Skip to footer

Top Picks: Judah & The Lion's album 'Kids These Days,' the 'Sherlock Limited Edition Gift Set,' and more

Fathom Events programming includes Bolshoi Ballet's 'The Nutcracker' and 'White Christmas: The 60th Anniversary,' the documentary 'Song By Song: Lindsay Stirling' examines the electronic dubstep violinist and dancer's meteoric rise, and more top picks.

|
PBS
|
BBC
|
Ovation
  • By Staff

Dancing violinist

Lindsey Stirling is an electronic dubstep violinist and dancer who has combined her talents in theatrical YouTube videos that have drawn more than 800 million views. If you aren’t aware of this rising crossover pop phenom, check out her dozens of eclectic videos online or tune into arts cable network Ovation for a documentary on her meteoric rise, Song By Song: Lindsey Stirling. It premières Dec. 9 at 10 p.m. Check local listings.

American maverick

The PBS program Rickover: The Birth of Nuclear Power tells the story of the life of Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, who led the quest for a nuclear-powered submarine in the 1950s and created the world’s first commercial nuclear power plant. As the debate on the use of nuclear power continues, Rickover’s work is an inextricable part of the conversation. It airs Dec. 9 at 8 p.m.; check local listings for rebroadcasting times.

Positively upbeat

Energetic folk-pop trio Judah & the Lion aims to produce dance-worthy music. Its new album, Kids These Days, meets that goal with up-tempo songs such as “Kickin’ da Leaves” and “Mason-Dixon Line.” The group may have its base in Christian music but “Kids These Days” mostly bounces with infectious positivity, not unlike the Millennial generation it represents.

Favorite sleuth

Sherlock Holmes never goes out of style, but this season the most stylish gift out there is the Sherlock Limited Edition Gift Set of the first three seasons on DVD and Blu-ray, starring the inimitable Benedict Cumberbatch (see opposite page for a review of his latest movie). The six-disc box set includes minibusts of the detective and his sidekick, original bonus features, and star interviews. It’s a “sure lock” for one of the best gift sets around this year. 

Holiday outings

Fathom Events will host a series of performances throughout December at select theaters in the United States. Add these to your list of holiday outings: live performances from the Met of “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” (Dec. 13 and 17); “White Christmas: The 60th Anniversary” (Dec. 14-15); The Royal Ballet’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” (Dec. 16); and Bolshoi Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” (Dec. 21). Check fathomevents.com.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Top Picks: Judah & The Lion's album 'Kids These Days,' the 'Sherlock Limited Edition Gift Set,' and more
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Arts/2014/1205/Top-Picks-Judah-The-Lion-s-album-Kids-These-Days-the-Sherlock-Limited-Edition-Gift-Set-and-more
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe