favorite music with others. After creating an account, just type in song titles or artists' names and make your choices. Invite your friends to join and then swap playlists. You can also find DJs with similar tastes and check out their picks.
