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CONTENTS

American Gothic, Anaconda, Ancient Tombs, Antartica, Argentina, Arts and Entertainment - City Confidential / Big Fork Montana, Athens, Bandicoot, Beach Boys, Boston/Cambridge-MA, Boston University, Cacti, Cancun, Caribbean Seafood, Chester-CT, Christianity, Cleveland Botanical Garden, Cyclone of Bangladesh, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Decoding Nazi Secrets, Deer, Diamond, Diamonds, Dinosaurs, Discovery Channel – “When Dinosaurs ruled the earth,” Divers, Drift Nets, Dolphins, Dublin, Earthquakes, Egypt, Elephants, Ellis Island, England, Enter the Irish American, Fiji, Fire and Thunder, Food & Wine, France, Galapagos Islands, Gardening, Geography Action, The Geography of the West, Giant Squids, Gorillas, Grand Teton National Park, Great Ship Wrecks, Grenada, Hershey, Hispaniola, History Channel - Sixteen Street Baptist Church Bombing, History Channel - Timothy McVeigh, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Joy of Pigs, Keiko, Killer Whales, Lebanon, Leeds Castle, Legends of Comed Documentary, Library of Congress – A Brief History, Life on Earth, Martinique, The Maya, Medieval Castles, Motorcycling, Movie Made America, Mystery on Everest, Napa Valley, National Geographic – Earthquakes, Nature, New London Ledge Light, Newton’s Apple, New Zealand, Nile, Northern New England, Planes, Trains and Vintage Cab, Plymouth-MA, Quiet Victories, Quiz Show, Red Colobus, Rochester-NY, Rome, Roses, Royal Jelly, The Savage Seas, Sailing around the World, Sea Creatures, Seattle-WA, Snakes, Southern Africa, Space Shuttle Challenger, Sri Lanka, Stained Glass, Star Gazing, Tampa-FL, Thailand, Tibet, Trolleys, Turkey, UCLA, Ventilation Standards, Voodoo, Yale University, Yellow River, wildflowers, World War, World War II, The Crested Screamer, The Zambezi River.

AMERICAN GOTHIC

In 1930 an Iowa artist named Grant Wood asked his sister and his dentist to pose for a painting, a tribute to the tough rural stock of America. He dressed his sister in a simple frock, a white collarheld close around her neck by a brooch. The dentist he outfitted in overalls, a band collar shirt, buttoned tight around the throat, a dark business jacket. He posed the couple, board stiff in front of a plain house. The man, transformed by art into a Midwestern farmer, grips a pitchfork and stares straight ahead. The woman looks away. The resulting painting, called American Gothic, became one of the most enduring images of the decade, an icon of the spirit that survived the hard times of the Depression.

ANACONDA

Giant snakes have a reputation of being aggressive. The anaconda measures over 16 feet and weighs 180 pounds. Its mouth is like a clamp and an animal struggling to get free only sets the grip tighter. At the same time it sets its bite, the anaconda loops its powerful coils around its victim and begins to squeeze. The process takes little more than a second, hardly enough time to react.

ANCIENT TOMBS

During the short winter season, some of the wealthier foreigners dabbled in archaeology driven by scientific curiosity and inquisitiveness. But the ultimate – an intact tomb of the Pharaoh had not yet been found. One man hoped to change that. Howard Carter, the sickly son of an English painter, had first come to Egypt as an artist at the age of 17. He fell in love with the ancient ruins and proved a capable archaeologist despite a difficult personality.

ANTARTICA

Far to the south lies a land of dazzling snowfields, crystalline glaciers, and dramatically carved ice mountains soaring above an untamed frozen wilderness. There are no human sounds in this land of primeval beauty, only the wild cries of birds, seals, and whales echoing across a vast expanse of land and sea. Experience the wonders and grandeur of a land where few have ever set foot as we discover the world’s last frontier -- the great White Continent. This special voyage takes place during the austral summer, when the weather is best, temperatures are moderate, and days are long. Penguin chicks are hatching and it is common to see elephant seals along the beaches.

ARGENTINA

Mention Argentina and images of gauchos and the tango come to mind. But for many who visit it’s also a country full of natural treasures. These range from its barren northern landscapes to the sheer beauty of the soaring Andes. From spectacular thousand-foot high waterfalls - to its extensive wine region.

At the center of all this is the capital city of Buenos Aires, renowned for its European sophistication. Despite its size, one-third of the population of Argentina clusters in Buenos Aires, the economic core of the country, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world.

It’s a rare privilege indeed to be able to get this exceptional perspective of the capital, because from this vantage point one can truly appreciate the grandeur of this legendary city.

Below us now is the famous “plaza de mayo” considered to be the very heart of Argentina. It is in this square that the people have always come together, in good times and in bad.

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT - CITY CONFIDENTIAL / BIG FORK MONTANA

In 1997 it was hard not to believe in Big Forks dark side. The ruthless murder of a well-known resident stunned the town. The crime loomed over this bayside village for months, as the astonishing facts about who was behind the killing came to light. Big Fork Montana, an isolated outpost on the shore of Flathead Lake, a rustic village whose shutters are continuously rattled by an ongoing real estate boom, but behind the for sale signs and story book façade exists the old Big Fork a genuine sort of place found only in the mountain west.

ATHENS

Whether one comes by air, sea, or land, the visitor to Athens enters a metropolis. It’s a huge city ... an urban sea, surging around a few outcroppings of rock ... a sea which spreads a little farther with each passing year. Built around the remains of antiquity, the modern city of Athens has sent its long straight avenues pushing out beyond its own limits, particularly across the plain leading to the sea.

BANDICOOT

A western narred bandicoot scampers through dense scrub and thickets after nightfall, searching for food. The little marsupial adeptly unearths insects and roots with its sharp foreclaws, and with its long nose probes the sandy soil and crevices for seeds and herbs. During the day, the solitary bandicoot nestles into a shallow nest to sleep, undetected beneath a cover of gathered plant or seagrass litter. This species is no longer found on the mainland, and now exists only on two island nature reserves, where it is protected from introduced predators and habitat changes.

BEACH BOYS

The American rock group, The Beach Boys, are known for their rich vocal harmonies and for songs about cars, love, and surfing in the California sun. The band was formed in 1961 by three brothers from Hawthorne, California - Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and a friend Al Jardine. The Beach Boys moved quickly from local to national fame with a run of hit songs during the mid-1960’s, including “Surfin’ U.S.A.” (1963), “Fun, Fun, Fun,” (1964), “I get Around” (1964), “Help me, Rhonda” (1965), and “California Girls” (1965). Based largely on an ideal of California adolescence, the group’s records helped define a style known

BOSTON, MA

Boston is the cradle of American liberty. From its historic Common to the Old North Church, which signaled the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Boston reflects a heritage that is part of every American. Tour Boston to see Faneuil Hall, the Old State House, the South Meeting House, and the Old North Church. Then cross the Charles River to see Harvard University, Radcliffe, and the common where George Washington took command of the Continental Army. Visit the Ware collection of glass flowers. The rest of the day is free to do as you wish. Your tour director will offer suggestions to complete your night.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY

Wondering what it's like to be a student at Boston University? Take one of our virtual tours to learn about the lives of some of our students and their varying backgrounds, interests and majors.

Freshmen can learn more about what to expect during their first year at BU including time management, how college differs from high school, and what living in a residence hall is really like.

Interested in the person you could become with a degree from Boston University? Check out the Senior Experience tour to learn from students who "know the ropes". Find out about the challenges and rigors of various majors, the benefits of internships, and preparing for the world after graduation.

