Podcasts about 'wallace

Episode 113! Benjamin is joined by his siblings Gabriel and Amanda to discuss 'Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers' directed by Nick Park. Affable Chat is LIVE on Tuesday Nights at 7pm Eastern on Twitch Twitch.tv/AffableChat Have a comment about something we said? Want to request something for us to review? Just wanna chat? Email: AffableChat@gmail.com Instagram: @AffableChat Twitter: @AffableChat Benjamin: @4thAndBen Joey: @affablejoey Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/affablechat Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkOkrHIltGJRBpfpbCfJjgQ

Highlights May 1918 Preview Roundtable - Ed Lengel, Katherine Akey, Theo Mayer | 02:50 General Rumblings - Mike Shuster | 18:00 War In The Sky - Eddie Rickenbacker | 21:45 Documentary: “Blackjack Pershing: Love and War” - Prof. Barney McCoy | 25:55 The big influenza pandemic - Kenneth C. Davis | 32:15 WW1 War Tech - Fed billions, killed millions: The tragic story of Fritz Haber | 39:25 100 Cities / 100 Memorials from Brownwood, Texas - Dr. Steve Kelly | 44:15 Speaking WW1: Binge | 50:00 Articles and Posts: Highlights from the Weekly Dispatch | 51:50 The Commemoration in Social Media - Katherine Akey | 54:15----more---- Opening Welcome to World War 1 centennial News - episode #70 - It’s about WW1 THEN - what was happening 100 years ago this week  - and it’s about WW1 NOW - news and updates about the centennial and the commemoration. This week: Dr. Edward Lengel, Katherine Akey and I sit down for our May 1918 preview roundtable Mike Schuster, from the great war project blog with a story of conflict within the Allied forces. Author Kenneth C. Davis shares the story of influenza in 1918 Professor Barney McCoy gives us insight into the upcoming documentary, Blackjack Pershing: Love and War Dr. Steve Kelly with the 100 Cities / 100 Memorial project from Brownwood, Texas. Katherine Akey with the commemoration of world war one in social media And lots more... on WW1 Centennial News -- a weekly podcast brought to you by the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission, the Pritzker Military Museum and Library and the Starr foundation. I’m Theo Mayer - the Chief Technologist for the Commission and your host. Welcome to the show. [MUSIC] Preface Before we get going today, I wanted to tell you about some great new features for the WW1 Centennial News Podcast. First of all, you can now listen to the latest episodes of WW1 Centennial News on YouTube -  if you happen to prefer listening that way!   And something I think is really exciting and useful when you go to our podcast web site at ww1cc.org/CN (Charlie Nancy). When you click the “read more” of the episode, just below the highlights you will find the full and accurate transcript of the show - interactively linked to an audio player. With it, you can scan OR search --- the text of the transcript and wherever you double click - the audio will play. Or if you are listening and want to copy and paste a segment of the transcript for you newsletter, school report or blog, just pause and scan down the scranscript, The section you were hearing is highlighted in blue. This very cool, new interactive transcript technology has been provided by a great little startup called Jotengine… and we have added it to make our podcast even more useful for students, teachers and everyone who wants to share the story of the war the changed the world. World War One THEN 100 Year Ago This Week Roundtable with Katherine, Theo and Ed [SOUND EFFECT] Alright... The first week of every month, we invite you to our preview roundtable where Dr. Ed lengel, Katherine Akey and I had talk about the coming month and the key events that happened 100 years ago.  The question on the table as we sat down was, “ what WERE the big stories and themes in May 1918… What follows is our conversation. [roundtable - see transcript for details] [SOUND EFFECT] Great War Project So that is an overview for the coming month - but now let’s join Mike Shuster - Former NPR corresponded and curator for the Great War Project blog as he explored another key battle that plays out on the Western Front… The battle between the Allied Generals and American General John J. Pershing. They did not see eye-to-eye at all… and Black-Jack Pershing was not going to waver from his belief about how the US army needed to engage. It sound like it was more than just a little contentious Mike!   [MIKE POST] Mike Shuster from the Great War Project blog. The links to Mike Shuster’s Great War Project blog and the post -- are in the podcast notes. LINK: http://greatwarproject.org/2018/04/29/the-allies-quarrel/ [SOUND EFFECT]   War in the Sky America's Top-Scoring Ace Scores his First Victory It is a changing of the guard,  for the War in the Skies over Europe 100 years ago this April and May. In April 1918, Germany’s Manfred von Richthofen falls, and in May America’s Raoul Lufbery. One of the new names that rises among these ashes is that of a Columbus Ohio native every bit as much of a flamboyant character as the early fliers. Before joining the service, he was a famed race car driver who set a land speed record at Daytona of 134 miles per hour - a tough guy, technically too old to be accepted into flight school, and a guy who claimed he was afraid of heights - His name was  Eddie Rickenbacker… Born the oldest son of 5 siblings 1890  -- young Eddie had to step up to become the major family breadwinner, quitting school at only 12 years old, when his father died in a construction accident. A tough beginning for what would turn out to be quite a guy! Having developed a passion for the new technology of the internal combustion engine - by 16 he had landed a job with a race car driver named Lee Frayer, who liked the scrawny, scrappy kid - and let him ride in major races as his mechanic. By 1912 - the young 22 year old was driving his own races and winning! and crashing! and surviving! When war broke out in 1917, Rickenbaker volunteered - but at 27 years old -- was already too old to get accepted to flight school - something the speed demon really wanted to do! Because he had a reputatioh as a race car driver - he was enlisted as a sergeant and sailed for Europe as a driver. There is a lot of lore that he drove John J. Pershing, but that is generally disputed. However, he DID get an assignment to drive Billy Mitchel's flashy twin -six -cylinder packard and talked himself into flight school through the boss! His WWI flying exploits are legendary and the kid from Ohio came home a national hero But that was just the beginning of a colorful life for a scrappy and scrawny kid, turned Ace of Aces, airline President, famed raft suvivor of a plane ditching in the Pacific, potential presidential candidate - who lived large in living color..,, and finally died in 1973 at the age 83 having launched his career as a WWI fighter pilot in the war in sky one hundred years ago this week. Link:http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/rickenbacker.htm http://www.historynet.com/captain-eddie-rickenbacker-americas-world-war-i-ace-of-aces.htm http://acepilots.com/wwi/us_rickenbacker.html The Great War Channel For videos about WWI 100 years ago this week, and from a more european perspective --- check out our friends at  the Great War Channel on Youtube. New episodes this week include: The first tank-on-tank battle in history -- Tank crew training and more German tank prototypes Plus…. The Finnish Jägers in World War 1 See their videos by searching for “the great war” on youtube or following the link in the podcast notes! Link:https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar World War One NOW Alright  - It is time to fast forward into the present with WW1 Centennial News NOW - [MUSIC TRANSITION] This part of the podcast isn’t the past --- It focuses on NOW and how we are commemorating the centennial of WWI! [SOUND EFFECT] Commission News Belleau Wood Tree -- Missing but will return This week in Commission News -- We heard, with great distress that the lovely Oak sapling from Belleau Wood,  that had been planted by President’s Macron and Trump on the white house lawn last week - had mysteriously GONE MISSING~!! One day it was there - the next - it wasn’t! Much to our relief, the mystery was resolved quickly. It turns out that the tree - which has made it’s journey from Europe with Macron had to be put into temporary quarantine - a typical procedure for living agricultural goods imported from overseas. It’ll be put back to its original spot as soon as it get out of detention! We put a link to the story in the podcast notes! Link: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mystery-solved-why-trump-macron-friendship-tree-vanished/ar-AAwxbt3?OCID=ansmsnnews11 Spotlight on the Media Blackjack Pershing: Love and War We have a spotlight on the media for you! The spotlight is on US General of the Armies, the American Expeditionary Forces commander General John J. Pershing. [RUN AUDIO CLIP FROM TRAILER] That clip is from a new documentary “Black Jack Pershing: Love and War” - and today -- we’re joined by the film’s producer -  Barney McCoy professor of journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Welcome, Barney! [welcome/greetings] [Barney-- I understand your film looks is not just about Pershing the General