Friday's Links to the Past - 18 Nov 11

BBC's Weekly Podcast - This week, learn about WWII Veteran's experiences during the forced three month march and listen to how sugar caused a fierce debate in Victorian Britian.

For those art lovers, check out the video below courtesy of the US National Gallery in DC entitled The Lions of Peter Paul Rubens [Don't know who Rubens is? Check out a (semi) brief bio]
"This film captures the power of faith in the face of danger, illustrated in the famous Old Testament story of Daniel in the lions' den and in Peter Paul Rubens' full-scale painting at the National Gallery. Daniel's travail in a closed cave unfolds here through a series of comparative frames: Rubens' preparatory drawings, painted lions with human bones at their feet, and footage of actual lions, similar to those Rubens saw at the royal menagerie in Brussels."

See what the American Historical Association is reading this week:

This week we bring you news of Nixon’s grand jury testimony being released, criticism of Bill O’Reilly’s book on Lincoln, an effort to honor teachers through the National Day of Listening, and the 2011 National History Teacher of the Year. Then, read about the challenges history museums are facing and see the future through the lens of the past.

Venice is such an interesting spot for the history of religion, especially all the monotheistic religions. Read this article from History Today, the seventeenth-century Jews regarded Venice as 'the land of promise', where for a few generations they flourished almost free from constraint and prejudice.







The Smithsonian has opened a new exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History "Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt"

To read more about yesterday's opening.

Enjoy.
-VB

[Images are not mine]