Archive for July 3rd, 2008
A ‘Re-Review’ of Journey to 10,000 B.C.
Several weeks ago, a public relations company contacted me to let me know about the release of the History Channel’s Journey 10,000 B.C. 
and if I’d like a review copy. I said sure, despite the fact that I viewed the original airing of the show in March and wrote up an unfavorable review of it. But I didn’t say anything.
I was kinda surprised that the P.R. person, who went thru the effort of contacting me, didn’t extend that effort on researching if I hadn’t already reviewed the show. Actually I’m kinda dumbfounded, given that my original review is currently the second hit on Google for the search string, “Journey to 10,000 B.C.” It takes a few seconds to do that search, and for a company that ‘cultivates word-of-mouth measurably… through authentic social media,’ I feel as if they failed massively.
Anyways, the person sent me a copy of the DVD to review. I checked out the DVD. Nothing has changed since the original airing of show. The production value is still as crappy as it was when it first aired, and the most interesting argument made in the show is the review of the Soluteran peopling of the Americas, albeit it is a very far fetched, unsubstantiated hypothesis. I do not recommend you shell out your time and money to see this documentary.
I really don’t know why I’m blogging about this, I kinda feel obligated to do since she recently reminded me that she sent the DVD and is looking forward to a review of it. If this individual did her homework before she pitched the product to me, I wouldn’t have continued to make this point… perhaps something can be learned from this, do a quick Google search!
“Stick around things you love,” Pardis Sabeti
I wonder if Pardis Sabeti is going to be releasing a book or announcing something big for all this recent press on her? 
A couple days ago, we saw her short biography on Big Think and in April Science ran a prominent overview of her research and accomplishments. Last night, PBS’s NOVA scienceNOW ran a segment featuring her life and hobbies. The segment is available for viewing on PBS’ website in Quicktime or Windows Media format.
You should check this out to get some insight into her life as a first generation immigrant, rock star, professor at Harvard, and geneticist. If you can’t check out the video, the full transcript of her interview is up as well.
