Skip to footer

Top Picks: A lost interview with Steve Jobs, a PBS documentary on the Cuban missile crisis, and more

Kids discuss the 2012 election, the app Givit lets smart phone users easily edit movies, and more top picks.

|
AP
Rhythm Sessions, Lee Ritenour
Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview,
  • By Staff

A visit with Steve Jobs

Apple founder Steve Jobs was notoriously private, so since a long-lost interview from 1995 turned up on a VHS tape in a producer's garage, fans and critics alike are in for a treat with Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview, arriving on DVD Oct. 23. Taped two years before his return to Apple, this uncut interview walks us through his life in remarkable detail, providing nuggets of insights for generations of aspiring entrepreneurs. Among other compelling bits, Mr. Jobs notes that creating one of his earliest inventions taught him that even a young man with few resources could create a tool that could win over the world.

Old favorites made new

The Electric Light Orchestra, with its infectious 1970s hits, was never a critics' darling, but even the most jaded probably wouldn't change the station if "Evil Woman" or "Telephone Line" came on. It is in that spirit that we happily recommend Long Wave, a new collection of favorite oldies from ELO mastermind, and former Traveling Wilburys band member, Jeff Lynne. The Everly Brothers' "So Sad" stands out, as do charming versions of Bobby Darin's "Beyond the Sea" and Chuck Berry's classic "Let it Rock." Big, shining baubles of fun.

The kiddie ballot
 

With the countdown to the presidential election, Parenting.com interviewed children at a block party to test their knowledge about the candidates. Highlights include a boy who identifies the US president as "Broccoli Ama" and an interviewee who, when asked if he would like to live in the White House, casually replies, "We've lived in there before." Check it out at http://bit.ly/prezkids.

The other nuclear crisis

As the world watches the nuclear standoff between Iran and Western nations, PBS reminds us that the globe has stared down the barrel of mutual assured destruction before. On the 50th anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis, Cuban Missile Crisis – Three Men Go to War walks us through the 13 days that terrified the world. Airs Oct. 23.

Pocket video editor

Smart phones may be convenient video cameras, but they're rather crummy video editors. Givit wants to fix that. While Apple's own iMovie tries to condense desktop tools down to a 4-inch screen, Givit rethinks the whole process. This free iPhone app simplifies how people edit clips, add transitions, include soundtracks, and upload their videos. Think of it as an Instagram for video – a few taps and you're done.

Passing the torch

Lee Ritenour's masterly Rhythm Sessions is remarkable for its combination of legendary musicians sharing credits with novice winners of Ritenour's 2012 Rhythm Section Competition. From the funky Herbie Hancock tune "Fat Albert Rotunda," featuring deft keyboard work by former band mate Patrice Rushen, to Chick Corea's softly sweet "Children's Song #1," Ritenour maintains musical cohesion throughout. The young turks handle David Grusin's "Punta del Soul" with skill, revealing the promise that allowed them to keep such august company.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Top Picks: A lost interview with Steve Jobs, a PBS documentary on the Cuban missile crisis, and more
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Arts/2012/1019/Top-Picks-A-lost-interview-with-Steve-Jobs-a-PBS-documentary-on-the-Cuban-missile-crisis-and-more
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe