Monthly Archives: June 2011

An American Family: Anniversary Edition

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In 1973, television viewers watched dramatic life events unfold in the home of an American family in Santa Barbara, California. The Loud family was filmed for seven months, making parents Pat and Bill Loud and their five children household names. Unlike most documentaries of its day, “An American Family” had no host, no interviews, and almost no voice-over narration. It was the most controversial and talked-about television program of its era.

Now, more than 35 years later, the original film crew have adapted the 12 hours into this compilation of the most memorable and compelling moments of the series on “An American Family: Anniversary Edition” on Thursday, July 7 at 8 p.m.

Watch the full episode. See more An American Family.

Science Night: Animal intelligence

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Wednesday, July 6, Science Night takes on the theme of Great Apes and animal intelligence the week of July 6th.

Nature The Gorilla King at 7 p.m.
Retraces the life of Titus, a silverback gorilla, from birth to present reign, spanning a tumultuous period in the history of the species. After watching the show, get an update on Titus’ life after the making of this documentary

Nova Ape Genius at 8 p.m.
The great apes – which include chimps, orangutans, gorillas and bonobos – seem to have rich emotional lives similar to our own. But just how smart are these animals? Nova: Ape Genius at 8 p.m. Wednesday follows a new generation of investigators as they reveal the extraordinary abilities of great apes.

NOVA ScienceNow How Smart Are Animals? at 9 p.m.
How well can we understand what’s going on in the brains of non-human animals? Do our pets – like dogs – have the same feelings we do? How smart are animals really? Nova ScienceNow explores these questions and more at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Q Night At The Movies for July

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KLRU Q Night at the Movies now spotlights a classic film each Saturday night at 8 p.m. This month our feature films will be:

July 2 Run Silent, Run Deep
A submarine commander (Clark Gable) hunts the Japanese destroyer that sank his last sub.

July 9 Razor’s Edge
An idealistic war veteran embarks on a quest for the meaning of life. Based on a tale by W. Somerset Maugham.

July 16 All About Eve
A Broadway star (Bette Davis) takes a young and seemingly naive aspiring actress (Anne Baxter) under her wing.

July 23 Mississippi Burning
Two FBI agents face racism while investigating the disappearance of three civil rights activists in 1964 Mississippi.

July 30 Gorky Park
A Moscow detective’s investigation of a bizarre triple murder leads him to run-ins with the KGB and an American tycoon.

Summer with the Wild Kratts

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Wild Kratts

We are happy to announce that there will be three theme weeks full of animal-packed WILD KRATTS adventure this summer:

  • Week of July 11 – Down Under week
    Monday “Koala Balloon” (#122 NEW)
    Tuesday “Platypus Café” (#106)
    Wednesday “Kickin’ It With The Roos” (#119)
    Thursday “Tazzy Chris” (#114)
    Friday “Koala Balloon” (#122)
     
  • Week of July 18 – Wet Kratts week
    Monday “Walk on the Wetside” (#116)
    Tuesday “Build It Beaver” (#108)
    Wednesday “Whale of a Squid” (#102)
    Thursday “Platypus Café” (#106)
    Friday “Bass Class” (#111)
  • Week of August 1 – Fantastic Flyers week
    Monday “Voyage of the Butterflier XT” (#109)
    Tuesday “Honey Seekers” (#110)
    Wednesday “Fireflies” (#112)
    Thursday “Falcon City” (#121)
    Friday “Flight of the Draco” (#104)

A Capitol Fourth Celebration!

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America’s biggest and brightest birthday party, A Capitol Fourth, features unrivaled musical performances by some of the country’s best known and award-winning musicians. Jimmy Smith hosts with performances by Steve Martin, Josh Groban, Matthew Morrison, Jordin Sparks, Little Richard with the Broadway Cast of Million Dollar Quartet, Kelli O’Hara and the National Symphony Orchestra.

The celebration is broadcast live from the West Lawn of the United States Capitol before an audience of hundreds of thousands of people with millions more at home, and around the world to our troops on the American Forces Network.

Bringing viewers the most spectacular fireworks display anywhere in the nation, the annual broadcast of A Capitol Fourth captures the pyrotechnics from every vantage point with 20 television cameras stationed around the city — including the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the Washington Monument and across the Potomac River. In tribute to America’s birthday, the show is capped off with Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” complete with live cannon fire provided by the United States Army Presidential Salute Battery.

A Capitol Fourth airs on Independence Day – July 4 – at 1 p.m.

