73. DEGENERATE ART: THE ART AND CULTURE OF GLASS PIPES

glassblower snodgrass followed the dead.  he blew pipes. they were known as  snodgrass pieces.  through a fluke mistake, he developed color changing glass, and his eugene oregon business and training center grew.  the new generation in corvallis, oregon further developed the art, growing it to the point that  the glass tube industry saw fit to expand production of color tubes from about 10 to a couple hundred.  one featured bong maker earned $350 million a year, and when a container company designed an appropriate box to enable the product to be shipped and stored, he made $4 million!  internet sales  caused another boom, but ultimately led to arrests of 11 dot.coms in a sting called operation pipe dreams.  the industry cooled immediately, until coming back, once again, as underground art.  the designs are elaborate, truly art.  but, as one veteran glass blower asks, WHY does it always have to be a pipe?  another answers that without the bowl, it IS just art; it's like you need the underground tone of it being drug related to get it's proper reverence.  the entire film shows a lot of the production, but without details of exactly what's going on.  it also makes clear the industry is pipes, but doesn't ever directly say what the pipe is designed to do, i.e. smoke crack.  i have mixed feelings about the film.  it certainly shows the beautiful side of the production of these creations.  i can't help but think about the devastation on the other end.

72. SO MUCH. SO FAST

hoping to prolong time.  time means the most when you live each day like it's your last.steven is diagnosed with ALS and his family each makes every effort in their power to make life good. he has a supportive wife; a new baby.  he has a brother who starts a research foundation to find a cure for the orphan condition.  mom helps feed him; dad works extra to make money for technology.  steven is an attractive, smart, funny, kind man, struck in his prime with a death sentence diagnosis.  yet, he doesn't lament his fate; he embraces it, living each day to it's fullest, making those around him comfortable with his declining body.  meanwhile, the lab eschews normal research procedure to hopefully find something quickly which can change the course of steven's, and other's, als condition.  that work affects brother jaime's life pretty significantly.  especially right now, where everyone that everyone knows is taking the ice bucket challenge for als, this film is fitting and current. 

67. PARTICLE FEVER

the world wide web was developed to support communication about it.  the 20 year project to build the Large Hadron Collider, the biggest and most expensive project in the history of the planet, was necessary to support it. 10,000 scientists from 100 countries came together for the one goal of recreating conditions as they existed just before the big bang.  even though the film did a fine enough job of attempting to bring this big science down to the level of normal human beings, i still don't get it.  i don't quite get why we want to know.  but the film shows that scientists WANT TO KNOW.  the excitement with which they discuss theoretical and experimental physics is contagious.  the machine, located at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, sped particles in two different circular directions and when they reached a fast enough level, it collided them.  watching the faces of the scientists who have made this their life work, seeing the anxious anticipation as they awaited the collision, hearing the eruption of JOY when it happened and then following up with what it all means was riveting, even without totally understanding the meaning.  it was this project that identified the long elusive Higgs Bosen sub atomic particle, the GOD particle, for which Peter Higgs ultimately won a Nobel Prize.  The accelerator is shut down now for 2 years, but when it reopens, it will accelerate even faster and provide infinitely more data, which the scientists will use to further determine the origins of our universe and maybe the future of it as well.  as one scientist put it: this film shows what it must have been like when thomas edison lit that light bulb for the very first time.
it was the most fascinating film i've seen for really not understanding much at all about the topic.

71. KINGS OF PASTRY

do you want to be a MOF?  well, these 16 sure do.  Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, the highest honor for patisserie, or pastry.  of over 70 who compete in the semi-finals, only 16 make it to the finals, held every 4 years in lyon, france.  we watch a couple, as they train--pulling sugar, molding chocolate and developing divine pastries in preparation for the 16 individuals tasks the finals require.  under intense pressure and strict time restraints, the chefs must create elaborate and equally delicate creations from the most unforgiving of materials.  sticky sugar and thick chocolate are only a couple of the things that can go wrong.  most formidable is a very long walk each competitor must make with the show pieces, during which other MOFs run interference and all of whom are devastated when something bad happens to a piece.  as with all competition anywhere, it's all about what you bring to gameday.  years of building skills for the competition can be dashed in a second of wrong move.  the competitors are likeable and we meet a couple of them, their family, their friends and their MOF coaches.  we want them to win, and earn the right to wear the red, white and blue striped collar on their pastry jacket.  the final results feel as thrilling as the last minutes of any other competition.  i never knew this award existed, but why shouldn't it?  the creations are amazing and delightful and, i must say, the pastries look so delicious and apparently tast that way too.  the film focuses most on the large creations, but that still leaves at least a dozen other simple pastries to be judged on taste, appearance and creativity.  every move is judged from start to finish.  the pressure is intense.  as with any similar situation, some succeed and many fail.

