Community Cinema: The Revolutionary Optimists 5/7, 5/30

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The May 2013 Community Cinema film is Revolutionary Optimist with screenings and discussions in both Austin and Round Rock. All screenings will start at 7 pm, are free and open to the public.

Screenings take place May 7 at Austin’s Windsor Park Branch Library (5833 Westminster Dr.) and May 30 at Round Rock Public Library (216 E. Main Street).

THE REVOLUTIONARY OPTIMISTS by Maren Grainger-Monsen and Nicole Newnham
In the poorest neighborhoods of Calcutta, a lawyer turned social entrepreneur is empowering young girls and boys to take an active role in transforming their own lives. Through arts programs and hands-on activities like mapping their communities, these young girls and boys have brought clean drinking water to and improved sanitation in their slums.

Special thanks to
Austin American-Statesman

2013 PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest Winners!

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Writers Contest

KLRU congratulates our 2013 PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest winners! KLRU had almost 200 entries from children throughout Central Texas. All of the winners will be entered into the national contest where a panel of esteemed judges will rank the top 12 entries. National winners will be announced during the summer of 2013 and the winning stories will be featured on pbskids.org/writerscontest. You can read all our local entries here!2013 KLRU Winners:

Kindergarten:
1st place – Elizabeth May, age 6
The May Academy (homeschool)
Georgetown, TX
A Turtle’s Home

2nd place – Keri Collins, age 6
First Foundations
Austin, TX
The Sick House

3rd place - Anais Morend-John, age 6
Mathews Elementary
Austin ISD
The Horse

1st Grade:
1st place – Katherine Bong, age 6
[won: 1st Place - 2012]
Blackland Prairie Elementary
Round Rock ISD
My Wish

2nd place – Enaaya Khan, age 7
Cactus Ranch Elementary
Round Rock ISD
Sarah’s Pet

3rd place - Aidan D’Eimon, age 7
Neidig Elementary
Elgin ISD
The Fat Cat

2nd Grade:
1st place – Campbell Collins, age 8
Collins Academy (homeschool)
Austin, TX
Molly’s Play

2nd place tie – Debbie Bong, age 8
Blackland Prairie Elementary
Round Rock, TX
The Lesson Learned

2nd place tie – Claire Moore, age 8
[won: 1st Place - 2011]
Pease Elementary
Austin, TX
What Can I Do with a Shoe?

3rd place – Prahal Selvapathi, age 8
Great Oaks Elementary
Round Rock ISD
Kyle and Rover

3rd Grade:
1st place – Andrew C. Jiang, age 8
[won: 2nd Place—2012]
Spicewood Elementary
Round Rock ISD
The Nighttime Burglar

2nd place - Cedar Toavs, age 9
Becker Elementary
Austin ISD
Meré: The story of Jewel, a young peahen

3rd place – Bethany Kwan, age 7
[won: 1st Place - 2011, 3rd Place - 2012]
Hill Country Christian School of Austin
Where is the Goose?

All of the entries are available here!

Contest Information:
The PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest invites children in grades K-3 to create stories using their own words and pictures, and recognizes their efforts with certificates and prizes. The contest is designed to promote the advancement of children’s literacy skills through hands-on and active learning by submitting their own original illustrated stories. Parents, teachers, and librarians are encouraged to help children participate in the Contest.

KLRU Q Saturday at the Movies – 4/27

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KLRU Q - Night at the Movies

KLRU-Q’s Saturday Night at the Movies presents a full-length feature film every Saturday night, plus extra content that gives the evening an exciting spin. Each film explores the work of legendary actors and actresses through many important films from their careers. Here is a peek of what this Saturday has in store:

7:00 – Just Seen It “Episode #202“
Just Seen It is the review show where film school graduates and working entertainment professionals review the newest in theaters, on TV and cable as well as offer industry interviews.

7:30 – On Story “Explosive Action!“
The writers behind Wanted, The Bourne Ultimatum, Con Air, and Snitch discuss how they use action scenes to further the plot, convey tension, and build toward a satisfying climax. Followed by Lucas Martell’s animated short film, Pigeon: Impossible, about a trained CIA agent faced with an unexpected sudden threat to national security.

8:00 – Hollywood Stars Film Package “Shake Hands With The Devil“
A medical professor (James Cagney) recruits a U.S. student (Don Murray) for the Irish Republican Army in 1921 Dublin. Cast: James Cagney, Don Murray.