but also Pershing the man, who also suffered and endured great personal tragedy and heartbreak in his life. Can you give us an overview of the story in the film?] [Now, you made this documentary by incorporating hundreds of U.S. Army Signal Corps photographs and films from the National Archives -- what was the research process like? And did you come across anything surprising as you were poking around the archives?] [How did you get involved in this film? How did it happen?] [A very important question… When and where can people see the film?] [thank you/goodbyes] Barney McCoy is professor of journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the producer of “Black Jack Pershing: Love and War”. We’ve included links to the film’s trailer, website and upcoming screenings in the podcast notes! Links:https://www.archives.gov/calendar/event/black-jack-pershing-love-and-war https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru3DzGSwdeE https://jjpershing.com/ Remembering Veterans The Influenza of 1918 This week For Remembering Veterans -- we’re turning our attention away from the battlefield and looking at a phenomenon that took more lives than the bullets or shells. With us to explore the story of the Flu pandemic 100 years ago, is Kenneth C. Davis, bestselling author of the  “Don’t Know Much About” book series. In fact, during our editorial meeting, when we were discussing the interview our intern, John enthused that these books were on his shelf as he was growing up… Well, Kenneth’s new book is coming out on May 15th and it is called:  More Deadly Than War: The Hidden History of the Spanish Flu and the First World War .. a fascinating subject by a wonderful writer! Kenneth! Welcome to the Podcast. [greetings] [Ken- Let’s start with the name of this flu pandemic - Patient Zero was not from Spain were they?] [How big and bad was it? I have heard a lot of varying numbers but whatever they are, the scale staggers the imagination!] [We have a global war - we have a global pandemic - how do the dots connect? ] [Ken - what made this particular flu so especially deadly?] [Well, a quick follow up on that - and Katherine our line producer asked about this - with so many advanced in medicine in this particular moment in history - why did medicine not get ahead of this one?] [Do you think this deadly global event still echoes today? ] [Thank you so much for coming in and speaking with us today!] [goodbyes/thanks] Kenneth C. Davis is the bestselling author of the Don’t Know Much About Book series. Don’t miss his upcoming -  More Deadly Than War: The Hidden History of the Spanish Flu and the First World War available at your favorite bookseller May 15th! We have put links to his work and upcoming events in the podcast notes. Links: www.dontknowmuch.com http://dontknowmuch.com/books/more-deadly-than-war/ http://www.pritzkermilitary.org/whats_on/pritzker-military-presents/kenneth-davis-more-deadly-war/ https://www.amazon.com/More-Deadly-Than-War-History/dp/1250145120/ref=sr_1_6 WW1 War Tech Fritz Haber For WW1 War Tech -- we are going to tell you the amazing and tragic story of a WW1 era technologist, the German chemist Fritz Haber! Fritz Haber is one of the most underappreciated actors of World War I whose discoveries spanned from the life giving to the life taking. He was celebrated with Nobel Prize for developing chemical fertilizers -- and equally vilified for another invention, chlorine gas. Tragically one of his most vocal critics was his wife, Clara, who was not only an ardent pacifist but an accomplished chemist herself. The invention of what is known as the “Haber Process” was the result of wartime necessities. Even before World War I, German military strategists recognized the potential of a total British naval blockade on their country, which would do tremendous damage to their ability to import the materials required to manufacture weapons. One particularly vulnerable commodity were the nitrates imported from South America, used in the development of ammonia for explosives. Haber discovered a new method of creating ammonia by combining nitrogen and hydrogen gases. Since ammonia is also used as a fertilizer, the Haber Process allowed for the mass production of agricultural fertilizers, transforming agriculture both inside and outside Germany. Much of the reason behind why the world is able to support a population of more than seven billion is the use of these  fertilizers, which all have their roots in the Haber Process. And for his method of creating artificial ammonia, Haber was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918. But as we said, another of Haber’s invention would come to overshadow this incredible discovery. When World War I finally broke out in 1914, the quick victory expected by many military generals soon became a slow, bloody struggle to shift the frontlines only a few miles either way. The German High Command quickly realized they needed a new, fearsome weapon to break the stalemate. It was the strongly patriotic Haber who came up with the solution: by combining the ammonia he extracted from the air with chlorine, he could produce a gas that would asphyxiate all who encountered it-- Haber was on hand personally when his Chlorine Gas was first released by the German military at the Second Battle of Ypres.  Over 5,000 men, not recognizing this new weapon’s true danger, were quickly overcome, and were found by their fellow soldiers with their faces turned black and shirts torn open in a desperate search for air. Germany’s use of poison gas at Ypres would set a precedent for an unprecedented tactic, one that would scar many men for a lifetime after the war ended. People around the world were horrified by Harber’s new, deadly invention, but among the most repelled was Haber’s own wife, Clara. At a party celebrating his promotion to Captain as a result of his work in poison gas nine days after the test at Ypres, Clara directly confronted her husband, calling him morally bankrupt and his efforts monstrous. Haber ignored her. Later that night, no longer able to stand her marriage, Clara shot herself in the garden with her husband’s pistol. Haber left the next day to supervise another gas attack on the Western Front, leaving his young son to grieve alone. After the war ended in Germany’s defeat, a brokenhearted Haber would try to single handedly pay back the burdensome war reparations by inventing a process to distill dissolved gold floating in the ocean, an ultimately unsuccessful endeavour. There is a final,  tragic and ironic twist on Haber’s legacy… during WWII - When the Nazi regime was looking for ways to best murder their many classes of undesirables, they came upon one of Haber’s products, a pesticide called Zyklon. The Nazi authorities used this chemical to gas millions of innocent victims in the Holocaust, including the Jewish German Haber’s own friends and family. Fritz Haber, a brilliant man whose fertilizer invention have fed billions, who’s weaponized inventions killed million, whose wife shot herself in protest and whose family and friends were finally gassed in concentration camps with his own invention… an epic, tragic and another amazing story of the war that changed the world and this week’s WWI War Tech. We have links for you in the podcast notes. Links:https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/g1577/7-surprising-scientific-advances-that-came-out-of-world-war-i/ http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/~paulmay/haber/haber.htm https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/fritz-haber https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gymnasium-German-school https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fritz-Haber https://medium.com/the-mission/the-tragedy-of-fritz-haber-the-monster-who-fed-the-world-ec19a9834f74 https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/immerwahr-clara 100 Cities 100 Memorials Brownwood Texas This week for our 100 Cities / 100 Memorials segment ---  the $200,000 matching grant challenge to rescue and focus on our local WWI memorials --- We are updating one of the very first projects we profiled on the podcast - From even before the first round of submissions were closed.   