CACTI

Dry thorn forest consists primarily of cacti. Among these is Opuntia moniliformis, known locally as alpargata, which may reach a height of twelve feet. Neoabottia paniculata, which may grow thirty feet high, is a tree cactus with a smooth trunk and spiny branches at the top, while Pilocereus polygonus is a shorter, many-branched tree cactus. A very spiny cactus called Leptocereus weingartiana creeps across the ground or climbs on other vegetation.

CANCUN

Rulers of the ancient Mayan civilizations came here to see the beauty of this land ... a place where the turquoise Caribbean Sea caresses the beautiful sandy beaches. They came to partake a view reserved then only for royalty. Today, more than 1,500 years later, this same spot is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the world. This is Cancun. Located at the northeast tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, Cancun is easily accessible from major gateway cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Just under a 2-hour flight from Houston or Miami. Visitors will find an abundance of sports in Cancun. Jet skiing and water skiing are popular for the novice and pro alike.

CARIBBEAN SEAFOOD

An early Caribbean traveler recorded the “rare kinds of fishes” he tasted at Barbadian tables this way: “Mullets, Macquerels, Parrot Fish, Snappers, Crabs, and Lobsters.” Like him, today’s island visitors relish the opportunity to taste fresh seafood with exotic names, and equally exotic preparations. Some of the Caribbean seafood dishes merely seem exotic because, forced by limited food supplies to be resourceful, islanders eat many species that are ignored or underutilized in the States.

CHESTER, CT

Nestled in the rolling hills of the Connecticut River Valley, Chester is a lovely New England village. The charming winding roads, interesting shops, and friendly people greet the visitor and resident alike. Originally know as Pattaquonk Quarter, Chester was settled in 1692. Many mills sprang up as settlers established permanent homes and Chester became the Fourth Parish of Saybrook. By 1836, it became an independent town. Travel in the early days was by river, so the ship-building industry was an important part of the town’s beginnings. Several modern marinas now dot the riverfront, as well as two yacht clubs.

CHRISTIANITY

It began as an obscure movement and grew to become the single largest religion in the history of the world -- moving from the streets of Jerusalem to the far reaches of the globe. This is the incredible story of the people who, despite persecution, founded a religion, redefined God and changed the world forever.

CLEVELAND BOTANICAL GARDEN

Comprising 3,400 shimmering glass panels, the new conservatory at the Cleveland Botanical Garden resembles a giant three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. The spectacular structure, the centerpiece of a $37 million expansion, encompasses two unique ecosystems. These diametrically opposed environments house many unusual animals and more than 350 species of plants.

CYCLONE OF BANGLADESH

The cyclone of November 12, 1970 in Bangladesh is widely considered to be the worst natural disaster of the 20th century. Between 300,000 and 500,000 residents of this dangerously poised, ecologically unsound country were killed by a combination of wind and water.

CYPRUS

This grand structure was built in Hellenistic times and modified by the Romans in the 2nd century. On these stepped seats crowds would cheer on gladiators in the era of Roman blood sports. The ruined city of Koreon has been a key in Cypriot history since the Neanderthal times. Today it is the island's most spectacular archaeological site.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

The callous invasion of August 20, 1968 seems to us much more than simply another Czech disaster--or simply an invasion at all. August 20th sees but the latest step in a macabre dance in which the Czech people have been whirled since 1918, the year they declared themselves a republic. There appears, in our view, a horrifying rhythm: From shadow to liberty, they dance...again into shadow, then brief liberty, and shadow once again. A last, brief flourish of liberty, and then--August 20th, 1968. It is a sadly poetic cycle, seemingly without end.

DECODING NAZI SECRETS

By mid-1940, the German Army had conquered all of western Europe. Hitler was tightening the noose around Britain. In the Atlantic, German U-boats were decimating Allied convoys, threatening to cut off Britain's only lifeline. But Churchill had a secret weapon, the strangest military establishment in the world. Crossword fanatics, chess champions, mathematicians, students and professors, Americans and British, all came here with one common aim: to unlock the secrets of the Enigma, a machine that concealed Germany's war plans in seemingly unbreakable code. If Enigma could be penetrated, everything Hitler plotted would be known in advance. At Bletchley Park there unfolded one of the most astonishing exploits of the Second World War. Many here had never seen a code before, yet it was their job to find a way to crack Enigma. In the process, they devised ingenious codebreaking machines that were forerunners of the modern computer. But everything they did remained classified for 30 years.

DEER

The deer approaches the opening, unaware of the cougar's presence. Slowly and quietly, Shuka creeps toward his prey. Hearing a twig crack, the deer turns and faces impending danger. There is no time to run before the six-foot-long, 200 pound make cougar pounces on its back and bites its neck. The deer, a favorite food of the cougar has met its match. He has fallen victim to the balance of nature.

DIAMOND

Today, seventy percent of the world’s rough diamonds pass through the central selling organization the ESO, established by Debiers at Charterhouse Street in London. To regulate the flow of diamonds and maintain stability of prices on the world market, diamonds are first classified and valued. Here, along the north wall, in natural light, expert’s sort stones into more than five thousand different categories; based on size, shape, quality and color.

DIAMONDS

Diamonds are pure or nearly pure carbon, blessed with three extraordinary qualities:

First, a diamond is the purest of earth's gemstones, composed of a single unadulterated element.

Second, it is the hardest transparent substance known to man. However, sharp impact may cause damage to a diamond.

Third, a diamond has unique powers of light reflection. When cut to proper proportions, it gathers light within itself, sending it back in a shower of fire and brilliance.

These qualities make a diamond ring the perfect symbol of engagement. To support the promise behind the eternal symbol, every Tiffany & Co. solitaire diamond comes with a Tiffany & Co. Diamond Certificate that is your guarantee of quality.

DISCOVERY CHANNEL – “When Dinosaurs ruled the earth”

In nature, disaster is a constant companion and death comes in many guises. Dinosaurs now trapped by the fire flee in panic. Most will survive, but for the creatures that parish, the conflict is over. For those that remain what lies ahead is 30 million years of evolution. Triggered by unseen forces the environment will gradually change and so will the dinosaurs that live here. In the distant future the offspring of the young femikas will grow bigger, weirder and even more perplexing. The raptors will stay small, agile and quick, but they’ll get smarter and the kin of the Stagasours will become the most famous creature in North America.

DINOSAURS

The evidence that birds descended from dinosaurs -- indeed are dinosaurs—has become conclusive for most paleontologists and evolutionary biologists. The theory had fallen out of favor in the early 20th century because, although theropods and birds share a great many features, no dinosaurs appeared to have a furcula, or wishbone.

DIVERS

Carrying out a 1,500-year-old tradition, this woman prepares to dive for abalones, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and octopuses at Cheju Island off Korea’s southern tip. Cheju’s female divers, known as “haenyo”, begin honing their skills at the age of ten, learning to dive as deep as 60 feet and to hold their breath for up to two minutes. As recently as the 1930s they numbered more than 20,000. Now only about 3,000--most in their 50s and 60s--remain, as their better-educated daughters find work that is less physically demanding.

DOLPHINS

Gliding with uncanny grace, bottlenose dolphins pass the scalloped shadow of a mountain peak in Fiordland, New Zealand's largest national park. Fiordland's dolphins may spend their entire lives in a single fiord -- denizens of an isolated world as dramatic above water as it is below. The jutting fist of Mitre Peak snags a passing cloud high above Milford Sound. Rising more than a mile up from the sea, this peak is the icon of a land with a history of transient seekers -- for sealskins, gold, the glory of discovery, and the solace of untrammeled wilderness.

DRIFT NETS

Drift nets can be deadly for many ocean creatures who become entangled in an invisible “wall” of netting. Along the U.S. East Coast, a swordfish drift-net fishery has historically entangled large numbers of marine mammals, including the highly endangered North Atlantic right whales and six species of dolphins. When the death rate of marine mammals is unacceptably high, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1994 requires the creation of a team composed of scientists and representatives of the fishing industry, environmental organizations, and state and federal agencies.

DUBLIN - One

James Joyce once said that he wanted to create a picture of Dublin so complete that if the city one day disappeared, it could be reconstructed entirely from his book Ulysses. He succeeded. The spirit of James Joyce is evident everywhere in bustling, booming modern Dublin, from the bronze statue of him leaning casually on his walking stick at the intersection of busy O’Connell Street and Earl Street to such famous landmarks as St. Stephen’s Green, University College, and the Martello Tower in the nearby suburb of Sandycove. With a bit of imagination and some good walking shoes, you can virtually step into the pages of Ulysses to follow Leopold Bloom on his fictional 18-hour odyssey through Dublin on June 16, 1904.

DUBLIN - Two

Home over the centuries to great writers like Jonathan swift, George Bernard Shaw and James Joyce. Dublin has always been a center of the arts. Now, with the still roaring Celtic Tiger economy to support it, Ireland's Capital City is the bustling home of ever-burgeoning business, important cultural institutions, lively nightlife and a youthful, energetic population of both natives and newcomers.

EARTHQUAKES

All around the world mountains are on the rise. And in few places does this happen more swiftly than in highly populated Southern California, where shifting tectonic plates cause periodic catastrophe. Each earthquake raises the mountains a few inches sometimes feet, which makes the place a Mecca for geothermologists like Dr. Frank Wireick.

But the mountains here are falling as fast as they are rising. Days of rain sometimes trigger a disaster called a rotational slide, because it moves along a subsurface plain like jelly sliding from a spoon. In this small town along the coastline, most residents were warned of the dangers before moving in, but chose to live here anyway due to the panoramic view.

EARTHQUAKES - NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Pulled and pushed by forces deep within the planet, the Pacific plate is sliding northwest past North America at an average of about 2 inches a year - roughly the same rate as fingernails grow. But movement along the fault usually occurs in bursts. Along most of the fault, the colder, more rigid rocks near the earth’s surface resist the plate motions. Eventually, enough strain develops along a segment of the fault to overcome the resistance. Then, in geologic terms, that stretch of the fault "breaks," "fails," or "ruptures" and segment of the crust riding the Pacific plat surges north, creating an earthquake. In the magnitude 7.7 San Francisco earthquake of 1906, which killed more than 3,000 people, a 270-mile-long segment of the San Andreas from south of San Juan Bautista to Cape Mendocino surged northward as much as 21 feet in a few seconds. Half a century earlier in 1857, during a similar but little known 7.8 quake, much of coastal , southern California drifted north.

EGYPT

To modern eyes, the people of ancient Egypt seem bearers of some higher civilization...whose sources lay in another world. While populations elsewhere, still in their infancy, were groping their way out of the stone age, the Egyptians seem to have been born adult. They soon broke through the barriers of human possibility, six thousand years ago, almost in virtue of experiences sustained in some other extraordinarily civilized world. The fact that other people developed at much slower rates, reinforces the feeling that the people of the “planet Egypt” anticipated the history of the world by two thousand years.

THE LAND OF EGYPT

Egypt has always been a land of mystery and magic -- a land different from all others, difficult to understand, apart and alien, yet strangely fascinating. It was the most self-contained of all the countries of the ancient world; it lived its own life, practiced its own religion, and made up its own government with hardly any outside interference either from or upon other civilizations.

ELEPHANTS

#1: Bonding over the mineral-rich mud in the hole at their feet, an older female places her trunk into a juvenile’s mouth. Elephants dig relentlessly with their tusks and trunks in the muck at Dzanga Bai, mining the substrata for salt and other minerals to supplement their diet of leaves, bark, grasses, and fruit.

ELEPHANTS

#2: With notoriously bad eyesight, forest elephants tend to follow their trunks, using the appendage as a blind person might use fingertips on a stranger’s face--to identify, visualize, gather clues, communicate. From infancy, elephants entwine their trunks in play, establishing bonds of kinship while storing vital information--from smells and texture to the muscular strength of their playmates. Later these games become more aggressive, especially among males, which grapple and joust with each other in order to establish dominance.

ELLIS ISLAND

For may immigrants, the voyage to Ellis Island meant selling all personal possessions plus additional debt, just to buy the fare. After weeks crowded into the claustrophobic steerage of a ship on the stormy Atlantic, Ellis Island represented the final hurdle to The American Dream.

ENGLAND

The notion of England as a gentle, fabled land freeze-framed some time in the 1930s when community life revolved around the post office, the country pub and the local vicarage has been erased by the juggernaut of the late-20th century and vast suburban sprawl. The heralded 'new' Britain, led by Labour PM Tony Blair, is being transformed from Thatcherite bleakscape into post-Diana cuddledom: the Queen and Prince Charles are coming on folksy, the Spice Girls are the new face of feminism and a couple of rude brothers with monobrows are the biggest posterboys around. Still, a country that gives a wig-wearing ex-junkie balladeer a knighthood must be doing something right.

ENTER THE IRISH-AMERICAN

They were the first large wave of immigrants to land in nineteenth-century America, arriving poor and desperate, uprooted strangers in a strange world. They fought to belong, to survive, and to get ahead, as would all newcomers to America. They endured the hardships and insults that beset all immigrants. They were mostly country folk and they became mostly city people. They were at the bottom of the social ladder and they struggled upwards. They are the Irish – more than four and a quarter million of them who came to the United States between 1820 and 1920.

FIJI

Travelers are again coming to Fiji after the instability of the late 1980s, and for good reason. Fiji is beautiful, it has a pleasant tropical climate, the diving and snorkeling are superb and it has excellent facilities for tourists, whether they are on a tight budget or indulging in the luxuries of a plush resort.

FIRE AND THUNDER

In the past 150 years the tall grass prairie- the easternmost portion of the Great Plains - has been all but erased. Now, in the Flint Hills of Oklahoma, on land too rocky to plow, the nonprofit Nature Conservancy is transforming 37,000 acres of ranchland into the largest expanse of tall grass prairie yet set aside. This labored process has already proven its value - over 300 buffalo have returned, to graze and roam.

FOOD & WINE

Whether you're a professional sommelier or a budding gourmand, vacations built around the culinary arts are a perfect way to immerse yourself in a country or region. After all, you can learn as much about the history and ethos of a people from the methods and ingredients used in their cooking as you will from anything found in a book. Not to mention that culinary tours are perhaps the most, well, civilized way to travel. Yet they're still very much adventurous--not ones that elevate your heart rate or give you an adrenaline rush, but ones that still pose a challenge to your senses.

FRANCE

#1: The real enjoyment of visiting France does not come from an appreciation of its art or architecture, but from the enjoyment of the natural beauty of its people. The spirit of France is evident in every city and in every town. The French have a knack for enjoying life to the fullest, and you can sense it everywhere! Strolling down the Champs Elysee on any evening transforms one instantly into a sublimely romantic setting, complete with laughter, romance, the distant sounds of clattering dishes, and the wonderful aroma of freshly baked French breads.

FRANCE

#2: In France, every road leads to splendid food. From Flandres to the Pays Basque, from Normandie to Nice, from the Ardennes to southernmost Bigorre, the worthy hexagon is unequaled in its flavors. But more than that, it is a store of fine ingredients which produce not only thousands of good recipes, but also the rich fragrances steaming from a simmering pot in a homely country inn, the aroma of sausages and hams hanging in a corner of an alpine chalet in winter, the characteristic iodine and seaweed scents in a bustling seaside port.