9:55 – Return To Alcatraz
The prison island of Alcatraz is one of the country’s most complicated, terrifying and mysterious landmarks. “The Rock” was the notorious spot where the government put “the worst of the worst” prisoners, infamous criminals such as Machine Gun Kelly and Al Capone. Although it was closed in 1963, the island still holds the public’s imagination, becoming the destination site for thousands of tourists and the setting for feature films (The Rock, Escape from Alcatraz) and television series (Alcatraz). Return To Alcatraz is a wide-ranging documentary that traces the roots of the “Battle of Alcatraz” in 1946 – when the military was called in to crush a prison riot – as well as portraits of those who served time there. The program reveals the compelling story of convicted atomic spy Morton Sobell; the true, frightening tale of Robert Stroud – the “Birdman of Alcatraz”; and the real-life account of the 1962 “Escape from Alcatraz.”

In the Studio: Marc Morial tapes Overheard 5/3

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Overheard taping announcement

Please join KLRU’s Overheard with Evan Smith for an interview with Marc Morial
Date: May 3
Time: 1:45pm (Doors open at 1:15pm)
Location: KLRU’s Studio 6A (map). 
RSVP: The event is free but an RSVP is required. RSVP now

MMM HeadshotMarc Morial is President of the National Urban League, the nation’s largest civil rights organization. He assumed that post in 2003, after Morial serving as Mayor of New Orleans from 1994-2002. Morial is credited with the city’s “renaissance” through police reforms, housing and neighborhood revitalization and investments in infrastructure. During his time in office, murders and violent crimes fell by 60% and the unemployment rate was cut in half. He left office with a 70 percent approval rating. Morial is in Austin to give the commencement address at Huston-Tillotson University.

We hope you’ll be there as Overheard with Evan Smith wraps up a third season of great conversation with fascinating people, always on the news and always with a sense of humor.  The show features in-depth interviews with a mix of guests from politics, the arts, literature, journalism, business, sports and more, and reaches PBS viewers from California to Florida.  We’d love to see you in the studio for the interview, and for a chance to join the audience Q&A after the interview. See past shows and interviews at klru.org/overheard

Science Night 5/1

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Nature Legendary White Stallions at 7 pm
This story of the world-famous Lipizzaner stallions focuses on the bond that develops between the horses and their caregivers, beginning at the moment of their birth and culminating in the perfect harmony between horse and rider demonstrated at the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria. Their carefully choreographed movements were originally developed for the training of war horses; only the strongest and most athletic horses qualified. The Lipizzaner stallion is bred for its courage, strength and character, but the horse is also gentle, sensitive, and exceptionally responsive to praise.

Nova Australia’s First 4 Billion Years: Strange Creatures at 8 pm
Of all the continents on Earth, none preserves a more spectacular story of its origins than Australia. NOVA’s mini-series takes viewers on a rollicking adventure from the birth of the Earth to the emergence of the world we know today. With help from high-energy host and scientist Richard Smith, we meet titanic dinosaurs and giant kangaroos, sea monsters and prehistoric crustaceans, disappearing mountains and deadly asteroids. This is the untold story of the Land Down Under, the one island continent that has got it all.

Secrets of the Dead Bugging Hitler’s Soldiers at 9 pm
Spied upon by MI19 in a bugging operation of unprecedented scale and cunning, 4,000 German POW’s revealed their inner thoughts about the Third Reich and let slip military secrets that helped the Allies win WWII. Based on groundbreaking research conducted by a team of leading German historians and scientists, the film will tell the story of how those confessions were stolen, how they changed the outcome of the war and how they can now reveal, in more shocking detail than ever before, the hearts and minds of the German fighter. The evidence that supports this extraordinary new chapter in the history of WWII will be told through powerful dramatic reconstructions.

 

Highlights: April 28 to May 4

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KLRU Highlights

At the ante-natal clinic, Jenny meets Nora, an impoverished mother of eight, who is distraught that she may soon have another mouth to feed on Call the Midwife  Episode #205 at 7 pm Sunday.

Mr. Grove takes over in Harry’s absence, but faces irate temperance marchers and other challenges on Masterpiece  Mr. Selfridge, Part 5 at 8 pm Sunday.

When Scotland Yard dismisses the women’s theories, they realize it’s up to them to stop the killer before he takes his next victim on Bletchley Circle  Episode #102 at 9 pm Sunday.

On Sister Wendy And The Art Of The Gospel at 10 pm Sunday, Wendy looks back at her life, revealing intimate thoughts, reminiscences and self-doubt.

