MR. ROGERS MOVIE TRAILER

Because I raised no children, the TV show, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, wasn't much on my radar but I watched it now and again. It was broadcast from 1968 to 2001.

Even in the earliest days of the show, I thought Mr. Rogers was an anachronism, a gentle, kindly, loving presence in the midst of a much cruder world. It felt to me that he was of another time and certainly moreso now.

His show was popular, won numerous awards and Mr. Rogers himself was named one of the 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time by TV Guide.

Now there is an upcoming feature film about Mr. Rogers who is played by Tom Hanks. Is that perfect casting, or what? Here's the trailer for the movie:

CALIFORNIA CONDORS COMEBACK

In 1987, there were only 22 wild condors left in North America. Conservationists and others stepped in to try to save the birds, breeding them in captivity and in May, they recorded the 1,000th chick born of this project.

Here is a short documentary (8 minutes or so) about the recovery of the California condor made by the Oregon Zoo and released five years ago. It's a good history of the work these did and others continue to do.

You can read more at the Washington Post.

A PERSONAL NOTE

Early last week, I received by mail the new book by the great historian, Robert Caro, titled Working.

I had read several reviews and the book came up in conversations with a number of people via email. I was thinking over whether to order it or not – there are already too many books here - then a British copy arrived via a bookseller affiliated with Amazon.

But – big but – there is no card telling me who is being so generous and the two people I actually recall emailing with about the book say they did not send it. Both the seller and Amazon, when I called, refused to tell me who sent it. Privacy issues, apparently.

So if you're reading this and you are the one who sent it, 'fess up please. I would like to send you a thank-you note.

WHEELCHAIR FOR DISABLED FISH

That headline is not a joke. A man built a flotation device that operates as a sort-of wheelchair for a goldfish. The video explains:

There is more about this at Bored Panda.

AUSTRALIA'S SCARY ANIMALS

We all know that Australia has some strange and scary animals but mostly we see the cuter ones – koalas, wombats, etc. Bored Panda published a whole bunch of photos of the awful kind of Australian animals. Here's a sample:

Peter Tibbles, who writes the Sunday music column here and lives in Melbourne, tells me he hasn't run into many of the scary animals. You can see a lot more of them at Bored Panda.

ALTERNATIVE MATH

I may have posted this video a year or two ago but it has become more pertinent every day. This is one teacher's struggle to teach a young student and his parents the solution to a simple math problem everyone should know.

As the YouTube page asks: “See if the school and parental beliefs and attitudes remind you of someone.”

THE MAN WHO ROAD THE THUNDER

Here is an extraordinary adventure story, not in the good sense, about a U.S. Marine Corp pilot, William Rankin, who was forced to eject from his F8 Crusader 47,000 feet above Earth.

”He had a very bad day that summer of 1959 by any pilot’s standard as not only did his engine fail but his parachute deployed in the middle of the thunder storm.”

A NEW SPIN ON THE PHRASE, RESCUE DOG

I know I've seen this before but can't recall if I posted it. YouTube tells us:

”When a gust of wind blew a feather-light canoe away from the gravel bar and into the river, two dogs ran and jumped inside it. Labs will retrieve anything, but what's amazing here is that one of the dogs in the canoe takes the rope and places it over the side and into the water for the Labrador to grab ahold of.”

Interesting Stuff is a weekly listing of short takes and links to web items that have caught my attention; some related to aging and some not, some useful and others just for fun.

You are all encouraged to submit items for inclusion. Just click “Contact” at the top of any Time Goes By page to send them. I'm sorry that I won't have time to acknowledge receipt and there is no guarantee of publication. But when I do include them, you will be credited and I will link to your blog.