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

Perhaps the most amazing thing about the animals of the Galapagos, is not how they look, but that they seem to know no fear of humans. Most of the Galapagos Islands have no permanent human settlements. Still, people have stopped to visit throughout history. But we remain enough of a rarity here that instead of running away, most animals move in for a closer look.

GARDENING

For garden lovers, few pleasures equal roaming the aisles of a nursery. Here's how to make the best use of your time and get the most for your money. As you walk through the nursery, you'll discover that plants are available in three forms: balled-and-burlapped (typically bigger trees and shrubs with burlap wrapped around the root balls), bare-root (usually hedge plants and roses), and in containers (annuals, perennials, and smaller shrubs and trees). Plants are also grown differently: Some are kept in fields, some in containers, and some start out in fields and are then transplanted to containers to be sold.

GEOGRAPHY ACTION

“Geography Action Rivers 2002” is an educational outreach program of the National Geographic Society in partnership with The Coca-Cola Company and The Conservation Fund. Click here to explore a river system.The River source, also called the headwaters, is the beginning of a river. Often located in mountains, the source may be fed by an underground spring, or by runoff from rain, snowmelt, or glacial melt. Wetlands are low-lying areas saturated with water for long enough periods to support vegetation adapted to wet conditions. Wetlands help maintain river quality by filtering out pollutants and sediments, and by regulating nutrient flow.

THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE WEST

Endless sea of grass, rugged, towering mountains: forest of incredibly tall conifers: dramatic desert landscapes- these are just a few of the images that spring to mind when we think of the West. For centuries. “the west” meant new land to be explored and settled by the European conquerors, immigrants, and their descendants. Likewise for centuries, what Americans called the West kept expanding and moving westward as explorers and settlers discovered the vastness of their new homeland.

GIANT SQUIDS

If you’ve never seen a live giant squid, don’t despair. Neither has anybody else. But this huge, ugly cephalopod--60 feet long, with eight grasping arms and two longer tentacles, a sharp beak and a pair of staring eyes--has been found dead a number of times, with bodies washed up at beaches around the world. The beast (known in Norwegian legend as the kraken) also appears in the pages of such novels as Moby Dick and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and has given sustenance to any number of sea-monster tales.

GORILLAS

Across the African continent another population of Gorillas evolved. Their habitat straddles the volcanic ranges that join Zooganda and the democratic republic of Congo and spreads into the lower mountain forest. It gets chilly in the mountains; their shorter limbs and shaggy hair help protect them from the cold. They travel mostly on the ground; their feet are more like our own. It was these gorillas that an American sculptor and naturalist named Carl Ackley came to collect in 1904. Specimens to be stuffed and mounted for the American Museum of Natural History.

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK

The youngest of the Rocky Mountains, the Teton Range is a spectacular sight. Enhanced by glaciers, deep canyons, snowfields, and lakes, the range shoots up suddenly, with no foothills around it. The three Tetons - South, Middle, and Grand - lure casual tourists and serious climbers alike, year round.

GREAT SHIP WRECKS

In 1916, the hospital ship Britannic was rocked by sudden, massive explosion and sunk in less than an hour. Was it bad luck or something more sinister? It would be 60 years before the world’s most intrepid undersea explorers began to unravel the mystery. While Titanic is the most infamous of all ship disaster the fate of her sister ships, Olympic and Britannic were similarly tragic. From the beginning, the histories of these three ill-fated liners were joined by a series of mysterious coincidences.

GRENADA

Twelve degrees north latitude is a great address in the Caribbean. Far south of the path of hurricanes and most cruise ships, Grenada quietly remains a place where abundance is still in abundance. The 12-by-21 mile island so overflows with natural endowments--healthy coral reefs, solitary beaches, and mountainous rainforests--that you don’t care if the way to them is over roads under construction. If you’ve ever wondered what the splendors of some more smoothly paved islands must have been like 50 years ago, Grenada fills in the blanks.

HERSHEY

Welcome to Hershey, the Great American Chocolate Town, where families come together for a taste of the sweet life. Tucked in the rolling hills of Central Pennsylvania, this idyllic escape offers the latestand greatest in entertainment and hospitality, fused with the traditions of one of America's original success stories. Even the smiles seem sweeter! With attractions, accommodations, amenities and activities in all flavors, a trip to “The Sweetest Place on Earth” is an easy treat.

HISPANIOLA

Located between Cuba and Puerto Rico, the island of Hispaniola is divided between the nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. At 18,792 square miles, the Dominican Republic is nearly twice as large as its immediate neighbor, and it has the distinction of encompassing both the highest and lowest elevations in the Caribbean. Its highest point, Pico Duarte, rises 10, 417 feet above the sea, while a little more than one hundred miles to the south, Isla Cabritos, an island in Lago Enriquillo, lies 131 feet below sea level.

HISTORY CHANNEL - Sixteen Street Baptist Church Bombing

September 15, 1963, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama - as worshipers fill the sanctuary, nothing can prepare the congregation for the horror to come. 12 sticks of dynamite are set to detonate beneath a nearby stairwell. A phone rings in the church office; "Three minutes." The bombers had issued their warning; the countdown has just begun to one of the most shocking crimes in the civil rights era. The bomb goes off and pandemonium breaks out in the streets as onlookers rush to help. Killed in the blast are Denise McNare, Cynthia Wesley, Kell Robinson and Addie Mae Collins. Their murders are the latest violence to rock Birmingham, one of the most segregated cities in the nation. Birmingham is a place where the Klan has detonated so many bombs in black neighborhoods; the city's nickname is bombing-ham. The police chief Bull Connor has his troops set attack dogs on black demonstrators. Where firemen pummel young protestors with fire hoses; And now on top of all that, a place where children are murdered in church.

HISTORY CHANNEL - Timothy McVeigh

That hate is fueled at Ruby Ridge where federal agents launch a raid on the remote cabin of Randy Weaver- killing his wife and son, a federal agent also dies. A few months later, still feeling lost, living at home, McVeigh reconnects with his Second Amendment soul mate and army buddy, Terry Nichols- visiting from Michigan. By early 1993 McVeigh decides to abandon New York and sets out in search of what he calls a "free state" where he plans to step up his involvement with survivalists and gun rights activists.

IRELAND

Ireland is a land of wild seacoasts and misty rolling hills -- so green that it is sometimes called “The Emerald Isle.” Whitewashed cottages with thatched roofs dot the countryside. The Irish people are known for their wit, imagination, spirit, and hospitality. Ireland lies west of Great Britain, between the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The island is divided into two parts. Most of the island is the independent Republic of Ireland, often known as Eire. The northeastern region, Ulster, is part of the United Kingdom. The capital of the Republic is the ancient city of Dublin. A gentle region of hills, loughs, and rivers stretches across central Ireland to the west coast.

IRELAND: A HISTORY BY ROBERT KEE

Since the 1960s, the world’s headlines have repeatedly focused on the problems of Northern Ireland. But these latest confrontations are only the most recent response to Britain’s 800-year presence in Ireland. In this unusually graphic and detailed short history of Ireland, we set out to disentangle fact from myth, events from emotions. Combining documentary evidence with a wealth of pictorial material, we will trace the emergence of the five principal groups involved in Irish history.

ISRAEL

Religion, politics, passion, history, social injustice, and a standing army are not the ideal ingredients for a 'get away from it all' holiday. But these are the things that draw thousands of visitors to Israel every year. This is 'where it happened', a land that grips at the imagination of every Christian, Jew and Muslim in the world, and inflames a fair few of them to hatred and violence. It's the intangibles of Israel - standing in the footsteps of gods, breathing the air of the messiah - that bring people here.

