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Educational Books, Articles, Films and Miscellaneous Information

Climate Change & Conservation
  • Climate Change & Conservation
    		•  Actions that we have taken ( to stimulate ideas for what Anyone Can Do! ) to reduce our energy (over)consumption in the areas of:

  • Solar electricity, solar water and house heating
  • Rainwater harvesting, water purification and potable water
  • Hosting beehives to strengthen honeybee populations and combat Colony Collapse Disorder ( CCD ); and, maintain and improve the bees' cross-pollination of our fruits, vegetables and grains;
  • Landscaping with wood chips, shrubs and trees; reduced runoff and improved drainage
  • Hosting Honeybees
    		• Subset of topic "Climate Change and Conservation": Strategies and potential actions to help combat the sharp decline in honey-(bumble, and other) bee populations from Colony Collapse Disorder ( CCD ) worldwide.
  • Noteworthy & Educational Films on DVD
    		•  3,500+ films in all categories that we have seen, and believe worth seeing at least once or more ( Note: We have not censored any for subject matter ( no porn!), language, etc. View at your own discretion! Also, 2000+ volumes of fiction and nonfiction books across a spectrum of fields ( Anthropology, archaeology, other science, economy & society, natural history & travel, etc. )
    • Flow
    • Tapped
    • Soil depletion, e.g. Dirt!The Movie
    • Trashed, about the growing mountains of toxic and other waste, esp. plastic; its accumulation
      in the world's organisms, and the need for safe disposal
    • Bees, essential cross-pollinators of fruits, vegetables, etc. & colony collapse disorder ( CCD ),
      including, from intro to advanced:
      • Vanishing of the Bees [ comprehensive & professional ]
      • More than Honey [ Swiss, with subtitles or voiceover, re bee conditions in U.S., Switzerland,

        Australia and China ]

      • Tales from the Hive: NOVA [ Solid introduction and overview ]
      • Nature: Silence of the Bees [ Reports on scientists' research on CCD ]
      • Queen of the Sun [ Emphasizes spiritual links of humans with bees ]
    • Social Issues, Education and Philanthropy
      • A Small Act - The Hilde Back Education Foundation's efforts to increase access
        to middle/high school education for children in poverty-stricken rural Kenya
      • Escape Fire describes the fight to rescue American health care
    Culture & Japanese Language
  • Japanese Language
    		•
  • Online Dictionary & Learning Tools: Japanese<=>English dictionary of 1,200 commonly used words, categorized by part of speech ( verbs, both transitive and intransitive; adjectives, adverbs, particles, etc.). Conjugation of every verb and ~i adjective, etc., other learning tools used in our Japanese language & culture programs
  • English-Japanese Aikido Lexicon
  • Notable Films on DVD about Music:
    		•  About, including performances of, music and musicians:

  • Claudio Abbado: Hearing the Silence: Abbado and others on music and conducting
  • House of Magical Sounds: Animated musical interpretation of Claudio Abbado's book on his musical background
  • Jazz on a Summer's Day: Vibrant snapshot of West Coast jazz at the Monterey Jazz Festival
  • Note by Note: The Making of the Steinway: The step-by-step construction of a piano by hand, from tree to the finished product
  • Tocar y Luchar: Venezuelan national project to foster children & youth orchestras and choirs in every town and city in Venezuela
  • The Promise of Music: Gustavo Dudamel: Venezuelan national project establishing the 200-strong Simon Bolivar National Youth Orchestra, assembled from the nation's town and city orchestras. Documentary showing rehearsals and performer portraits preparing for a Beethoven Festival performance in Bonn, Germany.
  • Touch the Sound: Evelyn Glennie, a completely deaf but highly innovative percussionist
  • Japanese swords and swordsmanship
    		•
  • Japanese Swords & Swordsmanship: Sources of information about Japanese swords and swordsmanship
  • Art of the Japanese Sword: DVD explaining the forging of a Japanese sword by traditional swordsmiths' methods. English narration with subtitled interviews in Japanese.
    • Education
  • College Track, EPA
    		•  After-school college-preparatory program for high school students in underserved communities
  • Society of Young Inklings
    		•  Teach child (mainly elementary school-age) aspiring authors to develop and improve their writing skills and creative thinking through game-based principles and applications
  • Khan Lab School
    		•  Hands-on research school, part of Khan Academy. Experimental school, formed as a practical research laboratory to design, develop and test new types of learning theories, approaches and practices potentially applicable to education worldwide.
  • African Drumming, Dance and Visual Arts
    		•  Akoma Arts, a multi-ethnic group of musicians building community through African American music.
  • Aflorecer, Art School and Retreat Center, Chuitzanchaj, Guatemala
    		•  Art school and retreat center overlooking Lake Atitlan, providing space for relaxation, healing, cultural exchange, opening August, 2016.
  • Art for Children
    		•
  • Smore Studio
  • All That Art: Art projects for children's self-expression and learning about life and the world around us.
    • Miscellany
  • S.F. Peninsula Restaurants
    		•  Our favorite Bay Area eateries, from family drop-in to "dining experiences"

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