Joining us again for an update on the 100 Cities / 100 Memorials project from Brownwood Texas is Dr. Steve Kelly, the immediate past president of the Central Texas Veterans Memorial - Steve welcome back to the show. [Greetings and Welcome] [Steve - The last time we spoke your project was just a candidate, but it has since been designated an official WW1 Centennial Memorial - Congratulations…] [For your project you moved your WWI memorial from behind a bush at an old, closed high school to a new memorial site at your local American Legion post 196… Can you tell us a bit more about that?] [As I recall from the last time we spoke, you have both a commemoration and an educational component to you project - how did you do that?] [Steve - What stage is the whole project at now and do you have rededication plans?] [Thank you for coming on and giving us an update on your project from Brown County Texas!] [Thanks/goodbye] Dr. Steve Kelly is the immediate past president of the Central Texas Veterans Memorial in Brownwood, Texas. Learn more about the 100 Cities/100 Memorials program by following the links in the podcast notes or by going to ww1cc.org/100Memorials Link: www.ww1cc.org/100cities Speaking WW1 Binge Welcome to our weekly feature “Speaking World War 1” -- Where we explore the words & phrases that are rooted in the war  --- Let’s start by thinking… Obsessive, Compulsive Consumption…. I heard a great analysis of our modern media times recently. It talked about the fact that in our new age, we no longer have “stop cues” for media consumption. You don’t read the paper, you take in an endless stream of news feeds and tweets. You don’t watch a TV show, you find yourself awake on the couch at 3am with just 2 episodes left to finish the fourth season of The Office -- and you’re not alone! Without “stop cues” the analysis went on, we are media binging all the time.. And that brings us to our Speaking WW1 word for this week…. BINGE. And who would you have thought that that phrase made its way to the 21st century by way of the trenches? Binge was originally a “Northern English” term meaning to over-indulge. The word first appeared in printed form in 1854, with a clearly alcohol-related connotation. And a connotation that may have carried forward for many of our listener to their college years with Binge Drinking! The term remained regional to Northern England until World War 1, when it spread through the english speaking forces and became standardized in the English lexicon. It also started being used to describe the obsessive compulsive, consumption of food.  Which led to the description of an eating disorder called binge & purge… So now it’s meaning has expanded to include any number of new categories: food, drink, media, entertainment and… well many others! Binge-- obsessive, compulsive, consumption - and this week’s words for speaking WW1. There are links for you in the podcast notes. Links:https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/binge-drinking.html http://www.dictionary.com/browse/binge http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4tN7cVtY2VY2sbGtX6z9Df3/12-words-from-100-years-ago-we-love-to-use-today [SOUND EFFECT] Articles and Posts Weekly Dispatch Newsletter Highlights   For Articles and posts -- here are some of the highlights from our weekly Dispatch newsletter which you can subscribe to at ww1cc.org/subscribe or through the podcast notes. [DING] Headline: Two WWI nurses led the way for women in today’s Wisconsin National Guard Read the story of two women serving as Army nurses in World War I pioneering the opportunity for women to serve in every duty position in the Wisconsin National Guard. [DING] Headline: NARA is getting WWI Army Division records online - with citizen help! The National Archives Records Administration also know as NARA Is getting Citizen Archivists to help make these records more accessible. If you’d like to help NARA transcribe these historic handwritten records - You CAN! There’s a link in the podcast notes for you to get started. [DING] The studio that brought you 'Wallace and Grommit' is creating an emotional World War I game Read more about the new videogame 11-11: Memories Retold, a narrative adventure about two World War I soldiers who meet under the "most unlikely of circumstances." [DING] Headline: Doughboy MIA for week of April 30 Read about Pvt. Charles H. Holland, a native of Mississippi and member of the 2nd Division-- 9th Infantry--Company L-- Charles was  wounded in action during the battle of Soissons--- he was carried off to a field hospital and never seen nor heard from again. [DING] Finally, our  selection from our Official online Centennial Merchandise store -   this week, with Memorial Day coming up - it’s your last chance to order our small, 8" X 12" WWI Centennial flags for Memorial Day. This is the year to display the memorial ground flags honoring your local fallen doughboys! You’ll be doing  "Double Honors", because a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this item goes to building America's National World War I Memorial at Pershing Park, in Washington DC. And those are some of the headlines this week from the Dispatch Newsletter Check the links in the podcast notes Link: http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/communicate/2015-12-28-18-26-00/subscribe.html http://www.ww1cc.org/dispatch https://www.archives.gov/citizen-archivist/missions The Buzz The Commemoration in Social Media And that brings us to the buzz - the centennial of WW1 this week in social media with Katherine Akey - Katherine, what did you pick? Motorcycles, Mail and the Military Times Hi Theo -- We shared a video this week on Facebook from one of the Commission’s Commemorative partners, the French Centenaire 14-18 -- it shows the project undertaken by two frenchmen to restore an American doughboy’s Harley-Davidson-- which they are now bringing to, and driving across America. The motorbike would have been used to carry messages behind the lines, and less than a thousand are thought to have made it to today. Watch the video and read an article about the project at the link in the podcast notes -- we’ve also included a link to the frenchmen’s facebook page so you can follow their journey as they ride the bike across the US! Also on facebook this week -- we shared a photograph of a humble receipt from the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. This week 100 years ago, the future president was a Captain in the Army, commanding a battery of field artillery on the western front. And-- his birthday was coming up! So his loving wife Bess ordered him a fruit cake, having it shipped to his 129th field artillery in France. The receipt shows her purchase from the Jones Store Company in Kansas City, Missouri -- likely a fruit cake would survive the journey, and we hope he enjoyed it on his birthday on May 8th, 1918. And if you’re wondering -- it cost a whopping total of $1.40, equivalent to about $25 now, to buy and send the birthday treat. See the receipt yourself at the link in the notes. Finally this week, I wanted to point you towards a very thoughtful opinion piece from the Military Times website -- May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a subject that has been deeply important to the success and wellbeing of our armed service members throughout history. The article is entitled “A century after ‘shell shock,’ struggle to address post-combat trauma continues” -- and it opens up questions about our understanding of PTSD, and our relatively recent acceptance of trauma as a significant and common affliction. Read more about how WW1 changed our understanding and treatment of Shell Shock and PTSD at the link in the podcast notes -- we’ll have guests on later this month to continue to address the topic. That’s it for this week in the Buzz. Link:https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/pays-de-la-loire/loire-atlantique/nantes/centenaire-14-18-harley-armee-americaine-repart-nantes-us-1467347.html www.facebook.com/operationtwinlinks https://www.facebook.com/TrumanPresidentialLibrary/posts/10155390413860770 https://www.militarytimes.com/military-honor/world-war-i/2017/04/19/a-century-after-shell-shock-struggle-to-address-post-combat-trauma-continues/ [SOUND EFFECT] Outro And that wraps up the first week of May for WW1 Centennial News. Thank you for listening. We also want to thank our guests... Dr. Edward Lengel, Military historian and author Mike Shuster, Curator for the great war project blog Kenneth C. Davis, author and historian Barney McCoy, professor of journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Dr. Steve Kelly with the 100 Cities / 100 Memorial project from Brownwood, Texas. Katherine Akey, WWI Photography specialist and the line producer for the podcast Many thanks to Mac Nelsen our sound editor as well as John Morreale our intern and Eric Marr for their great research assistance... And I am Theo Mayer - your host. [MUSIC and under] The US World War One Centennial Commission was created by Congress to honor, commemorate and educate about WW1. Our programs are to-- inspire a national conversation and awareness about WW1; Including this podcast! We are bringing the lessons of the 100 years ago into today's classrooms; We are helping to restore WW1 memorials in communities of all sizes across our country; and of course we are building America’s National WW1 Memorial in Washington DC. We want to thank commission’s founding sponsor the Pritzker Military Museum and Library as well as the Starr foundation for their support.   The podcast can be found on our website at ww1cc.org/cn  - now with our new interactive transcript feature for students, teachers and sharing. Or search WW1 Centennial News on  iTunes, Google Play, TuneIn, Podbean, Stitcher - Radio on Demand, Spotify or using your smart speaker.. Just say “Play W W One Centennial News Podcast” - and now also available on Youtube at WW1 Centennial. Our twitter and instagram handles are both @ww1cc and we are on facebook @ww1centennial. Thank you for joining us. And don’t forget to share the stories you are hearing here today about the war that changed the world! [music] Talk about binging - I just got a note from a listeners - who has decided to listening to all of 1917 from our WW1 Centennial news podcast, eating a pizza with every episode, washed down with a six pack.. that sounds awful and I’m just kidding! So long!