JAMAICA

Jamaica...an island of extraordinary beauty, colorful flowers, cascading waterfalls, dramatic mountain ranges and spectacular seascapes. An island of romance and enchantment...Jamaica. Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean, located just south of Cuba. Daily flights arrive from New York, Miami, San Juan, Toronto, Montreal and London into Jamaica's two airports in Montego Bay and Kingston.

JOY OF PIGS

Welcome to the world of pigs. Forget what you’ve heard about them and take a fresh look at these animals. You’ll discover that they are wonderful creatures, remarkable products of evolution, though, in some cases, by human design. Their unusual looks and their untidy eating habits have given them a bad reputation. Actually, they are fit, smart, and extremely adaptable.

KEIKO (cake-co)

After 11 years in the too-warm, shallow 20-foot depths of his tiny 90-by-43-foot tank, Keiko suffered from skin lesions caused by a papillomavirus, as well as from digestive problems and a compromised immune system. Since being ripped from his family pod, Keiko has been transported from Iceland to Canada to Mexico, and finally to the United States. He has learned tricks, starred in the movie “Free Willy”, captivated a formidable number of children, suffered what some thought might be terminal health complications, and become the symbol for the plight of captive marine animals. On September 9, 1998, the most famous orca in the world went home.

KILLER WHALES

Next, for no apparent reason, the killer whales abruptly dive and leave the scene. The sperm whales, however, continue to hold their formation. Soon, four female killer whales come charging in, this time from about a quarter mile out. At one hundred yards, they lunge high out of the water, shoulder to shoulder, in the synchrony of practiced pack hunters. Circling rapidly around the rosette, they stay just beyond the reach of those dangerous tails. One cuts in and locks her jaws onto the side of a sperm whale. Flashes of white show below the surface as she spins around, tail pumping, trying to wrest a mouthful of flesh. As fresh blood again colors the surface, two more killer whales join the attack. After a brief flurry, the attackers again retreat and the sperm whales shore up their formation. The air is filled with the smell of flesh and oil, and they huddle in a gathering cloud of their own blood, which hints at the unseen damage below.

LEBANON

Lebanon is an Arab republic on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, and the only Middle Eastern country with a large Christian community. It is bounded on the north and east by Syria and on the south by Israel. Lebanon is a narrow strip of land dominated by the Lebanon Mountains, for which it is named. The country is about 130 miles long and 20 to 60 miles wide, and has an area of 4,015 square miles. Lebanon is divided into five provinces: Beirut and the immediate environs of the capital city; Mount Lebanon, North Lebanon, and South Lebanon, which lie along the Mediterranean and include the Lebanon Mountains; and the Biqa.

LEEDS CASTLE

The English call Leeds Castle "the loveliest castle in the world,” and for good reason. Built in 857, the castle has been home to such English royalty as Edward I, Henry V and Henry VIII. Inside, visitors can see centuries-old paintings, tapestries and furniture. Outside, the grounds are often shrouded in a morning mist, which, as the day goes on, lifts to reveal exquisite gardens, vineyards and even a golf course. An aviary, set in a walled garden and overlooking the lake, houses a variety of birds, including parrots, parakeets and softbills. But the most elegant activity at Leeds Castle is the black-tie dinner in the Henry VIII Banqueting Hall, served by a butler and footmen. It’s an experience fit for a king.

LEGENDS OF COMEDY DOCUMENTARY

The motion picture, a child of our 19th century scientific curiosity that grew up under our 20th century noses, this child first caught our eye with scenes of daily life like this Easter parade at the turn of the 20th century. But movie makers soon realized there were subjects that would attract a larger audience and increase the take. For only five cents you could visit a nickelodeon and see the true wonders of turn of the century America.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ACOUSTIC GUIDE

Welcome to the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. You have just come in through the west ground level entrance, under the granite archway. Start your visit here, at the Visitor's Center, where volunteers and automated information kiosks will help to answer your questions. On this level you'll also find the Sales Shop, a cloakroom, restrooms, and the theater where you can see a short film about the Library of Congress. Next, walk up the staircase on the south side of the Visitor's Center, or take one of the elevators, and go up one floor to the Great Hall. You are now in the center of the Great Hall. From here you will be able to appreciate the grandeur of the architecture. The ceiling, 75 feet above the marble floor, is decorated with stained glass skylights supported by elaborately paneled beams finished in aluminum leaf. In the center of the marble floor is a large brass inlay shaped like a sun, on which are inscribed the four cardinal points of the compass.

LIFE ON EARTH

Just as Einstein changed the way we understand time and space, and Freud changed the way we understand the workings of the human psyche, Charles Darwin changed forever the way we look at natural forms. The shapes of bodies, of finches’ beaks and fishes’ fins, were not fixed at some moment of creation; rather, forms evolved and were altered by circumstance. “Life On Earth” is a great collection of individual stories, natural histories that, while sounding Kiplingesque--how the snail got its shell, how the bacterium got its DNA--give us a deeper appreciation of the world and our place in it. This episode of Natural History shows how scientists continue to interpret the narratives embodied in natural forms.

MARTINIQUE

Close your eyes. Inhale the exotic aromas of rich dark coffee, fresh baked baguettes, and old-fashioned toasty Gauloises tobacco wafting across a small market square. You’re undoubtedly somewhere in the south, maybe close to the Riviera, where the summer heat verges on tropical, but the breezes are cool and rattle the awnings of the market stalls. Open your eyes. It’s a hilltop village on the Caribbean island of Martinique, and you’re enjoying one of those customary do-nothing, coffee and wine-sipping, people-watching interludes that the French seem to love so much.

THE MAYA

The Maya were great observers and interpreters of the planets. Their pantheon included figures like the Nine Lords of the Night. Their gods might be human or animal or a combination of the two. The Maya believed the world would end every 52 years, and their lives and ideas were shaped by this central perception of time, as an expression of pure force. There was no united Mayan kingdom ... only warlike city-states. Their languages were related, but mutually incomprehensible. During the Classic Era...a Golden Age of trade...the Maya were one of the most advanced civilizations.

MEDIEVAL CASTLES

Castles were the biggest part of life in the medieval period. Kings, Lords, and Knights lived in these structures. They were used for multipurpose. Family living, government and royalty lived within the castle walls. During the medieval period, they had vicious, bloody wars, During an invasion from neighboring villages the only first line of defense would be their castle.

MOROCCO

Morocco is the ideal starting point for the traveler to Africa. An easy hop from Europe, it can be a friendly, hectic and stimulating place to get around in. Open-air markets throughout the country are piled high with rugs, woodwork, and jewelry.

MOTORCYLING

Motorcycling has never been more popular. Today more than seven million Americans own a bike and our strong economy is driving up sales to record numbers. In fact new bike sales are up 66 per cent from 1992. And they're not cheap. Take this one...a Harley-Davidson Heritage Soft-tail Classic. It sells for about 18 thousand dollars. That without the leather jacket. Bikes and bikers are back in vogue and battling a tarnished image. For nearly fifty years American bikers meant gangs and the most powerful, most feared gang of all the Hell's Angels So-called outlaw gangs are still around. But who are today's bikers? And what is really behind our new fascination with the road rebel?

MOVIE-MADE AMERICA

Long before anyone thought movies could be art, a new generation of thinkers and artists had begun to explore the principles of motion pictures for analogies to their own innovations in philosophy, science, painting and literature. What interested these early-twentieth-century modernists was movement, and the relativity and multi-dimensionality of space and time. The invention of cameras and projectors to record and reproduce images of motion coincided with the development of modernism, and in some cases may have fostered it.

