History International Channel

[YankeyMCC]

Anyone else have this on their cable selection?

I recently moved and in the process changed my cable subscription to something cheaper yet I somehow ended up with More channels (there's a nefarious result for you...there's definitely a conspiracy to keep the masses inundated by mass media) anyway one channel that at first seemed like a positive addition was the History International channel.

I think they should call this channel Xian Religious History Channel (or maybe Abrahamic religious history)...I mean as a person who enjoys learning about world history I understand that religion will have important connections to much of history and in fact enjoy learning about the history of religions in general. But so far Every single show has been treatment of biblical, or earlier stuff from judaism, stories as historical events or figures. As if they are trying to make the case for biblical historical accuracy :eyes: There was even a statement to that effect by someone on a show titled "Jesus Jerusalem" I watched it for a bit because the description sounded interesting, what the city would have been like at the time Jesus is supposed to have lived. But it started out with an description of Jesus' visits to the city as described in the bible and then a bunch of people finding support for biblical descriptions of events and places in the city described in the bible.

wtf

I gotta just dump cable completely.

[Warpy]

1. I have to admit the guy trying to prove the OT buy bull stories

is diverting. He's also honest enough to point out the buy bull generally gets the time and/or place wrong. He's had some interesting theories, for instance the Santorini megablast forming the conditions necessary for the Exodus plague stories and the ~6000BC partial collapse of Etna and subsequent megatsunami being the basis for the flood stories in the region.

I got a huge kick out of his blue dye story. You really have to wonder how bored someone had to be to discover a chemical process using snails and a lot of noxious stuff would dye wool bright, clear blue. Anyone who has fiddled around with natural dyestuffs exclusive of indigo can tell you blue is one hell of a color to try to produce.

I don't watch it very often. I find myself watching the Science channel much more often than either History channel. Still, even the buy bull guy can be interesting.

[onager]

2. Get it here in Egypt, but it must be a different version.

For one thing, we seem to have a refreshing lack of Bronze Age Jewish propaganda. Wonder why that is?

:rofl:

We had another thread about this in the Skeptics group, I think. A lot of people said HI in the States broadcast a lot of woo-woo crap about alien autopsies etc.

There doesn't seem to be much of that over here in Egypt, either, for some strange but wonderful reason. The other night I noticed HI had a show about crop circles, so they occasionally slip.

But most of the time it's--gasp!--actual history shows. Not long ago I saw a good 2-hour documentary about the American civil rights struggle.

[LeftyMom]

3. They had a couple of good ones last night about the dark ages and the plague

I've noticed that they seem to have theme weeks, with some weeks having real history and others having ghost woo or near major christian holidays Jesus woo. Less than regular History though.

Oddly, there seems to be a lot of good history content on the Military channel. The weather channel actually runs one on the impact of weather on historical events- I've only caught it once, an episode focused on the battle of the bulge, but it was very good and had surprisingly impressive production values.

[onager]

5. Thanks! I'll watch for that.

The Weather Channel shows sound good. Here in Egypt, I get a couple of Discovery channels, and they seem to air some of the (mostly) Reality-Based shows that would be on other channels in the US.

The effect of weather and other uncontrollable variables on history is a fascinating subject to me.

e.g., I love this comment about Sir William Howe, the first British commander-in-chief during the American Revolution:

War in his view was an enterprise conducted by gentlemen who should not be expected to bestir themselves during inclement weather.

Fortunately, Gen. Howe was well-prepared for inclement weather, if somewhat...distracted. Or maybe, in modern language, he just made Poor Relationship Choices. As a poet of the time wrote:

Sir William he, snug as a flea,
Lay all this time a-snoring;
Nor dreamt of harm, as he lay warm
In bed with Mrs. Loring.

Interesting explanatory note from the American Heritage website:

Howe...had brought his mistress from Boston, Mrs. Elizabeth Loring, the attractive wife of Loyalist Joshua Loring Jr., a commissary of prisoners. Mr. Loring seemed comfortable with the arrangement as long as he kept his lucrative appointment. Howe was roundly criticized for continuing to enjoy the pleasures of Philadelphia rather than press on with the hostilities.

[YankeyMCC]

7. I saw those titles but gave up any hope they wouldn't somehow

turn into another show on 'historical facts supporting religion' like I describe above.

I watched Monty Python instead :)

That Weather channel show does sound interesting, thanks for the heads up I'll keep a weather eye out for it.

[LeftyMom]

9. They actually handled religion really well

The Dark Ages show pointed out that the church was pretty much the last bastion of literacy and learning, but that the monks tended to regard their custody of ancient and non-christian learning as something of a moral evil. The Plague thing went into more detail about the fervency that the fear of disease inspired, notably in what's now Germany with the flagellant movement, and did so in a way that really wasn't at all flattering to believers.

I was pleasantly surprised.

[and-justice-for-all]

4. Do you have Free Speech TV?

They will be airing 'The brief History Of Disbelief' soon.

[YankeyMCC]

6. I don't think so...unfortunately nt

[and-justice-for-all]

8. Then you most likely do not get LINKTv either..?

that sucks

[LeftyMom]

10. The Travel Channel is currently airing some kind of pyramid woo

they're taking supposed mediums into tombs and having them give their impressions, then patching them together with a bit of history and trying to make soap opera-worthy tales (as if real Egyptian history weren't already a bit long on them- we are talking about a degree of incest unusual even in royal families, after all) of the mess. It's even got that high, echoing new agey music in the background. I'm hoping they'll mention something really nuts like a conflict with Atlantis or contact with aliens, because so far it's goofy but kinda lame.

The show is Paranormal Egypt: Tomb Builders of the New Kingdom, in case anybody else wants to torture themselves.

Edit: I gave up and switched to the Weather Channel. As train wrecks go, I prefer watching their reporters stand in the hurricane and tell you that the wind is getting pretty strong, it's rainy, and they really ought to go inside soon. Ya think? :eyes: