Friday, August 1:

8:00 - 8:30PM

Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal #4804. Another whole week has gone by and good old Gwen Ifill and National Journal are here to fill us in. For the record, I like to pretend the National Journal is a sidekick, like Robin to Batman, Starsky to Hutch, or chocolate sauce to chocolate ice cream.

8:30 - 9:00PM

NOW on PBS #430.  It’s the Emmy award-winning weekly newsmagazine. It looks at issues facing our democracy. The show is hosted by David Brancaccio. And, even better, they still send me e-mails (I think that makes me cool and them nice). Thanks, Now; you guys are awesome!

9:00 - 10:00PM

Bill Moyers Journal #1216. It’s Bill Moyers. It’s his 1,216th journal (not really, but I’m not going to explain to you the way in which TV shows are numbered at this point in time, maybe later if you’re nice). He’s a good journalist so I assume this will be good journalism (at least the odds are it will be).

10:00 – 11:00PM

China from the Inside – "Shifting Nature".  This episode in the series takes a look at the problems that the rapid industrialization has wrought on the environment of the country.  I wonder if they've updated this from the first time it aired now that the Olympics are about to start and the environmental issues with that have been widely reported. 

Saturday, August 2:

8:00 – 9:00PM

Austin City Limits - "James Blunt/James McMurtry”. Blunt is from England. McMurtry is the son of famous author Larry McMurtry. He’s not from England. He is, much like Blunt, a singer however. That’s why they’re both on this program. It’s a singing program.

All that's really left, scene-wise in The Sword in the Stone ride is Arthur's pulling of the sword from the stone.  Now, while I say "all that's really left," it is, quite clearly, one of the most important parts.  It needs to be grand, it needs to be big.  The sword needs to positively glow when the Wart grabs it.  Light from heaven needs to shine down on him when it comes free.  It wouldn't be a bad thing either if there were knights in the background that kneeled to Arthur once the sword came free.  I think the air needs to sparkle when it winds up in Arthur's hand.  It's a tall order, but if anyone can do it, it's the Imagineers.