MYSTERY ON EVEREST

On June 6, 1924, George Leigh Mallory, at left, and Andrew Irvine set out with experimental oxygen bottles from Camp IV high on Mount Everest. Two days later they vanished in a bank of clouds. Were they the first to stand atop Everest? The discovery of Mallory’s body answers some questions, but the riddle endures.

NAPA VALLEY

The Napa Valley stands arrogantly in the center stage of California, just as France dominates the wine-lands of Europe. It was the Napa which forged the modern California wine industry, and which acted as the magnet drawing money, ambition and genius from other walks of life; and it set standards against which not only the rest of California but also the rest of the world have to measure up. The Napa was the obvious starting point for any fledgling winemaker, because its climate had long been considered ideal for grape-growing—free from frost dangers, with average rainfall, rich soil, and a very long, reliable ripening period of hot but not sweltering days. These conditions make for regular crops of perfect grapes, which allow the winemakers to exercise all their skills and passions on molding the grapes into their own personal style of wine.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC - EARTHQUAKES

Pulled and pushed by forces deep within the planet, the Pacific plate is sliding northwest past North America at an average of about 2 inches a year - roughly the same rate as fingernails grow. But movement along the fault usually occurs in bursts. Along most of the fault, the colder, more rigid rocks near the earth’s surface resist the plate motions. Eventually, enough strain develops along a segment of the fault to overcome the resistance. Then, in geologic terms, that stretch of the fault "breaks," "fails," or "ruptures" and segment of the crust riding the Pacific plat surges north, creating an earthquake. In the magnitude 7.7 San Francisco earthquake of 1906, which killed more than 3000 people, a 270-mile-long segment of the San Andreas from south of San Juan Bautista to Cape Mendocino surged northward as much as 21 feet in a few seconds. Half a century earlier in 1857, during a similar but little known 7.8 quake, much of coastal , southern California drifted north.

NATURE

#1: As January pounds the northern states with ice and snow, birds huddle under the protection of spruce boughs for the night, and rabbits sleep in grass-lined burrows under spreading yews. In the southeastern and southwestern states, January doesn’t have the same chilling power, and wildlife there can still forage through the year-round greenery.

NATURE

#2: Green spaces are easily taken for granted, yet their great expanses unobtrusively support human existence. Among many other things, they furnish essential raw materials, renew soils, and prevent erosion, shelter animals that pollinate crops and control agricultural pests, purify our air and water, and help regulate climate. Because many of these ecosystem services, as scientists call them, have no traditional market value, their long-term protection is often ignored in favor of short-term profits.

NEW LONDON LEDGE LIGHT

At first sight, New London Ledge Light makes the onlooker wonder whether he or she is seeing a lighthouse or a Victorian mansion adrift on the ocean. The square, three-story brick structure has granite trim and a mansard roof on the then fashionable Second Empire style. The Lighthouse Board ordered construction in 1909, because the New London Harbor Light was judged inadequate to the needs of the harbor by many captains. Since New London Harbor Light guarded the western side of the mouth of the Thames River, the new light was built roughly halfway between the eastern and western sides. In 1987 the Ledge Light was automated. Still in use today, it has been leased by the U.S. Coast Guard.

NEWTON’S APPLE

When Isaac Newton was inspired by a falling apple at his Linconshire home to ponder the concept of gravity in the 1660’s, he couldn’t have known how far from England that tree’s fruit would fall. Direct descendants of Newton’s original tree, which died in the early 1800’s currently flourish in locations as disparate as India and Gaithersburg, Maryland. York University in Toronto, Canada is the latest place where Newton’s apple has taken root. Retired in botany Professor Michael Boyer helped plant three trees outside York’s physics building. “We hope they will inspire students and give them a modern-day connection to Newton.” He says.

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand has to be seen to be believed. Its unusual cities are gateways to the dramatically beautiful countryside, with superb open spaces, emerald hills, and snow-tipped alpine mountains. It is also a land of wonderful waters, waterfalls, geysers, endless inland seas, and a coastline bordered by miles of broad, clean beaches. Since it’s a land with so many things to do and see, you’ll want to plan your vacation carefully, based on your tastes, time, and budget. This video offers you a menu of individual options to choose from ... everything you need for an unforgettable New Zealand holiday.

NILE

Standing proud and magnificent on the banks of the legendary Nile is the only remaining Wonder of the Ancient World; the Great Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza. Travel to the edge of the desert plateau with your guide Omar Sharif, for an ancient unprecedented look into the secret passageways and chambers of these colossal and mysterious monuments. Mysteries of the Pyramids will answer some of the darkest questions that have haunted man for century upon century.

NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND

What resident of Northern New England has felt anything but longing while driving the byways of the region and gazing upon the connected farmhouses that punctuate it? The connected farmhouse, in its classic and practical beauty, testifies to the courage, fortitude, and imagination of our forebears in their unavailing struggle to turn the area into an agrarian paradise.

PLAINS, TRAINS, AND A VINTAGE CAB

It wasn't exactly as elegant as "Around the World in 80 Days." There were no hot-air balloons to fly, no elephants to ride. None of us looked half as good as David Niven or Shirley MacLaine. Instead, you might think of it as the reality-based version of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," in which three newspaper reporters set out yesterday…

PLYMOUTH, MA

At the beginning of the century, Leyden Street and the Town Square were still the center of town activities. The Town Square had the old elms planted in 1784, the First Parish Church with its bell cast by Paul Revere (1801), and the Town House. Leyden Street was near the Town Brook and had been the first street built in Plymouth. By 1800, the early settlers homes were replaced with larger buildings all the way from the Town Square to the waterfront. In 1900, Plymouth’s population was about 8,000, and there were nearly 1,500 houses. Its citizens were ethnically and culturally diverse; in fact, a little over 30% of the population was foreign born.

QUIET VICTORIES

When the Gallaudet University women’s basketball team plays, it’s always the other side who’s got the handicap. This was clear even before Wayne Coffey, sportswriter and self-avowed basketball fanatic, had the idea that following the Lady Bison around for the 1999-2000 season would make a great story. A year earlier, this Division III school had qualified for the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in Gallaudet’s history –finishing the season 24–6, and only two games out of the Final Four. These results would be a coup for any university sports program, but in this case, the showing goes way beyond mere triumph –for the Bison attend the world’s only university for the hearing impaired. Every member of the women’s basketball team is deaf. The result of Coffey’s observations, documented in his book, Winning Sounds Like This, makes clear from the start that deafness, like brown eyes or long limbs, is just one of the many attributes that define this group of remarkable young women.

QUIZ SHOW

It was late 1956, and millions of Americans sat transfixed before their televisions, watching two men locked in soundproof booths pull facts, names, and dates out of their memories to answer questions worth thousands of dollars. One competitor was Charles Van Doren, a handsome 32- year-old English instructor at Columbia University. The other was unglamorous, working-class Herbert Stempel, a 29-year-old “human computer” from New York City. The wildly popular show on which they staged their battle of wits was “Twenty-One”.

RED COLOBUS

A vivid red on the coat and an arc of white hairs radiating from the face mark the Zanzibar red colobus. Extremely long feet allow this monkey to leap prodigiously in the treetops; however, as forests disappear, and in the absence of a major predator, this tree-dwelling species also spends time on the ground. Females have just one infant every three to five years. Because of this low reproductive rate, a restricted range, a steadily shrinking habitat, and mortality from roadkills, the red colobus on Zanzibar Island is one of Africa’s most threatened species.

ROCHESTER, NY

Rochester, a city of images, has activities and attractions that are sure to fit your image of a good time, whatever that image may be. Whether it’s a day in the park or on the water, shopping or museum-hopping, taking in a sporting event or a live performance, Rochester has the images of fun you’ve been looking for! Just imagine a city of spectacular scenery, cultural delights, and entertainment galore ... that’s Rochester. And many of the images our city takes pride in sharing with you have their roots in the distant past, when pioneers had their own visions of a prosperous, new settlement on the Genesee River.

ROME

Rome in the year 2000 is expecting 13 million visitors in the great Jubilee of the Incarnation of Christ, to take place at St. Peter’s and other basilicas. The Mayor of Rome has promised that restoration of many monuments will be finished in time for the celebration…

ROSES

Roses prefer a sheltered, sunny spot and well drained soil; but otherwise, these paragons are surprisingly easy going and will succeed in most gardens or backyards. In fact shrub roses will flourish on quite light, even poor soils. It is important to give your roses a really good start. This means some digging. So whether you are planning to plant a single rose or a large bed, it is advisable to double dig so the subsoil is well broken up, especially if drainage is less than perfect.

ROYAL JELLY

Royal Jelly is one of the most amazing food substances found in nature. It's not honey or pollen. It is actually the food of the Queen Bee, and her longevity can be traced to her exclusive Royal Jelly diet. She lives almost six years, while worker bees, which eat only honey and pollen, live about six weeks! Astoundingly, If you take a Queen Bee off her diet of Royal Jelly. She lives only six weeks just like a worker bee! And this rare and remarkable substance cannot be duplicated in a lab; it can only be harvested in nature.

SAILING AROUND THE WORLD

For the serious sailor, crossing the ocean is the ultimate challenge. The most intrepid even attempt to sail around the world alone. One was Lisa Clayton. She did it in 1995. But others have survived the ocean under more extreme circumstances. And sometimes it wasn't by choice. In November 1942, a British merchant ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat. The crew...

THE SAVAGE SEAS

It may be hard to believe, but our climate today is mild. Since the last Ice Age just 10,000 years ago, the sea and the sky have conspired to keep that ice at bay. The oceans bring us our weather. But more than that, they are part of a vast and mysterious system that keeps our whole climate in balance- a balance that keeps life on earth possible, and can just as easily take it away. The waterspout is a vivid demonstration of sea and sky in partnership; a small example of the volatile system that creates weather on earth. It seems as if the sea is being sucked into space. In fact, the funnel is just a swirling cloud. Only the bottom 20 feet is seawater. Inside there is nothing but air.

SEA CREATURES

Up to two feet across from tip to tip, sea stars pry open mussels and clams with their muscular “arms,” although they are not above scavenging a meal as well. Brittle stars, their more slender cousins, capture live fish, squid, and crabs with highly mobile, graceful arms. Omnivorous sea urchins scrape the surface of kelps and algae-encrusted rocks with an elaborate jaw apparatus, named Aristotle’s lantern for its first describer. Sand dollars, which are basically flattened sea urchins, burrow through sediment in search of microorganisms that dwell on sand grains. Other echinoderms filter small creatures from seawater: the swaying arms of sea feathers, deep-water sea lilies, and some brittle stars reach out to capture tiny plants and animals floating by.

SEATTLE, WA

#1: Seattle, like many large cities, is really a collection of neighborhoods -- small towns if you will -- that combine to give the appearance of one large urban center. But take the time to look a little closer and you’ll discover each section of the city is distinct in character, with its own attractions and reasons to visit. If you seek Seattle’s Scandinavian heritage, head for Ballard. If you want a little Asian flavor, the International District should be your destination. Spectacular views? Try Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, West Seattle, or Magnolia. Whatever you seek in leisure, recreation, entertainment, or dining, you’ll be sure to find it in one of Seattle’s neighborhoods.

SEATTLE, WA

#2: Welcome to the most exciting city in the Pacific Northwest. We know you’ll enjoy visiting Seattle as much as we do living here. During your stay, we encourage you to take the time to savor the things that have made Seattle the number-one vacation destination in the country. Visit leading attractions such as the Seattle Center, Pike Place Market, Woodland Park Zoo, and the Aquarium. Experience our lovely parks and waterways. Attend a play, symphony, or major league sports event. And dine on our world-famous seafood and regional cuisine. Once you come to know us, we hope you’ll want to return again soon, and often.

SNAKES

#1: Snakes belong to a group of animals called reptiles. Every snake has a long legless body covered with scales, and the tongue that constantly flickers in and out of it’s mouth. By contracting and expanding their muscular bodies snakes can move very quickly in S-shape waves along the ground or in the water.

SNAKES

#2: King cobras hunt at dusk for birds, rats, lizards, and other snakes. They kill their prey by biting and injecting their deadly venom through two fangs in the front of their mouths. The venom goes straight into the blood stream of the victim and either paralyzes or kills it.

SOUTHERN AFRICA

During the dry season in southern Africa, any pool is bound to be a center of life as thirsty and dusty beasts gather to drink, bathe, or wallow. But a water hole can also be an arena in which any lapse of attention may leave one creature open to attack from another that has come not only to drink but also to feed.

SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER

January 28th, 1986. America was shocked by a bolt out of the blue...a devastation that shattered the U.S. Space program. On January 28th, 1986, as school children looked skyward, the space shuttle challenger flight, with it's crew of seven ended in disaster.

SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka can be divided into four regions: the central highlands, the southwest, the east, and the northern lowlands. The central highlands, with an average elevation of more than 5,000 feet, dominate the island’s relief. The terrain consists of high mountains and plateaus, narrow gorges, and deep river valleys. Near their center is the highest point on the island, Pidurutala Peak, which is 8,281 feet. The southwestern region is also mountainous and contains a continuation of the Rakwana mountain range of the central highlands. The eastern region is an undulating plain dotted with isolated hills.

STAINED GLASS

There was a good dollop of whimsy in the nineteenth-century creative mind, and when it came to designing floral and scenic decorative glass, it was easy to extend the quest for realism into the realm of animal forms. Birds are perhaps the most popular animals depicted, which is interesting, given the difficulty of effectively rendering their sharp beaks and long, thin legs.

STAR GAZING

Known variously as the Seven Sisters, the Seven Virgins, and the Daughters of Atlas, the Pleiades (plee-uh-dees) have been held in high esteem through the ages. Temples in ancient Greece were built to face them, as was a passage leading from the Great Pyramid at Giza. In Japan, the Feast of Lanterns is a remnant of ancient rites honoring these stars. (The Japanese word for the cluster is, by the way, subaru, which is why the stars figure in the car company’s logo.) The entire star swarm is enveloped in a faint, diffuse cloud--apparently dust and perhaps larger particles that reflect starlight. In Locksley Hall, Tennyson wrote that the Pleiades glitter like “fireflies tangled in a silver braid.”

TAMPA, FL

At first glance, visitors in Tampa will see an abundance of excitement. Take your time, though, and appreciate its combination of Old World charm and contemporary settings. Fine dining, extravagant shopping excursions, legendary nightlife and world-class attractions lead the list of things to do while vacationing here. Tour guides, concierges and local Tampa “experts” share their insider information on how to make your stay a memorable one. Only five minutes west of the train station, visitors can exercise their legs and their credit cards among the beautiful waterfront shops of Harbour Island. Surrounded by the channels connecting the Hillsborough River and Hillsborough Bay, Harbour Island is a luxurious residential community...

THAILAND

Set within a lush, tropical landscape, Thailand is a theater of cultural and sensual contrasts for the visitor. The long, rich heritage and abundant natural resources of this proud Buddhist nation jostle for space within the dynamism of a country undergoing economic boom and bust. In turns zestful and tranquil, resplendent and subtle, Thailand is always compelling.