70. MORTIFIED NATION

would you read your growing up diary, out loud, in front of an audience? remember all that angst about everything when you were growing up--parents, the opposite sex, bullies, teachers, hopes, dreams, sadness, anger?  most of us, if only briefly, wrote about it.  we could, and did, say about everything we wanted in that diary.  it was all so powerful at the time, huge in our life..........but, sharing it as an adult, in front of an audience, laughing, is healthy and liberating to hundreds across the country who "perform" at mortified performances. by "sharing the shame", mortified nation shows how most of us use the action of writing in a journal to explore what we want and who we hope to be.  there's not so much to learn here, but i'm trying to remember if i have ANYTHING that i can go back to and read.  fortunately, by looking back, most of us realize that what's seems enormously huge in our lives often turns out to be anything but.

69. EASTER ISLAND: MYSTERIES OF A LOST WORLD

Rapa Nui.  Easter Island.  since the first outsiders laid eyes on the maoi statues, the place has been revered as one of the most intriguing on earth.  how were they carved and moved?  why were they made in the first place?  and, what happened to the peoples and culture of the island?  dr. jago cooper, the narrator, proposed many theories, many of which surround eco-suicide; the idea that the residents deforested the land while creating the heads, then resorted to cannibalism when they were starving.  but, in fact, while the theories are still diverse, archeological evidence supports that these people understood their volcanic land, they used the rocks not only to create large heads, but to manage erosion, channel water, create small agricultural ecosystems, and live full and prosperous lives.  there is no doubt the population dwindled, and by late 1800's numbered only 111, with only 38 offspring.  all the native rapa nui are related to those 38. it seems most likely that early explorers brought disease to the people, who had never seen outsiders ever before, much less been exposed to germs and viruses from outside their world.   the island is in an environmental revival, but currently gets every bit of it's sustenance by plane.  the local population is at odds with the chile government, who have legal authority over the island.  there are very few concrete answers to the questions raised in the film.  however, the photography in the film is impressive and since the story is mostly told through narration by dr. cooper, there is plenty of footage shown of the island geography and cultural heads.
one thing i was most fascinated by is that the heads face the island, and were once nearly all downed.  some thought  by violence, but this film suggests they were laid down purposefully....a sign that the islanders were disenchanted with the lack of protection provided by the gods, in the wake of disease and death?  recent efforts have righted a large number of the heads, which stand as impressive silhouettes to the face of easter island--rapa nui.  so, easter island remains a mystery for the most part.......certainly one that i would love to have the chance to explore!

68. SPARK: A BURNING MAN STORY

omg!  FABULOUS.  i think i'd love to experience burning man.  ever since i first learned about this strange and beautiful celebration in the desert of northern nevada.  burning man celebrated it's 20th anniversary in 2012, founded by 6 people who are still affiliated with the organization.  from the first celebration on a beach in the bay area, burning man has grown to a city of 60,000 people now.  black rock city exists only for 1 week a year, although there are months of preparatory work for the hugest art installation in the world.  everything must be brought in, and everything must be taken out.  the event has grown so significantly that in the year of this film, there was a real issue with tickets.  who should get them when there aren't enough.  the organizers had to debate long and hard about what burning man is, and how it could maintain the same focus as it grows steadily.  in addition, what used to be a simple gathering in the desert is now hosting corporate sponsored "camps".  still, it continues to look pretty avant garde to me.  huge art projects; art cars; costumes of every sort, in addition to nudity....anything goes.  there are a lot of young, beautiful people for sure, but burning man speaks to all ages and socioeconomic situations.  i enjoyed seeing some of the behind the scenes of how it all comes together.  maybe someday, i'll be able to speak first hand about burning man!