How Venice Works

3,000,000 tourists move through Venice each year. But when the tourists leave the city, 270,000 year-round residents stay behind, continuing their daily lives, which requires navigating an archipelago made up of 124 islands, 183 canals and 438 bridges. How this complicated city works – how the buildings are defended from water, how the buildings stand on unsteady ground, how the Venetians navigate this maze of a city – is a pretty fascinating story. These techniques have been worked out over Venice’s 1500 year history, and now they’re explored in a captivating 17 minute video produced by a Venetian government agency.

You can learn more about the inner life of this great city at Venice Backstage here

Laurel & Hardy silent home movie c. 1956

There is no exact date for this silent home movie shot at the Reseda, CA home of Stan Laurel‘s daughter, Lois. But the year must have been 1956, because, during that year, Oliver Hardy, the other member of the great comic duo, lost more than 150 pounds, resulting in a complete change of his outward appearance. Hardy had a mild heart attack in 1954 and started looking after his health. But letters by Stan Laurel indicate that Oliver was also suffering from cancer. In September 1956 – probably not long after this movie was made – Oliver suffered a major stroke, which left him unable to speak and confined to bed for several months. Then, at the beginning of August 1957, he had two more strokes and slipped into a coma from which he never recovered. He died on August 7 that year.
Exactly one week after Oliver’s death, Stan gave a rare radio interview and recounted the moment when he and Oliver met for the first timeThe full, one-hour interview can be enjoyed here. Stan died on 23 February 1965 after suffering a heart attack of his own. He was buried at Forest Park Memorial Park in Burbank , Footage from the funeral shows celebrities such as Dick Van Dyke, Buster Keaton and George Chandler in attendance.

Stan’s friend Dick Van Dyke delivered this moving eulogy.

thanks many thanks for all your great work !

happy belated birthday, Bob Dylan

Stephen Colbert put on a very good show this morning at Northwestern University, his alma mater (Class of 1986).
Stephen Colbert Dishes Out Wisdom & Laughs at Northwestern

Look what the vintage video gods have delivered today. Filmed in 1965, the black and white documentaryLadies and Gentlemen… Mr. Leonard Cohen introduces viewers to a young Leonard Cohen. Then only 30 years old (and looking a little like Dustin Hoffman), Cohen had already established himself as a poet and novelist. But his legendary career as a singer-songwriter was just barely getting underway. The 44 minute documentary all takes place in his hometown of Montreal, the city to which Cohen continually returns “to renew his neurotic affiliations” with family and old friends