TIBET

Welcome to the Rice Museum’s special exhibit: Tibet, the Sacred Realm. The photographs you are about to see contain more than 180 images, most of which have never before been shown in public. No country in the world remains more mysterious, distant, and inaccessible than Tibet. Bordered by the massive Himalayas to the south and west, and by endless barren wastes to the north, for centuries the country’s natural isolation allowed its people to develop culture free from outside interference.

TROLLEY’S

By 1929, patronage on the nation’s street railways was showing an alarming decline. True, part of this was due to both the automobile and the Depression, but a formidable factor was the trolley itself, by then considered old-fashioned. It was unattractive, it was noisy, it was slow. Many efforts were made to produce an ideal street car by builders and transit companies. Some of these productions were quite unconventional and closely resembled busses of the time. None had any lasting success. Finally, in mutual desperation, traction company executives joined together to call a conference. Its purpose; to develop a radically new streetcar without the objectionable features of the cars then in use. A million dollars was earmarked for the project, which was directed by Professor C. F. Hirschfield of the Detroit Edison Company. It was believed that a non-streetcar man would have fewer preconceived ideas on a subject demanding an entirely fresh outlook. The President’s Conference Committee went to work, testing everything imaginable to find a "better way to do it." Acceleration, brakes, lighting, heating, seating, ventilation, noise, springing - everything about a trolley was probed and thoroughly studied.

TURKEY

#1: During the breeding season, male wild turkeys gobble, strut, and preen their iridescent feathers, all to attract the attention of eligible mates. But apparently the single most attractive feature to females is not a male’s power suit or macho strut, but his snood--a fleshy appendage above his beak that can stretch to twice its ordinary length during courtship. And not only do females prefer long snoods, but according to Northeast Louisiana University behavioral ecologist Richard Buchholz, males assess the snood lengths of other males before engaging in battle.

TURKEY

#2: We're off to Turkey, where Europe meets Asia in a whirl of color, an unforgettable mix of old and new! This fabled gateway to the orient beguiles the traveler with an exotic blend of sites and sounds and smells and tastes. 3,000 years of history comes to life in Istanbul. The city was once the capital of the world's hottest cultures. We'll visit architectural wonders, including magnificent mosques, ornate palaces and the sultan's legendary harem. We'll also visit Istanbul's famous bazaar to look for a deal on carpets.

UCLA

Part of selecting a university is knowing what the campus looks like: its classrooms, its lecture halls, its recreational facilities, its student housing. Of course, we think the UCLA campus is both beautiful and brawny. We've got the picturesque buildings and grounds, but we also have state-of-the-art computing facilities, Web portals personalized to your specifications, student stores stocked with everything from toothpaste to computers, award-winning faculty, over 500 student clubs and organizations...the stuff you need to stay connected and make your time at UCLA count. Come see for yourself; there are lots of ways to visit us.

VENTILATION STANDARDS

In 1946, ventilation standards for U.S. buildings were reduced by two-thirds -- from an exchange rate of 30 cubic feet of air per minute per person, to a rate of 10 cubic feet of air. The old ventilation standard -- enforced by law in 22 states -- was swept aside by a new architectural concept: the mechanically ventilated building. Wartime advances in heating and air-conditioning had convinced designers that sealed, climate controlled buildings were not only possible -- but desirable. Still, you could open a window if you needed to. With the first world energy crisis in 1973-and-4, however, the drive for “hermetically sealed” buildings began in earnest.

VODOO

In Haiti, where survival has often depended on family and community support systems, Vodoo is family oriented, community based, and ultimately charitable. The basic rituals of Voodoo are ceremonies during which the many spirits are fed offerings; afterward the food is shared with the hungry. Still, Voodoo does have a sinister side: black magic, rites designed to bring good to oneself and harm to one’s enemies. Traditional Voodoo priests reject black magic, believing it entails making a pact with the devil or with evil spirits, which in time will drag down and destroy the practitioner.

WILDFLOWERS

The “wildflower meadow in a can” idea suddenly zoomed into prominence almost as soon as the idea of including wildflowers in managed landscapes came into being. Sealing seeds in a can is a good idea, provided the cans are stored at cool temperatures. At the very least, seeds can be protected from undesirable humidity. But the weakness of the approach is in the fact that too many irresponsible retailers jumped onto the bandwagon and encouraged the idea that all the purchaser had to do was go home and scatter the seed just anywhere.

WORLD WAR November 12, 1941--Russian Winter Takes Toll on German Soldiers

On this day, the temperature on the Moscow front plummeted to twelve degrees centigrade below zero. For the first time, Soviet ski troops were launched into action. For many German soldiers, frostbite emerged as an unexpected, crippling foe. SS General Eicke reported back to headquarters that conditions were so bad, soldiers in his Death's Head Division were actually wounding themselves to escape further military service.

Particularly frustrated among his ranks were ethnic Germans—soldiers of German culture and language who came from outside Germany. But native Germans themselves were beginning to feel the bleakness of the Russian campaign. Since entering the Soviet Union four months earlier, the Death's Head division had suffered almost 9,000 casualties, more than half its initial strength. Meanwhile, back in Berlin, Hitler discussed his plans for Russia…

WORLD WAR II

Someone else knew about “Operation Orient” in Washington, Ambassador Oshmima’s message home were being decoded and read. In Toyko, Prime Minister Tojo and the Japanese government were cautious about accepting Operation Orient. The army was still smarting from its defeat in Manchuria. The imperial navy favored seizing the oil rich European colonies in Asia but believed America would intervene. They decided the first priority was to cripple the American Navy’s ability to stop them.

WORLD WAR II - DOCUMENTARY

The Nazi attack petered out by January. When it finally ended, the front lines were almost the same as they had been in December. But the Battle of the Bulge cost Hitler nearly a quarter of a million men, a big chunk of his armor, and all hope of defending Germany against the coming attacks from both east and west. The American airborne’s last hurrah in Europe came on March 24, 1945. That day, paratroops and glider infantry of the 17th Airborne landed near Wessel, Germany. It was the biggest Allied airborne operation of the war. With nearly 1700 transports and tow planes, and over 1500 gliders, it took almost 3 hours to land all the men.

YALE UNVERSITY

Yale University was founded in 1701 as the Collegiate School, in Killingworth, Connecticut. In 1716, the school moved to New Haven and, with the generous gift by Elihu Yale of nine bales of goods, 417 books, and a portrait and arms of King George I, was renamed Yale College in 1718.

YELLOW RIVER

The Yellow River is China's most important river in the North. The soil along much of the river is yellow in color, and that's what gives the river its name. As we cruise down the Yellow River. . . look closely at the mulberry leaves that grow along the banks. You may find them covered with silkworms. Their cocoons are spun into shiny threads,
which will be woven into beautiful cloth called silk.

See that tough, woody looking grass? That's bamboo. Bamboo forests have been cut down in the past to make room for houses, but now China is working to protect the bamboo, which is essential to the diet of panda bears.

THE CRESTED SCREAMER

Suddenly the most aggressive of the marshland birds appeared...a Crested Screamer. The Crested Screamer is remarkable for his strident cry and his skin which had thousands of tiny air sacs beneath the surface that increase its ability to float. Although his feet are not webbed, he struts effortlessly through the fields of water hyacinths like a curt quarrelsome prince.

THE ZAMBEZI RIVER

The Zambezi river is 1,700 miles long from its source to its mouth on the shores of the Indian Ocean. It was formed during the volcanic upheavals of the Jurassic period about 150 million years ago, when an old river was split into two. The Zambezi is the fourth-largest river in Africa. It rises in northern Zambia, and flows southwest into Angola before turning back into Zambia and heading south.