Following the release of Nick Park's 'Early Man' film, Radio Carrum's Movie Lab continue their retrospective on the Wallace and Gromit short film series. This episode is not a review of the film, but an Audio Commentary. Therefore, this recording is best listened to whilst simultaneously watching 'Wallace & Gromit - A Matter of Loaf & Death'(preferably with the sound down).

In the lead up to the release of Nick Park's 'Early Man' film, Radio Carrum's Movie Lab are doing a retrospective on the Wallace and Gromit short film series. This episode is not a review of the film, but an Audio Commentary. Therefore, this recording is best listened to whilst simultaneously watching 'Wallace & Gromit - A Close Shave'(preferably with the sound down).

In the lead up to the release of Nick Park's 'Early Man' film, Radio Carrum's Movie Lab are doing a retrospective on the Wallace and Gromit short film series. This episode is not a review of the film, but an Audio Commentary. Therefore, this recording is best listened to whilst simultanaeously watching 'Wallace & Gromit - The Wrong Trousers'(preferably with the sound down).

In the lead up to the release of Nick Park's 'Early Man' film, Radio Carrum's Movie Lab are doing a retrospective on the Wallace and Gromit short film series. This episode is not a review of the film, but an Audio Commentary. Therefore, this recording is best listened to whilst simultanaeously watching 'Wallace & Gromit - A Grand Day Out'(preferably with the sound down).

This week - in a special episode celebrating the life of Peter Sallis - host Stephen B. Platt is joined by special guests Rhianna Hall and John King as they review Nick Park's stop motion animation short film series 'Wallace & Gromit' - specifically 'A Grand Day Out', 'The Wrong Trousers', 'A Close Shave' and 'A Matter of Loaf and Death.' Listen in as they discuss delicious looking plasticine food, hilarious sheep and Wensleydale cheese.

This week we are going to explore the Havana Rabbit breed. If you would like to support the podcast, you can support through Patreon for one dollar a month. Patreon is an established online platform that allows fans to provide regular financial support to creators. Thank you for listening. If you would like to support the podcast, and keep the lights on, you can support us whenever you use Amazon through the link: It will not cost you anything extra, and I can not see who purchased what. When I hear the name Havana rabbit I picture a rabbit that came from Cuba, but as we have discovered several times the breed is named for a place that it does not originate from. The Havana rabbit originates in Holland, not the Caribbean as you might expect. They get their name from the fact that the chocolate variety closely resembles the color of the deep brown Havana cigars, not because the breed hails from Cuba. When you think Havanas, think cigars, not Cuba. The rich dark brown coloration of the original Havanas was reminiscent of Havana cigars to the early breeders, hence the name was applied to the newly developed breed.  The Havana Rabbit had its beginnings in a small Dutch village near Utrecht, Holland (not Cuba), in 1898, by total accident. History Havana Journey: A rabbit farmer named Mr. Honders tossed a newly acquired common farm rabbit into the stable with his other communal rabbits. The black and white doe was bred by who knows which of the bucks in the farmer’s warren, and soon gave birth to a litter of brown and white rabbits with modified Dutch markings. The Havana’s journey began with breeders’ vision, work, and dedication since it first arrived on the rabbit scene in 1898. The rabbit breed known as ‘The Mink of the Rabbit Family’ includes an evolution defining its type today into the lovely compact breed known for its intense color and luxurious fur. I thought this would be an appropriate time to trace the Havana evolution to its breed standard today. Because of their unusual chocolate color, the farmer retained these offspring for further breeding. Being chocolate, their eyes had the typical ruby glow in them when viewed in bright light. It was anything but usual to Mr. Honders. He named these new rabbits “Fire-Eyes of Ingen” (Ingensche Vuuroog). The rabbits were a dark reddish brown, and weighed around 7.5 pounds. For a brief historical overview, the Chocolate variety of the Havana was the first, and appeared in a litter of a Dutch marked doe in Ingen, Holland in 1898. These new rabbits were first given the name of Ingensche Veuoraoz, “Fire-eye from Ingen,” because of the unusual ruby glow to the eyes when viewed in good light. The breed soon became known as “Havana” after the rich chocolate color of Havana cigars. Havanas were soon being bred in France, Switzerland, and Germany and Chocolate Havana of widely different types were displayed at various shows in Europe. In the first decade of 1900, the new chocolate rabbits quickly made their way through Europe via Switzerland and Germany. They varied wildly in type, size, and quality. Little by little, Havanas began to look like Havanas, as breeders used out-crosses to correct faults and enhance fur quality. They showed up in the UK in 1908. England’s National Havana Club formed in 1920. The breed also made its way to the USA in 1916. The Havana breed made its way to the United States and was accepted into the ARBA in 1916 as the ‘Standard Havana’. Havana quickly became popular due to their eye appeal and their mink-like fur quality and texture, which placed Havana pelts in great demand. The Havana Rabbit Breeders Association was established in 1925. The Havana Club in the US was formed in 1920. At the time, the rabbit was still 7+ pounds, and reportedly difficult to breed. Over the next 30 years, Havanas took two shapes - large and small. The heavyweight variety never caught on, but the medium-sized Havana we know today was well-received. Lee Own Stamm originated the Blues in 1965 and the Blacks in 1980. The Havana of today evolved from a much different type. Havana breed is based on intense color and mink-like fur, and the emphasis of those features becoming more intense over the years. The compact body type, however, has evolved over the decades to the standard we depict today. 1914 In the 1914 ‘Rabbit Culture and Standard,’ The Complete and Official Standard of all the Rabbits (1), “Havanas were one of the latest varieties listed… The correct color listing was described as dark brown to dark chestnut brown and blood red brown changing with the varying light.” The development of two distinctly different sizes of Havana were being exhibited, with one a smaller, neat, short-coated variety and “… larger ones often exhibit a dewlap and are somewhat coarse and awkward looking.” The 1914 standard reflects the importance of color with 30 points and type with 30 points; however fur was only allotted 10 points and was to be short, fine and silky. 1920’s In the 1926-27 and 1928-29 editions of The American Rabbit and Cavy Breeders Association Guidebook and Standard, the Havanas were listed as “one of the most beautiful fur breeds and a very useful rabbit for their skins require no dying but can be used in the natural state as the rich chocolate color is very attractive...” Havana Rabbit Club Standard continues to emphasis color with 30 points, and the coat was to be short, fine and silky and cut severely for white hairs. Type was still being determined as the breed tried to meet the demand for beautiful pelts. Senior weights were 4 ½ to 7 pounds exhibiting quite a range. 1930’s The 1930’s appeared to be a period when the Havana was being defined as to type. The Standard Havana description began to change to make room for a new variety. There were now 2 varieties, chocolate in color, known as the Standard and the Heavyweights. The Heavyweights were later called the American Havana, with an ideal weight of 9 pounds. The emphasis was for a larger fur pelt which was in high demand at the time; however they lost much of the body type and quality of fur and the Heavyweights were dropped from the standard by the 1940’s. Meanwhile, in 1930, Mr. Walter Huey discovered a new mutation of Havana with an entirely new coat mutation. Initially, these ‘Havanas’ were known as Satin Havana and shown in competition against the Standard Havana; however there was a storm of protest. From this protest came the acknowledgment that the coats were an entirely new coat mutation and we had the start of the Satin breed with the White Satin. Satin Havana Mutation In 1934, the Satin mutation occurred in Indiana. For a short time, they were recognized as a variety of Havanas, however they were unfair competition since the satin shine was so striking. By 1946, breeders of satinized rabbits organized a national club for a dedicated Satin Rabbit breed. 1940’s - 1980’s The Standard Havana continues to be recognized for its coat which is often called near mink. The most recent variety is broken, achieving acceptance in 2008 thanks to the efforts of Brad and Katie Boyce. Brad and Katie Boyce presented the Broken, which was accepted in 2008. Julie Spier presented the Lilac, which was accepted in 2016, providing the breed with the five varieties accepted in the standard and shown today. The flatter body type of the time is reflected in the standard description: “The body shall be cobby type, rather flat and compact, with full, meaty shoulders, tapering slightly to broader and higher haunches. Avoid snaky and too-rounded type, high, rounded hips, or hips cut in under. The head should have a short neck, having full appearance of head being joined directly to shoulders.” The emphasis is on the bold eye reflecting the origin of the breed and on meaty shoulders and broader hindquarters. The breed is ancestral to several others, including the Fee de Marbourg, Perlefee and Gris Perle de Hal. TODAY The Havana of today embraces the compact body type in its definition. General type of the competitive Havana is rather short and compact, tapering slightly from hindquarters to shoulders. Top body line should be a continuous curve from the ear base with a high point over the center of the hips and falling in a smooth curve to the base of the tail. Judging continues to emphasize the breed’s best characteristics: color and fur with 45 points, and a compact type with lots of depth balancing width for 45 points. Eye appeal of an animal that is full, smooth, and well rounded, displaying intense color with lots of luster and mink-like texture of fur is the standard to strive for. Body Havanas are small-medium sized rabbits with short, deep bodies and deep, rich color. Their lustrous fur gives them the nickname “the mink of the rabbit family.” Although they don’t often catch the fancy of pet owners, their beautiful type is a joy to the practiced eye of judges and breeders. The Havana rabbit is a compact breed that should not exceed 6.5 lbs. They have short, rounded bodies. The top line should form a half-circle that rises over the hips before or down to the tail. They have short, straight legs with dark-colored toenails, short ears which are relatively close together, medium-sized eyes and a short head with full cheeks. Approximate Size: 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 pounds Havanas are recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association in four color types: chocolate, blue, black, lilac, broken and which is best described as a mix of colors that looks like a Dalmatian. Their average weight is between 4.5 pounds (2.0 kg) and 6.5 pounds (2.9 kg). Coat This breed of rabbit has short, soft, fly-back fur that does not much need maintenance to keep in tip-top condition. To keep their shedding to a minimum, indoor rabbits can be groomed once a week with a slick brush and when shedding time comes around (around Spring), increasing their brushing to twice a week. In any show breed, there’s the ideal type – that wonderful, deep, smooth, sleek body – and then there’s what representatives of the breed really look like. No matter what the standard says, how close does that breed come to meeting it, on average? In some breeds, the real and the ideal are rather a long ways from each other. But there are a few breeds that have been developed to the point where the average show breed is a fine representation of the standard, and the best ones are nearly perfect. One of those breeds is the Havana. It’s no wonder that Havanas are often honored with the Best in Show award at local, state, and even national levels. There’s nothing particularly flashy about this breed, such as might grab a pet owner’s attention, but to the trained eye of a judge, a top notch Havana is simply breathtaking. The body type is incredibly short and deep, approaching a “half basketball” shape when viewed from the side. When viewed from the top, the hindquarters evenly taper to the shoulders. Ideally there should be no flat or narrow spots in the body type, no squared hips, no pinched hindquarters. The head and ears are of medium length and balance with the body. Although type is important, the coat and color are to be given strong consideration as well. Havanas have fly-backs – fur that returns very quickly to its usual position when the rabbit is stroked from tail to head. Havanas do not have a Satin sheen, but their fur does carry an unusually high luster. There are currently four recognized colors: black, blue, chocolate, and broken. The solid colors are all of a dark, rich shade. Havanas have short, fly-back coats which need minimal grooming. A quick brushing once a week should be enough to keep your rabbit looking his best. You can also go over their coat with slightly damp hands to remove static. Havanas may need more frequent grooming when they are molting. Things to Avoid: A long, narrow, or flat body. Flatness over the shoulders. Narrowness over the loin. Hips that are pinched or undercut. Roughness over the spine or hips. Long head or long neck. Unmatched toenails are a disqualification. Color that looks faded, light, rusty, mealy, or has scattered white hairs. Care Requirements: Like any other breed of rabbit, Havana bunnies require a diet consisting of pellets. The rest of their diet is made up a healthy balance of hay, leafy greens, fruits and vegetables. Be aware of what kind of leafy greens you feed your rabbit, as some of them (like iceberg lettuce) contain no great amount of vitamins or nutrients and contain laudanum, which can be harmful in large quantities. Also be careful of what kind of vegetables you decide to feed your rabbit, as some of things are harmful, and some fruits contain too much sugar. Havana rabbits do well whether they are indoors or outdoors, provided they are given plenty of room in their enclosures to stretch their legs and catch some much-needed sunshine. Outdoor enclosures should be made of wood or wire and need to be raised off the ground in order to provide protection from wildlife. Indoor rabbit enclosures should be made of wire and have bedding that should be spot-cleaned every day for cleanliness and completely changed out at the end of every week. Health The Havana rabbit is not known to be susceptible to any particular health issues, but like any other rabbit, measures must be taken in order to raise a healthy, happy rabbit. Remember to check their mouths once every week or two for ingrown teeth, which can grow into their jaw and faces and cause a lot of pain. The best way to prevent overgrown teeth is to have a proper diet with hay, as the hay will naturally file down their teeth. Should you rabbit live outdoors, be aware that they will be more susceptible to fly-strike. Fly-strike is an extremely painful condition in which flies lay their eggs in a rabbit’s fur near dirty areas. When the eggs hatch, they begin sustaining themselves by way of eating your rabbit from the inside out. In order to avoid fly-strike, always check your rabbit for dirt or feces stuck on their coat. Always make sure your rabbit’s enclosure and coat is clean and that your rabbit’s eating habits remain constant. Should you decide to spay or neuter your rabbit, some owners notice that their rabbit tends to be less aggressive. However the Havana rabbit is not known to be hostile, so neutering them may do nothing to their personality. Does can be spayed once they are 4-6 months old while bucks can be neutered as young as 3 and a half months old. Temperament/behavior The Havana Rabbit is known for having a relaxed, friendly personality. However there are also examples that have been known to have a bit of an attitude so it’s well worth researching the lines you’re thinking of purchasing from to make sure that all of his relatives have been even tempered. As long as he’s been allowed to get used to humans and other pets from an early age your Havana rabbit should be calm and able to cope with human interaction without getting stressed. It’s vital that anyone who’s going to be charged with looking after the rabbit knows exactly how to handle it as they can struggle if they feel vulnerable or uncomfortable when picked up. Despite his small size, he will be very strong and can kick and scratch, potentially injuring himself or his handler. Most rabbits are active in the morning and the evening and he will be grateful for boxes, tubes and toys to play with. Rabbits are sweet creatures who easily bond with their human family so long as they are given time and space to properly socialize on their own terms. While not the most energetic rabbit breed by any means, these medium-sized rabbits are perfectly capable of running around indoors or out and letting out a little mid-air hop. Should you decide to engage in some one-on-one playtime, you may find that your particular rabbit enjoys some ear or head scratches and some gentle back petting. Because of its medium size, the Havana rabbit makes a great pet for families with children of any age. Because it isn’t too high energy, it makes an attractive pet for seniors looking for a fuzzy companion in their lives. Some rabbits need to be entertained with many toys (whether it is a store-bought one or something as simple as a toilet paper roll is entirely up to you), others don’t need much to keep them happy. It all depends on your particular rabbit’s personality. When it comes to potty-training your rabbit, you may find it is significantly more difficult than training another pet such as a cat or dog. While more challenging, it is definitely not impossible