Topfer Family Foundation Supports Raising Readers

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The Topfer Family Foundation has awarded KLRU a $5,000 grant for its PBS Kids Raising Readers program, which empowers parents and caregivers to create language-rich environments by teaching strategies that build early literacy skills anytime, anywhere – strategies that incorporate PBS children’s media. KLRU’s Raising Readers workshops assist low-income families with children between the ages of 2-8 years old, some of whom have English as a second language at home. Our station partners with educational nonprofits and Austin-area schools to serve thousands of parents, caregivers and children through workshops and events each year. We’re so grateful to the Foundation for supporting early literacy in Central Texas. Thank you!

Keeping Score: A Mahler Journey

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Keeping Score: A Mahler Journey

Keeping Score: Mahler in Part I, “Origins,” follows renowned music director Michael Tilson Thomas as he journeys to rural Bohemia to rediscover the inspirations of Gustav Mahler’s music, and traces his life through the premiere of his first symphony in 1888.

In Part II, “Legacy,” Michael Thomas examines Gustav Mahler’s creative growth, from the 1890s to his death in 1911, including his symphonies, the Ruckert songs, and Das Lied von der Erde. This two-part program charts Mahler’s mercurial career as a conductor, from the Vienna Opera to Carnegie Hall in New York, as well as his tempestuous relationship with his wife Alma. At Mahler’s simple grave in a Grinzing cemetery, Thomas explains why Mahler has so profoundly affected his own life.

Keeping Score: Mahler Part One airs Sunday, July 3rd at 1 p.m. and Part Two airs the following Sunday on July 10th at 1 p.m.

The Electric Company's "What's the Story" Week

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Lisa, Jessica, Keith, Shock and "PJ" (Kyle Massey) eating.

Check out Lisa, Jessica, Keith, Shock and “PJ” (Kyle Massey) as they test their literary skills in four episodes of THE ELECTRIC COMPANY that focus on storytelling airing Tuesday, July 5, through Friday, July 8 on KLRU.

“Wicked Itch” – Tuesday, July 5, 2011

“Unmuffins” – Wednesday, July 6, 2011

“One Smart Cookie” – Thursday, July 7, 2011

“One Bad Apple” – Friday, July 8, 2011

July 2011: NATURE “Oceans of Glass”

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Each month, KLRU chooses a program for your family to enjoy together. This month’s Family Choice program is: NATURE “Oceans in Glass: Behind the Scenes of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.”
Moon Jellyfish

Sunday, July 10th at 7:00 p.m. and repeats Wed., July 13th at 7 p.m.

Because of its realistic presentations, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is recognized as one of the most significant and spectacular aquariums in the world. Instead of exhibiting collections of animals, the aquarium presents entire habitats, virtual slices of ocean that include 30,000 animals and plants. But how does an aquarium work? What’s the science behind the magic?

Dog Day Summer with Martha Speaks!

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Martha Speaks while children are surrounding her
Enjoy the Dog Days of Summer with NEW Martha Speaks episodes.

6/27/11 @ 2:30PM – #313:
Martha’s Slumber Party of the Weird
The gang is camping out. The tent is pitched, they’ve played a hundred hands of Go Fish, and they’ve even eaten all the s’mores — but they still aren’t tired. When TD suggests they tell science fiction stories, no one expects this story to end as it does: to be continued!
Vocabulary:
(E) science fiction, data, unpredictable, forsee(able), unforeseen, feline(s)
(I) gather(ing), mysterious, peculiar, vine

Return to Martha’s Slumber Party of the Weird
A shadow on the outside of the tent inspires still more stories. With humans shrinking to the size of ants, and ants growing to the size of humans, everyone has something to contribute.
Vocabulary:
(E) miniature(ize), enormous, magnify(ing), improbable, scientist
(I) ray, puny, huge, giant, mini

7/1/11 @ 2:30PM – #315:
The Long Rotten Summer
For TD, summer always goes by too quickly, so he decides to spend this summer in the only place where the days never end: school. But is sitting alone in an empty classroom the best place to way to spend summer?
Vocabulary: 
(E) moment(s), endless, infinite, eternal, interrupt
(I) minute, hour, day, tomorrow, never, forever

The Case of the Shattered Vase
Helen shouldn’t have watched that scary movie right before she went to sleep. Now she’s sure there’s something under her bed! Martha helps her understand that things are not always what they seem.
Vocabulary:
(E) instant, perception, transpire(d), occur(ed), review(ing)
(I) crash, touch(ing), second, events, vase