Movie Recommendation - Shut Up and Sing

Watched "Shut Up and Sing" last night - a documentary about The Dixie Chicks and how they went from heroes to zeroes in the US Country Scene because of one comment from singer Natalie Haines at a UK concert about President Bush just before the outbreak of war with Iraq.

The best movies I've watched lately have been documentaries, and this is wonderful. As someone who supported the war (though primarily for human rights reasons), I have no problem with what she said. But the reaction of (some of) the US public is truly frightening, and the consequential cave-in by business and the media is something every citizen should be concerned with.

I'm not sure I was more impressed by Natalie's ability to withstand the attacks and death threats or by the way the other two band members supported her and stood together throughout a very long and protracted episode (and how incredibly normal they all are!). Well done Dixie Chicks!

If you value free speech, this one is a great watch.

Tags: Shut Up and Sing, Dixie Chicks

Incredible Video

There's not a lot I can add to this, but if you haven't seen this video on chimps outperforming humans at memory tasks, do go. It simply is amazing, especially the speed of it.

Then read the article afterwards.

(Yes, I know I should have embedded the YouTube video here, but I didn't have time to set that up yet).

Tags: New Scientist, Chimps