to litter-train rabbits but they do require much more patience and time than other animals. Many pet parents have found that placing several litter boxes around the house works best, as your rabbit won’t have to travel to the other side of your house to do the deed and risk not making it. If you would like more info on a House rabbit, you can check out the house rabbit episode. uses Rabbits tend to be bred for one of four things: meat, fur, show, or pet use. Havana rabbits are usually show rabbits, and are very popular as such. They come very close to their breed standard, often winning top honors at local and national shows. Often referred to as the ‘mink of the rabbit family’. Club The American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) maintains the breed standard for all of the recognized rabbit and cavy breeds for it's international membership. Recognized breeds are eligible for Registration and Grand Champion recognition. The AMERICAN RABBIT BREEDERS ASSOCIATION, INC. is an organization dedicated to the promotion, development, and improvement of the domestic rabbit and cavy. In the USA, Havanas weigh 4.5 - 6.5 pounds. They have a compact body type, and are useful for show and pets. And additionally, their fur has a special glossiness, which makes it great should you also wish to utilize their pelts. One is not limited to Chocolate. Four additional varieties have been accepted in the US: Blue, Black, lilac and brokens. The British Rabbit Council (BRC) is a British showing organization for rabbit breeders. Today, the BRC among other things investigates rabbit diseases, maintains a catalog of rabbit breeds, and sets rules for about 1,000 rabbit shows annually in the UK. In the UK, Havanas are dark chocolate “with a purplish sheen.” The glossy normal fur is approximately 1 inch in length. Havanas should weigh 2.722 kg (6 pounds) with a half-pound latitude permitted either way. Have I Missed Anything about the Havana? If you know something about the breed standard, history or status of the Havana rabbit, please let me know. Do You Have a Story About The Havana? What do you love about them? Do you have any tips or tricks up your sleeve for what might make the Havana happiest? Perhaps you're a breeder of the Havana rabbit. Let me know, and maybe we can set up an interview? http://www.thenaturetrail.com/rabbit-breeds/havana-rabbit-breed-information/ http://rabbitbreeders.us/havana-rabbits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_(rabbit) http://www.raising-rabbits.com/havana-rabbit.html http://www.petguide.com/breeds/rabbit/havana-rabbit/ https://www.pets4homes.co.uk/breeds/rabbits/havana/ http://www.havanarb.net/breed-history.html Plant of the Week: Wheat Word of the Week: Brilliant Every week I would like to bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience, and I have researched enough to recommend. Today’s HOTR Amazon Item of the week is the This weeks item is a Headlamp:   This weeks item is a NiteCore Cree Headlamp. I use this NiteCore Cree Headlamp to check on my rabbits outside. This is Purpose-designed for hiking, climbing, camping and general outdoor recreation. It is All metal high-performance dual-beam headlamp Aluminum "unibody" construction is highly rugged and provides excellent cooling performance. It Utilizes a premium CREE XM-L2 (T6) LED Powered by a single 18650 lithium-ion battery for up to 565 lumens of output. High-efficiency circuit provides up to 400 hours of run-time. It produces an extremely wide beam. This is probably the best NiteCore Cree Headlamp I've found to-date. What I like about the NiteCore Cree Headlamp: It's bright - for most stuff, the 2 highest settings are way more than you'd want for anything that's within a few yards of you. It'll also blind anyone you're looking at. Easy to use control buttons. Built in red lamp which is useful for retaining your night vision. I think the red light level is just about right - you're really not going to see anything more than a few yards out with it, but it's meant to preserve your night vision. It would be nice if you could adjust the brightness, but that would just be a nice bonus. This has long battery life - I usually use this at the 2nd dimmest level as that's enough for most projects, and I get many many hours. I usually re-charge it once a month, and I use it several times a week or more. The only real issue is the strap isn't the greatest. I usually have to have it on a little tighter than I'd prefer for longer usage duration to keep it from falling off if I'm sideways or upside down. If you're not contorting yourself in crazy positions it probably won't be an issue. You can also put the NiteCore Cree Headlamp on over a hat. Rabbit Dance an Oneida legend retold by Desiree Barber http://www.uwosh.edu/coehs/cmagproject/ethnomath/legend/legend16.htm Long ago, two hunters went hunting deer for their village. They hunted for a very long time without seeing any signs of deer, but they didn't return to the village for they knew they had to provide food for the winter. Suddenly, they heard a very loud thump! They stopped and listened to see if there would be another thump, and sure enough, they heard it again! This time the thump was louder, "THUMP!" One hunter said to the other, "What is that?" The other hunter said, "I don't know, but IT sounds very close!" So, both hunters got on their bellies and crawled to a nearby clearing surrounded by bushes. In the center of the clearing they saw the biggest rabbit they had ever seen! The first hunter started to aim his bow and arrow at the huge rabbit, but the second hunter stopped him and said, "Let's wait to see what he is going to do." Both hunters waited and watched the huge rabbit as he lifted one of his big back legs and thumped it three times on the ground. Then, out from every direction hopped regular sized rabbits. The hunters watched very closely not wanting to miss anything. The little rabbits gathered around the big rabbit, and the big rabbit began to thump his back leg in a pattern as the little rabbits danced. The hunters watched in awe as the rabbits danced. Then the big rabbit thumped his leg in the directions in which the hunters lay. The huge rabbit looked in that direction and leaped into the sky. Then all the rabbits quickly hopped away. The hunters watched still in awe. They realized they had to go back to the village and tell the people what they had seen and heard. They ran all the way to the village and asked if they could speak to the elders. After they told their story, one of the elders said, "Show us how the beat and the dance went." The hunters showed them exactly what the rabbits did. Another elder said, "The rabbits gave this dance to tell us to show them respect and appreciation for what they give to us. We will name the dance after them, and we will dance it at our socials to show them our gratitude." So this is the way it was then and is now. That is how the rabbit dance came to be. News http://www.mauinews.com/opinion/columns/2017/06/rabbit-fever-could-be-deadly/ It is the law in Hawaii to keep rabbits contained and off the ground if they are outside. Environmental impacts not withstanding, rabbits also pose a threat to human health. Tularemia, aka “rabbit fever,” can be a serious disease for both humans and animals. Several years ago, a researcher working with sparrows at a rabbit farm on Maui fell ill. He was fev-erish and tired, then started getting sores on his skin. Doctors weren’t sure what it was and although he was never officially diagnosed, he responded to treatment for tularemia, a disease caused by a bacteria carried by rabbits, rodents and other animals. Officially, tularemia has never been documented in Hawaii. It’s difficult to culture the bacterium and handling it poses a significant infection risk to lab workers. “If not here, there is a real threat that tularemia could, at any time, be introduced into Hawaii. It affects so many animal species, and once here, mosquitoes and other blood-sucking arthropods could spread it, “says Fern Duvall, head of Maui’s Native Ecosystem Protection and Management program with the Department of Land and Natural Resources. On the Mainland, where tularemia is widely present, the disease is rare among people. They are exposed to the disease if they handle infected animals, or if bitten by ticks or another insect that fed on an infected animal. When bacteria come in contact with the skin, they cause ulcers that spread through the body, eventually reaching the lungs. If the bacteria are inhaled, the results can be deadly. Occasionally, there are serious localized outbreaks of the disease. The summers of 2000-01 saw 19 cases of tularemia on Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., and one proved fatal. The Centers for Disease Control came to investigate. An unusually high number (14 out of 19) had pneumonia (the bacteria had entered the lungs) and many involved landscapers. What the CDC suspected was that lawnmowers or other cutting tools struck the carcasses of dead, infected rabbits and the bacteria went airborne. In 2015, there were outbreaks in Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska. The CDC theorized these outbreaks may have been