Antiques Roadshow presents Rapid City, Hour Two at 7 pm Monday. Antiques Roadshow hits the open road to visit the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame.

Antiques Roadshow presents Vintage Phoenix at 8 pm Monday. Antiques Roadshow returns to its first visit from 1997.

Independent Lens presents The Undocumented at 9 pm Monday, the story of the migrants who die while trying to cross an unforgiving desert in search of a better life.

Visa Dream at 10:30 pm Monday tells the touching story of one family’s experience gaining entry into the United States.

Experience the gradual relief as the families of the plains seek new lives in California and government conservation efforts on Dust Bowl Reaping The Whirlwind at 7 pm Tuesday.

Frontline at 9 pm Tuesday presents Top Secret America – 9/11 to the Boston Bombings. This program traces the journey from 9/11 to the Boston Marathon bombings, examines efforts to improve information sharing among federal agencies tasked with keeping us safe, and investigates the secret history of the twelve-year battle against terrorism.

Film School Shorts Fire And Fury at 10 pm Tuesday include the films Fireworks from University Columbia, Pearl Was Here from California Institute of the Arts, and Spark from the University of Texas.

Arts In Context presents Paint, Design, Find, Reassemble at 10:30 pm Tuesday. This episode explores how finding the beauty is something a group of artists do to create their own beautiful variations.

This story of the world-famous Lipizzaner stallions focuses on the bond that develops between the horses and their caregivers on Nature Legendary White Stallions at 7 pm Wednesday.

NOVA continues the miniseries Australia’s First 4 Billion Years: Strange Creatures at 8 pm Wednesday. Meet titanic dinosaurs and giant kangaroos, sea monsters and prehistoric crustaceans, disappearing mountains and deadly asteroids.

Secrets of the Dead  Bugging Hitler’s Soldiers at 9 pm Wednesday teslls the story of 4,000 German POW’s confessed and how they changed the outcome of the war.

Overheard with Evan Smith presents Episode #322 at 7 pm Thursday. Tune in for a in-depth interview with today’s most fascinating public figures.

Capital Of Innovation at 8 pm Thursday offers a glimpse of why Austin is being hailed as the best place in the country to launch a business

The Daytripper visits Corpus Christi, Tx at 8:30 pm Thursday. Chet heads to the Texas coast to tour an aircraft carrier, walk aboard Columbus’s ships, and learn about Texas’s one-of-a-kind surfing culture.

Great Performances present Paul Taylor Dance Company In Paris at 9 pm Friday includes two of Taylor’s enduring masterworks.

Perk up with plants that love summer and keep the color going on Central Texas Gardener presents Blazing Hot Color at noon and 4 pm Saturday.

Victory Garden presents Inspired Gardens at 4:30 pm Saturday. Host Jamie Durie demonstrates how to create a dramatic bougainvillea espalier, inspired by the Getty Museum in California.

History Detectives present St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, George Washington Mi at 5 pm Saturday. Discover if two generations of prominent Chicago families can confirm that a 12-gauge shotgun played a role in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Austin City Limits presents Norah Jones and Kat Edmonson at 7 pm Saturday. Jones sings songs from her Dangermouse -produced album Little Broken Hearts as Edmonson showcases the song stylings of her LP Way Down Low.

 

 

 

 

History with KLRU Q 4/29

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KLRU Q Featured

KLRU Q presents an evening of historic extravaganza on Monday, April 29th with an array of programs.

8:50 – The Map Makers “Discovery: The Waldseemuller Map“
The first episode of the series is the tale of a map now valued at 10 million dollars which has become known as the “birth certificate of America.” Within the lines marked on its surface can be traced the first discoveries of the “new world,” by 16th century explorers such as Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci. But why were the new lands called America, and who were the men who first named the new continent on the famous Waldseemuller map?

9:40 – The Map Makers “Religion: The Mercator Atlas“
The 16th Century Europe was a time when map making and spying went hand in hand. It features Gerard Mercator, the most famous map maker to have lived, who became caught up in a dangerous plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I using an invasion map ordered by England’s enemies, the French. It is a story of intrigue, treason and religious turmoil, with map makers at the heart of the struggle for power in Europe. Information was power in European royal courts, and fragile maps were the key.

10:30 – North Pole Promise
Narrated by James Earl Jones, North Pole Promise is a timeless story of two American explorers and their secret legacy left behind at the North Pole 100 years ago.

