Jimmy2K63
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/26/09
Posts: 1184
Loc: Kentucky
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Has anyone seen this PBS film by Timothy Ferris? I didn't get a chance to see it but it would be nice if PBS would run it again.
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http://astronomyguy63.blogspot.com/
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rookie
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 01/14/06
Posts: 873
Loc: St. Petersburg, FL
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I saw the film when it was first broadcast. IIRC, it was a wide rage of information from history to current knowedge. It was a good way of introducing astronomy to the public, and would have encouraged anyone with curiosity to take binoculars outside.
I'd watch it again if it was broadcast. You can probably buy a copy from PBS or Amazon.
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SV
Scope: Celestron CPC8
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rmollise
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 4557
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Quote:
Has anyone seen this PBS film by Timothy Ferris? I didn't get a chance to see it but it would be nice if PBS would run it again.
Yep. Nice enough film based on a good book. I liked both, but maybe the film didn't quite do justice to the very good book. Which ain't exactly a rare thing to happen. I recommend both highly.
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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Carl Kolchak
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/02/06
Posts: 546
Loc: Northeast, Florida
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Jimmy2K63 said:
Quote:
Has anyone seen this PBS film by Timothy Ferris? I didn't get a chance to see it but it would be nice if PBS would run it again.
Hi Jimmy2K63,
I watched it the first time it was released on our local PBS here and enjoyed it. You can find a lengthy discussion here in our CN archives.
peace & clear skies,
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Richard H.
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o1d_dude
o1der than dirt
Reged: 10/03/07
Posts: 2115
Loc: The TV/SV Wolfpack
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Buy the DVD from Amazon for about $20.
Keep meaning to do that. Really!
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Kit
'Don’t worry about what telescope you own, or its quality. Just get out under the night sky, and enjoy God’s wondrous universe.' - Thomas M Back
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7331Peg
professor emeritus
Reged: 09/01/08
Posts: 718
Loc: North coast of Oregon
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The book is superb. I've read it three times. May go back and read it again. The PBS film was aimed at the general public, and for that it works well. I found it frustrating to watch, however, because it never really got into any of the topics in depth. Which, unfortunately, is not unusual for television. Which is why I don't waste time watching it.
John
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Matthew Ota
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/30/05
Posts: 1095
Loc: New England
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I bought the DVD. The television show was meant to show as many aspects of amateur astronomy as possible within the allotted time frame. It is an introduction to amateur astronomy to non-astronomers.
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Matthew Ota
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7331Peg
professor emeritus
Reged: 09/01/08
Posts: 718
Loc: North coast of Oregon
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I haven't seen the DVD. Does it develop topics in more detail than the PBS version?
John
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rmollise
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 4557
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Quote:
I haven't seen the DVD. Does it develop topics in more detail than the PBS version?
John
The DVD is exactly what was broadcast by PBS.
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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Stefan K
member
Reged: 06/02/09
Posts: 29
Loc: Nove Zamky, Slovakia
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I downloaded this film from torrent and I liked it. But I think the book is much much better. Film did not cover all subjects included in book. Although I can recommend both.
Stefan
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7331Peg
professor emeritus
Reged: 09/01/08
Posts: 718
Loc: North coast of Oregon
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Thanks, Rod! I'll pass on the DVD and buy your book instead! 
John
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rmollise
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 4557
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Quote:
Thanks, Rod! I'll pass on the DVD and buy your book instead!
John
Can't beat that. 
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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Matthew Ota
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/30/05
Posts: 1095
Loc: New England
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Rod Molise should write an astronomy opus, too!
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Matthew Ota
Meade LX250GPS 10 inch SCT (Frankenscope)
Orion ED 80
ETX-90 OTA
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Liz_9000
member
Reged: 07/07/09
Posts: 19
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Yesterday when I was looking through a September 2007 issue of Sky and Telescope magazine, I stumbled upon an article on Seeing in the Dark called "Our Sky Romance" and I wanted to check it out. I downloaded it today as a torrent and have watched a good 20 mins of it. From what I've seen so far, it's very down to earth and really encouraging for those who might be interested in learning more about astronomy. Just found out it's also a book from reading this forum. 
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Within each of us there is
a silence as vast as the universe.
We long for it.
We can return to it.
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George N
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/19/06
Posts: 672
Loc: Binghamton & Indian Lake NY
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I’d recommend getting both the book and the DVD. Certainly a single TV program could never cover all of the material of a large book, unless it was a 10 to 15 hour mini-series, and a mini-series on amateur astronomy would draw about as big an audience as one on ice fishing.
The book is certainly great, but the DVD provides superb visuals with things like deep zooms into Rob Gendler’s wonderful images. It is especially nice to see on a large HDTV. It’s nice to see the interviews with people where video provides a dimension that no book will if you want to see what these folks are really like. I’ve read a lot of Tim Ferris’s books, but I would have never guessed what he was really like in person. I was standing right behind the cameraman when they did the filming at Stellafane and it came across on the DVD with a real feeling of what it is like to attend this event, which in certain ways is different than other star parties, with its major emphasis on ATM’ing.
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George N
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Matthew Ota
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/30/05
Posts: 1095
Loc: New England
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BTW Timothy Ferris is on Facebook.
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Matthew Ota
Meade LX250GPS 10 inch SCT (Frankenscope)
Orion ED 80
ETX-90 OTA
Coronado Helios 1 H-alpha
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