triggered by increases in rabbit populations, which grew in response to more vegetation, caused by higher than normal rainfall. Vegetation, rainfall and landscapers are plentiful in Hawaii; what we don’t have are populations of rabbits running wild — at least not yet. According to state law, people can keep rabbits but they must be contained. If kept outside, rabbits must be in a cage off the ground. The penalties for noncompliance may reflect the seriousness of the threat: loss of your pet, fines or even jail time. Duvall says the natural predators of rabbits in Hawaii — cats, rats or mongoose — are unlikely to keep populations of wild rabbits in check. Rabbits evolved with a multitude of predators: weasels, coyotes, bobcats, owls, hawks, snakes, foxes and raccoons. To survive high mortality rates, they breed like, well, rabbits. The female (doe) can become pregnant with her first litter at 3 months of age, and again just a month later, within days of giving birth. One pair of rabbits can produce 100 kits (baby rabbits) per season, and up to 1,000 in a lifetime. “We know they can become invasive,” explains Duvall. In 1989, six illegally released rabbits quickly became 100 at Hosmer Grove in Haleakala National Park. On Laysan, a small island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, free-roaming rabbits ate the island bare in the early 1900s, likely causing the extinction of three bird species — Laysan millerbird, Laysan apapane and Laysan rail. Beyond environmental impacts, rabbits running wild increase the risk of tularemia. “Rabbits are more often in contact with people,” explains Duvall. Whether as pets kept outdoors or released to the wild, more rabbits means more rabbit-human interactions. Other pets can be affected: dogs, cats and livestock can get tularemia from ticks or direct contact with an infected animal. Early treatment with antibiotics is critical. You can help protect Hawaii. If you have a pet rabbit, spay or neuter it. If you raise rabbits, keep them contained. If you see a rabbit running wild, report it. Call the Maui Invasive Species Committee at 573-6472. Irish R&B Trio Hare Squead’s New Video Is Just The Thing For A Rainy Summer Day http://www.thefader.com/2017/06/09/hare-squead-video-pure-premiere Ireland's imaginative rap and R&B group Hare Squead presents a new video for their soulful track “Pure." Before this release, the Dublin trio appeared on Goldlink's recent At What Cost album, crooning on the song, "Herside Story". In their latest visual, the three artists find themselves on a mental journey, on what seems to be a long day of looking for escape. They play pool and carouse through the city in a G-Class Benz, singing “I just want to leave sometimes/ You should let me breathe sometimes.” “This song represents more of a serious side," Hare Squead told The FADER over email. "We recorded it in a haunted studio in a village in Ireland where Michael Jackson used to record. We were very inspired by old antiques and eerie fields and that had a play on the whole vibe of the track. The meaning of the track is something personal, each of us has a different interpretation. Overall, we could say the meaning of the song is about how fresh love and pure intentions get twisted and messed up as we struggle and fail to understand one another. It's not a summer song. Play it on that one day it rains in the summer.” http://vevo.ly/yPXDHn Peter Sallis, voice in 'Wallace and Gromit,' dies at 96 And with him, one of the great characters in animation. http://www.metro.us/entertainment/movies/peter-sallis-wallace-and-gromit-dies Peter Sallis is one of those actors you probably know more by his voice than his face. He was one of England’s many go-to workhorse actors, appearing on stage and on screen, but usually in minor roles. (These include tiny parts in “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning,” the Timothy Dalton “Wuthering Heights” from 1970 and 2005’s “Colour Me Kubrick.”) But his most famous turn was a biggie. He was the voice of Wallace, the absentminded, cheese-loving inventor of the beloved “Wallace and Gromit” stop-motion animation series — one of the great British exports of the ’80s through the early 2010s. It’s reported that Sallis has died. He was 96 years old. Sallis’ passing leaves us bereft of one of movies’ and television’s most soothing sounds. Hearing him say, in his Northern English drawl, “Cracking good cheese, Gromit,” caused a Pavlovian chill in fans of the franchise, which spanned four award-wining shorts, a television show (2010’s “Wallace and Gromit’s World of Invention,” Sallis’ last credit) and, sadly, only one (delightful) movie: 2005’s “Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit.” Apart from supporting characters — including Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter in “Were-Rabbit” — Sallis was often the only voice you heard on “Wallace and Gromit.” After all, Gromit was his dog, who, of course, never spoke. He didn’t need to; he had one of the most expressive faces in animation, even if it was often used for Buster Keaton-style deadpan, regular there to show his loving exasperation with his owner/flatmate. A rare kind-hearted mad scientist, he was always coming up with harebrained contraptions that got him and Gromit into trouble. In our favorite “W&G” product, the Oscar-winning short “The Wrong Trousers,” Wallace’s oversized, mechanical trousers are commandeered by a devious penguin (posing as a chicken, with a latex glove over his head, natch), who wants to rob a bank. We’re speaking of the “Wallace and Gromit” franchise in the past tense. That’s because we’re not sure if it will continue after Sallis’ passing. Aardman, the peerless stop-motion animation house that made the series (as well as “Chicken Run” and the “Shaun the Sheep” series), did retire their characters in 1996, only to repeatedly revive them, as a world without more “Wallace and Gromit” just seemed to grim to bear. And now that he’s gone, it is. Still, it would be surreal and sad to hear someone taking over for Sallis — much like the disconnect when you hear someone voice Kermit after Jim Henson’s death: The voice is similar, but something’s off. Instead, we can honor Sallis’ legacy by gorging on the “Wallace and Gromit” work we do have. Friends from England tell us it’s tradition there to spend Christmas Day watching a big movie — “Gone with the Wind,” or the original “Star Wars” trilogy” — as well as the original three “Wallace and Gromit” shorts. Might as well make that a tradition here as well. Rabbit in the Moon come to Orlando House of Blues this summer http://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2017/05/30/rabbit-in-the-moon-come-to-orlando-house-of-blues-this-summer The psychedelic duo will be performing at the House of Blues on Saturday, Aug. 19. Doors open at 8 p.m. Since their reunion at Ultra Music Festival in Miami in 2016, following a six-year hiatus, singer-performer Bunny and producer David Christophere have been making more regular appearances together. https://youtu.be/nDCnWn-WrNw Tickets for the show go on sale Friday, June 2. Unicorn drinks, rabbit pizza on Stampede menu https://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/7321411-unicorn-drinks-rabbit-pizza-on-stampede-menu/ CALGARY — The annual reveal of new foods coming to the Calgary Stampede has been released, and the list includes both the sickeningly sweet and the simply weird. The Unicorn White Hot Chocolate offers white hot chocolate surrounded in rainbow sour poppers, sprinkles, sugary stars, a ribbon rainbow tail, and blanketed with a fluffy cotton candy cloud. Cereal Monster Sandwiches consist of a massive amount of ice cream crushed between two marshmallow squares, while the Cookie Dough-ne offers raw cookie dough in a waffle cone that is surrounded by cotton candy. From the fryer, there's deep-fried Jell-O, pork belly and something confusingly called Butter Chicken Bear Balls, which is described as "golden deep-fried balls smothered in a delicious butter chicken sauce ... and topped with a candy-coated anise." Canadian bacon Pickle Balls are a hot dog and pickle wrapped in bacon, fried in batter and served on a stick, while the World’s Hottest Pizza delivers its flavor punch by simply packing on the ghost peppers. If unconventional meat is your thing, try the rabbit pizza, crispy chicken feet on a stick or the Angry Chicken sandwich, smothered in both chipolte aioli and sweet and sour sauce. And no Stampede would be complete without a not-routine poutine, and this year the prize must go to the Tropical Bobster, consisting of lobster and mango salsa atop crispy fries. The Calgary Stampede runs from July 7 to 16. By The Canadian Press Photo Magic Minot Camera Club awards winners in ‘Year-End Competition http://www.minotdailynews.com/life/arts-entertainment/2017/05/photo-magic/ Along with winning first place for “Prairie Storm,” Zeltinger was voted winner of the Eileen McEown Outstanding Member Award. Submitted Photo “Have You Seen a Rabbit?” by Minot photographer Erich Linser earned first place in the monochrome division. Submitted Photo “Have You Seen a Rabbit?” by Minot photographer Erich Linser earned first place in the monochrome division. As Zeltinger captured the ferocity of a lightning storm, Kyra Hansen, of Minot, seized the magic of “Fireflies” in the artistic division. “Kyra is an up and coming photographer,” Nordstrom said. “She has an incredible eye for catching pictures and adds a unique artistic quality to them. Kyra has a bright future.” For the fourth year in a row, Hansen was awarded Outstanding Photographer of the Year. While Hansen caught the mesmerizing “Fireflies,” Erich Linser, of Minot, tested the curiosity of viewers in his first-place monochrome winner, “Have You Seen a Rabbit?” “This picture has placed in various North Dakota competitions,” Nordstrom said. “Erich has a special way of capturing the eyes of viewers.”   For Wichita artist, a bunny a day keeps the boredom away http://www.kansas.com/entertainment/ent-columns-blogs/keeper-of-the-plans/article150898277.html By Matt Riedl Wade Hampton doesn’t have a bizarre obsession with rabbits. He just likes their form, artistically – simple as that. “From an artistic standpoint, I think rabbits are the perfect subject if you’re going to draw an animal,” Hampton said. “I don’t have some weird obsession with rabbits, like I’m running around the yard chasing them.” As a creative challenge, Hampton is drawing a bunny every day for a year and posting the results on Instagram. Some of his rabbits are cute – the kind with carrots and flowers included – and some are creepy, with dark circles under their eyes and cigarettes dangling from their mouths. People have enjoyed the project on social media – whenever Hampton shares his drawings on Facebook, they typically garner upward of 150 reactions. Not bad for quick daily doodles. “For me, it’s an experiment,” Hampton said. “I know the majority of them are not very good. That’s not a big deal to me. It’s like publicly putting out a sketchbook.” Hampton is well-known in Wichita for hosting “home shows,” in which he would invite friends and strangers to his home, where the walls were covered with hundreds of doodles like these, all for sale. While Hampton said he has decided to stop doing the home shows, he wanted to keep his artistic chops sharp – hence the bunny project. “I did a bunch of shows a long time ago called Art from the Gut, where you just do a bunch of drawings and you don’t really think about it too much,” Hampton said. “The thinking is that if you don’t think about it too much, some magic can happen.” About three months into the project, Hampton said Tuesday he’s considering putting on a bunny-drawing show at a gallery later this year. Those plans are still in flux, though, so until then, your primary viewing outlet will be at www.instagram.com/drawabunnydaily. “Hand to God, when I did these, it was totally for an experiment. ... You know me: If I wasn’t doing a show, I’d probably do some kind of video where I burn them all and some guy in a rabbit costume dances around it and call it art,” Hampton said. “It’s nice for these pieces to find a home – otherwise, they just sit in a sketchbook until I die. I’d much rather have somebody say I framed this and stuck it on my wall than it sit in my drawer.”   http://www.petgazette.biz/14537-burgess-celebrates-national-pet-show-success/ Burgess celebrates National Pet Show success Burgess Pet Care has announced that this year’s National Pet Show in London has been its most successful yet. The company more than doubled its sales from last year. Burgess’ team highlighted the welfare needs of small animals and provided information about the benefits of high-quality feeding hay. Dr Suzanne Moyes MVB MRCVS, veterinary director at Burgess, held a series of presentations aimed at educating small animal owners – and those considering a new addition to the family – about the responsibilities of pet ownership and the best ways to ensure the health and happiness of small animals. As organizers of this year’s Rabbit Awareness Week (RAW), the National Pet Show provided the team with a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness around the importance of high-quality feeding hay in rabbits’ diets. Once again, the Burgess team joined forces with Julian Norton, star of Channel 5’s hit TV show The Yorkshire Vet, who was in attendance at the Burgess stand to sign copies of his new book and talk about the importance of feeding hay as part of this year’s RAW campaign. The #HoptoHay campaign is raising awareness around the fact rabbits should have between 85-90% of feeding hay and grass in their diets every day. Charlotte Varley, Event Manager at Burgess Pet Care, said: “This year’s National Pet Show in London has been our biggest yet, and we couldn’t be happier with the feedback we’ve had from visitors at the stand. Our sales were more than double of that last year – we even sold out of some product lines by the end of the first day! “The wellbeing of animals is at the heart of everything we do, and events such as the National Pet Show provide an amazing opportunity to engage with enthusiastic pet owners who share our love of animals, and help them learn more about how they can keep their animals well looked after and happy. “As we move closer to this year’s Rabbit Awareness Week, we’ll continue to work with our partners to help better the lives of more rabbits and to help more people understand one of Britain’s most misunderstood pets.” Rabbit awareness week takes place this year between June 17-25 and is supported by a variety of partners, including Agria Pet Insurance, RSPCA and RWAF     South Pasadena bans sale of dogs, cats, rabbits from pet stores http://www.sgvtribune.com/government-and-politics/20170519/south-pasadena-bans-sale-of-dogs-cats-rabbits-from-pet-stores SOUTH PASADENA >> By a unanimous vote, the City Council outlawed the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits from pet stores and other commercial establishments within the city. The ban received overwhelming support from community members and animal rights’ groups who see it as a step toward shutting down puppy mills, said Councilwoman Marina Khubesrian. “The thank you letters are still pouring in this morning,” she said on Friday. Recommended by the city’s Animal Commission, the new ordinance was first approved Wednesday night by a 5-0 vote. It must receive approval upon second reading in June and takes effect 30 days after final approval, she said. Puppy mills usually breed cats and dogs in poor conditions and sell them to pet stores and other retail outlets. But the sale of puppies, kittens and rabbits has become an interstate business facilitated by ads on Internet sites, something the retail ban will not address, the city report states. “Such an ordinance will assist in reducing the demand for animals bred in substandard facilities,” concluded the report from Arthur Miller, chief of police. Once in effect, the ordinance will mostly affect Pet’s Delight, which sells puppies, kittens and rabbits. The store, located at 725 Fair Oaks Ave., also sells rodents, reptiles, birds and fish and the sales of these animals are not banned by the ordinance. A woman answering the phone said the store would have no comment. The Urban Pet, down the street at 900 Fair Oaks, does not sell animals and therefore would not be affected by the new ordinance. Khubesrian said the city had not heard from Pet’s Delight, adding: “This will not put them out of business.” The city had not received a response from anyone opposing the change, she said. Dozens of people spoke in favor of the ordinance at City Hall Wednesday night. Khubesrian said the city received 60 to 70 emails in support. On Thursday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent each council member and police Capt. Mike Neff who helped craft the ordinance vegan chocolates in the shape of rabbits as thank you gifts. “Cruel puppy, kitten and rabbit breeding mills churn out animals into a world that’s already bursting at the seams with homeless animals, said Tracy Reiman, PETA executive vice president in a statement. “PETA hopes South Pasadena’s progressive example will inspire other cities across the country to ban the sale of animals in pet stores.” Instead of buying kittens, puppies or rabbits from Internet dealers or pet stores, Khubesrian encourages residents to adopt them from the Pasadena Humane Society, whom the city has a contract, or from pet rescue organizations. The city will encourage more pet adoption events to be held at pet stores, she said. She said buying from a puppy mill often means the puppy is not healthy and can end up costing the buyer in veterinarian bills. Licensed pedigree dog and cat breeders will not be affected by the ban, she said. “Pedigree breeders don’t subject the animals to constant litters and the animals are raised in a much more humane environment,” said Khubesrian.

The 58th Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson. Special guests: the talents behind Aardman Animations, which this month celebrates its 40th anniversary. Returning to the podcast are previous guests and Aardman co-founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton, with 'Wallace and Gromit' and 'Creature Comforts' creator Nick Park making his first appearance. Produced and edited by Ben Mitchell Music by Ben Mitchell