Arts In Context: Intergalactic Nemesis 4/25

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“The year is 1933. Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Molly Sloan and her intrepid research assistant Timmy Mendez team up with a mysterious librarian from Flagstaff, Arizona, named Ben Wilcott. Together, they travel from Rumania to Scotland to the Alps to Tunis to the Robot Planet and finally to Imperial Zygon to defeat a terrible threat to the very future of humanity: an invading force of sludge-monsters from outer space known as the Zygonians.”

This month’s episode of Arts In Context will take us inside the unique production of the Live-Action Graphic Novel that is the Intergalactic Nemesis. Projecting the artwork from the original comic-book story panel-by-panel, while three actors voiced the characters, one performer created sound-effects, and a keyboardist performed the score, The Intergalactic Nemesis, Book One: Target Earth was an instant sensation when it debuted in the Long Center in 2010. Since then it has been featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” “Conan,” and is now on a world tour.

Arts In Context has been closely following the Intergalactic Nemesis crew behind the scenes of their rising production of Book One: Target Earth for the past few months. Full of striking images and interviews, this episode captures the creative process of the Intergalactic crew. But on this episode Arts In Context is trying something new. The crew is collaborating with documentary filmmaker Anton Curley, using footage from his upcoming film, Nemesis Rising. Nemesis Rising is a feature length film on the Intergalactic Nemesis that follows the crew through their history, their first national tour, and into their future from Volume 2 and beyond. In combination with the documentary that Arts In Context has been working on, this episode will tell the story of the the Intergalactic Nemesis crew from their small beginnings to their debut in Broadway earlier in April. This collaboration will make for a unique episode of Arts in Context that cannot be missed.

Make sure to tune in on Thursday, April 25th at 7:30 pm to take an intimate behind the scenes look at the Live-Action Graphic Novel on Arts in Context: Intergalactic Nemesis.

To see if the Intergalactic Nemsis is coming to you check out on their tour schedule.

 

Film School Shorts

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Film School Shorts showcases short student films from across the country featuring quirky comedies, slice-of-life dramas and hard-hitting thrillers from cutting edge filmmakers. KLRU will present two episodes  of the series featuring films from The University of Texas at Austin on April 30th and May 7th. The series will air on KLRU Q later this year.

Spark airing April 30th:  Two kids try to kill time while the adults have an affair. A short film by Annie Silverstein. Northeast Front airing May 7th:  A single mother must come up with $5,000 before the end of the day to save her family. A short film by Angela Torres Camarena. Both Spark and Northeast Front will be available for a limited time on the Film School Shorts YouTube and PBS Video channels in their uncut, original versions:

Spark is currently available until Sunday, April 28 at 11 pm.

Northeast Front will be available starting Monday the 29th until May 5th.
(Be advised that Northeast Front features profanity in Spanish and English subtitles.)

Complete details for the Film School Shorts episodes airing on KLRU.

4/30 – Fire And Fury
Fireworks (Columbia University) – A group of young teens try to impress some girls. A short film by Victor Hugo Duran.

Pearl Was Here (California Institute of the Arts) – A bratty young girl hides from her mother in a claw machine. A short film by Kate Marks.

Spark (The University of Texas at Austin) – Two kids try to kill time while the adults have an affair. A short film by Annie Silverstein.

5/7 – Blood Is Thicker Than Mud
The Fighting Kind (Chapman University) – A man with a dark past returns home to make his sister an unwelcome offer. A short film by Nils Taylor.

Northeast Front (The University of Texas at Austin) – A single mother must come up with $5,000 before the end of the day to save her family. A short film by Angela Torres Camarena.

 

May 2013: NATURE “Legendary White Stallions”

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Each month, KLRU chooses a program for your family to enjoy together. This month’s Family Choice program is NATURE‘s “Legendary White Stallions” focusing on the bond between the horses and their caregivers.

Airs Wednesday, May 1st at 7:00 pm
repeats: Thursday, May 2nd at 3:00 am; Friday, May 3rd at 3:00 am;
Sunday, May 5th at 2:00 am; Sunday, May 5th at 6:00 pm

This story of the world-famous Lipizzaner stallions focuses on the bond that develops between the horses and their caregivers, beginning at the moment of their birth and culminating in the perfect harmony between horse and rider demonstrated at the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria. Their carefully choreographed movements were originally developed for the training of war horses; only the strongest and most athletic horses qualified. The Lipizzaner stallion is bred for its courage, strength and character, but the horse is also gentle, sensitive, and exceptionally responsive to praise.