Claire Burch Video Catalog The Mysterious World Of Claire Burch PRODUCED BY ART AND EDUCATION MEDIA INC. Also visit our website: http://www.dnai.com/~cburch All videos are $24.95 plus $4.00 shipping. They are standard VHS format. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A Festival of Bay Area Music (Relix Concert) Color / sound / 58 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-79-7 A documentary commemorating an event sponsored by Relix magazine. Included is the legendary Ramblin' Jack Elliot, introductions by J.C. Flyer, and assorted Bay Area bands. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Alfonia Color / sound / 58 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-32-0 A memorial tribute to Alfonia Tims Jr., an innovative African American jazz musician who died at age 26, three weeks before release of his first highly praised and well received album. Includes early conversations, original music and other documentary material. The second half is titled Anyhow What Was Your Dream, Alfonia? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Amazing Art of Beauford Delaney From David Leming's reading from his Biography of James Baldwin Color / sound / 20 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-89-4 David Leming, author of James Baldwin, a Biography (Scribner's, 1994) narrates an incident involving the African American painter Beauford Delaney, and James Baldwin. Stills of the artwork of this little known painter are interspersed throughout. Of Beauford Delaney, Henry Miller wrote "His work is amazing. It is sad that the last years of his life had to be spent in a psychiatric unit." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Another Trip With Ram Dass Color / sound / 45 minutes Dr Richard Alpert, known as Ram Dass, worked with Timothy Leary at Harvard and later Millbrook, experimenting with psychedelics. He has written valuable books and his speeches are a continuing inspiration to many. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Atrocities of the Drug War Ram Dass Speaks Out Color / sound / 30 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-86-x Ram Dass (Richard Alpert) was one of the noted speakers at a Human Rights Forum conducted at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco in 1995. This piece, which is Part One, communicates his moving and sensitive suggestions towards solutions to the injustices described in the Forum's exhibit of photographs and case histories. Later parts will include more music, other speakers, and an historic reading of a new "manifesto" of human rights. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Highlights of Atrocities of the Drug War Color / sound / 45 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-30-4 Paul Krassner, Jello Biafra and others continue the symposium begun by Ram Dass (Richard Alpert). Featuring photos from the exhibit Give Peace A Chance, set to readings of a new Human Rights manifesto. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Celebrate for the Rain Featuring the Music of Elizabeth Burch Color / sound / 40 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-88-6 A young girl plays and sings her original songs at age fourteen. These haunting melodies help her to come to terms with her father's death when she was six, and the assorted mysteries of growing up in a non-mainstream New York City subculture. Despite the singer's age, both guitar and voice lead the listener to major emotions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Country Joe McDonald at Provo Park Earth Day Concert with Wild Mango and Others Color / sound / 58 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-84-3 Country Joe and his Band perform folk and folk rock favorites on a festive occasion, Earth Day, celebrating installation of the new "Peace Wall," a collection of peace tiles made by individuals in the Berkeley community. The video begins with a heart-stopping daring dance, by dancers secured by ropes, down the side of a high adjacent building. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Country Joe McDonald: Concerts at People's Park Color / sound / 58 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-78-9 Country Joe McDonald, known still for his "Fixin' to Die Rag" (the Fish Cheer) in the Sixties -- which made a huge splash at the original Woodstock Festival -- is still an activist. He does benefits at People's Park in Berkeley, usually on Earth Day or celebrating other memorable events such as the opening of a Farmer's Market. This piece, which starts with a stirring music video, encompasses two separate concerts during which cut-ins of images from the Sixties, as well as current street problems, are heavily used. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elegy for a Street Survivor (Yume) Color / sound / 45 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-82-7 This piece follows the strange memorial that takes place after Yume, a homeless man who had been a "Buddhist hippie" dies of respiratory distress. His friends gather to perform odd rituals such as passing out his last pack of cigarettes, burning money in his honor, etc. As their feelings and tributes are expressed, the little knot of street people begins to take on the aspects of a Felliniesque procession. A fascinating addition to annals of contemporary sociology as well as an absorbing tale. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Entering Oakland Color / sound / 50 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-31-2 A documentary about the problems of African Americans in Oakland and a look at the city itself. The narration is partly by James Baldwin, partly by Erskine Peters of Notre Dame. Much music. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Ghost of Solid Gold Illusion Meets Danny Boy Color / sound / 30 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-77-0 A homeless man with a biting sense of humor gives his views, along with psychedelic cut-ins of a series of images that seem to invade his consciousness. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ghost of the SF Oracle Meets Timothy Leary Color / sound / 75 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-75-4 Also containing: Ghost of the "others" meets Timothy Leary The "Naked People" of Berkeley Partly surreal documentation of a book-signing by Timothy Leary at Cody's Bookstore in Berkeley. The book is Chaos and Cyberculture, (Ronin Publishing, Berkeley), 1994. The "Ghost" consists of images from the Facsimile Edition of the old Haight Ashbury San Francisco Oracle, published by Regent Press. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Guilty Until Proven Not Guilty -- Napoleon's Revenge The Nightmare Ordeal of Steve Weissner Color / sound / 58 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-81-9 This video tells the incredible story of a hippie dropout from Brooklyn, New York who, after years in the Far East and Southeast Asia, lands in the oldest prison in France, serving five years for a drug related "murder without intent." On appeal years later he is finally found not guilty, but through a fluke of French "justice" under Napoleonic laws, his eight to ten year sentence still stands. During this period the Gulf War occurs and he is the only Jewish American surrounded by Arabs, in Nimes, a four-hundred-year-old prison. We learn of his ill-fated relationship with Victoria Lockwood, a young model later to become sister-in-law to Princess Diana of England. The viewer isn't sure whether to laugh or cry at the the unbelievable mix-up in X-rays during his imprisonment, and the resulting series of misadventures until his final release when he becomes the first American prisoner to ever win against the French government. Cured of his addiction the hard way, he returns to America as a street survivor, homeless and destitute but determined to start over. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hello Goodbye Bob Sparks Color / sound / 90 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-93-2 A piece in four parts, archiving a march to People's Park in memory of longtime park and housing activist Bob Sparks. Much music by local musicians. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Helping Children at Risk Occupational Therapy with Crack and Alcohol Addicted Children Color / sound / 30 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-85-1 Rhoda Cohen, an occupational therapist with forty years of hospital experience, takes on a class of crack-addicted young children including those born with fetal alcohol syndrome, working with them individually each week. This piece follows her methods through one intense session. Helpful to families and teachers alike, the piece clearly demonstrates the therapist's innovative methods and how they help solve some of the learning difficulties faced by these children. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The History of American Funeral Directing Color / sound / 45 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-94-0 A heavily illustrated view of the world of mortuaries, embalming, caskets and funeral practices all over America, with a fascinating narration by an ex funeral director. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Homeless in the Nineties (The Video) Color / sound / 40 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-33-9 Book available also from Regent Press The combined emphasis is on the friction between society and a marginalized group -- a friction that is potentially explosive. This emphasis is characterized by the opening clip, James Baldwin addressing an audience in Berkeley, where Baldwin says: "If I ain't got nothing to lose, what are you going to do to me?" The primary view of the situation is given via an impassioned interview at the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley with Margaret, a homeless Native American and mother of three. Includes original songs and images about homelessness. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Home Care for Children with Emotional Disturbances (The Video) Color / sound / 60 minutes A Book and Video by CLAIRE BURCH narrated by MARK WEIMAN The chapter on children, from the classic book STRANGER IN THE FAMILY, explores ways of helping. As Dr. Walter Barton, Medical director of the American Psychiatric Association, pointed out in his introduction, "her poetic and heartfelt plea is a simple one addressed to all parents; namely that they consciously aspire to ever greater tolerance of those who are "different" who can be free to live in our world, accepted on their own terms, as people "different but equal". "In this much needed volume Claire Burch has provided an important service for those who have had to cope in everyday life with the "different," the troubled, the sometimes troublesome individuals, both in and out of the home. She has done for families of the emotionally disturbed what Benjamin Spock did for those responsible for Baby and Child Care Clearly and simply written, this sound book takes the reader through the foundations of both mental health and illness, helps with the understanding of how their manifestations came about, and directs attention to what is available to deal with individuals in difficulty. At the same time there are do's and don'ts that provide constructive directions for handling the problems involved. The author covers not only the wide spectrum of age related problems beginning with children, but also covers the newer types of treatment and community programs. This book's purpose is to relieve the helplessness which so often is the understandable response of the family member when faced with the distress and need for action in the face of emotional disturbance in the home." Reginald Lourie Director, Psychiatry Children's Hospital, District of Columbia ------------------------------------------------------------------------ How I Got Out of Jail and Ran For Governor of Indiana: The Jim Moore Story (The Video) Color / sound / 58 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-55-x (Book also available, see Book catalog) In 1931, Jim Moore, alias Theodore Luesse, went to prison for 21 months for "obstructing legal process." What he was doing was obstructing evictions in Indiana. Bursting with blue collar wit and post Great Depression wisdom. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The James Baldwin Anthology Color / sound / 90 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-49-5 A celebration of the ideas of James Baldwin, punctuated by original music and a ride through the city of Oakland during one of his visits. Also including additional excerpts from his work, read by Professor Erskine Peters of Notre Dame University, and an illuminating speech by Baldwin. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Judy and Emily Color / sound / 45 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-87-8 The video film Judy and Emily takes a thirty five minute memory stroll through the lives of a single mother and her daughter. Undaunted by what fate had thrown at them in the way of a congenital illness that keeps Judy in a wheelchair without the use of her hands, arms or legs, what she manages to put together in the way of a joy-seeking responsible and creative life is simply inspiring, though with its bitter lemon moments. With what grace and humor Judy serves soup to her friend the filmmaker, the serving ladle held securely in Judy's mouth as she deftly transfers food from pot to plate. Take a close look at beautiful Judy and her beautiful daughter, growing up before our very eyes. Don't define Judy by her disability; her sometimes acerbic wit and gentle sarcasm inside the world of pet cats, pet dogs, pet plants and pet people she oversees can bring a burst of laughter to your life. Contributions to Habitat for Humanity in their name might help give Judy and Emily an accessible house where their pets would be welcome and Judy would be able to paint pictures again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kenny & Georgia The Story of a Homeless African American Couple Color / sound / 58 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-80-0 Kenny and Georgia is a thirty minute video film about a homeless couple. It contains voiceover and images of Kenny and Georgia, intercut with scenes and images of their friends and acquaintances, who are also homeless. A large part of the film consists of original music set to images of homeless break-ins, squats and gatherings in People's Park in Berkeley. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lethal Weapons The Visual Art of Barton Benes Color / sound / 20 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-76-2 An illustrated interview with an artist who had just had a museum retrospective, who uses his own H.I.V. positive blood as "art supplies." Barton Benes is known for his visual puns and politically rebellious treatment of money. After he tore up a three thousand dollar grant from the NY Council on the Arts, the US Treasury sent him a million dollars in shredded money which he used to create assemblages and collages. He states, "I can tear up a ten dollar bill, use it in my art pieces, and and a bank will buy it for a thousand, perceiving the humor in the creation." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Murder In Our Family Color / sound / 45 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-52-5 A young woman dies, leaving two small children. Her husband remarries with the promise that his new wife will help raise them. She becomes progressively deranged and murders him along with the youngest child, as they sleep. An aunt, who adopted the surviving child, tells this chilling story of the near destruction of a middle class family. Narrated by the aunt who, at age ninety, is still unable to forget the details of the event. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nepal at Risk Community Development and the Environment by Elizabeth Burch Color / sound / 60 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-68-1 Produced on location in the Himalayan Kingdom in 1992, this beautifully filmed video examines environmental problems that exist in Nepal, home to the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest. The World Bank lists Nepal as one of the poorest countries in the world, with a per-capita income of $160. Out of a population of over 19 million Nepalese, 90 percent are subsistence farmers scraping out a living in remote mountain villages. An increase in tourism, coupled with population growth and an inequality of resources, has had a negative impact on Nepal's fragile ecosystem. Threatened by environmental disaster, today, the Himalayan kingdom is no longer the "Shangri-La" touted in the tourist guidebooks. As the need for answers to the ecocrisis in the Indian subcontinent increase, the Nepalese people work to reverse the environmental destruction of their land. Environmental experts find that only a holistic approach toward development will lead to sustainable growth accompanied by environmental protection. With poverty alleviation playing a critical role in the development process, plans to protect Nepal's natural resources must address local communities' basic needs. By highlighting environmental projects in the field, Nepal at Risk identifies several successful strategies in nature conservation. The program shows that when citizens are included in the development process, solutions toward saving the environment become possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A New Connection: The Video Drug Treatment / color / sound / 45 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-56-8 Interview with Dr. John Frykman, former director of drug services at the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic, presently clinical director at Ross Hospital in Marin County. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Oracle Rising The Recreation of the Haight Ashbury Underground Newspaper Color / sound / 58 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-28-2 Oracle Rising is a one hour video film of historical interest to libraries, universities and the collector worldwide. It chronicles through music, psychedelic images and narration, the unforgettable phenomenon of Haight Ashbury in the 60's. The film contains images of Oracle pages superimposed on historical events, plus footage of the famous Human Be In. It is filled with exciting archival footage of the "Summer of Love." This unusual film celebrates a creative achievement, the publishing by Regent Press of The Oracle Facsimile Edition. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ People's Park of Berkeley: Then and Now Color / sound / 58 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-35-5 A kaleidoscope of past and present sociology concerning the origin of the free speech movement in America. Contains music performed at the controversial park, haunting footage of some of the "regulars" who hang out there and usually line up for the Food Not Bombs meal daily at 2:30 pm. Contains a running commentary by the author - historian Michael Rossman. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Remembering Jonathan Color / sound / 30 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-92-4 People gather at People's Park to remember Jonathan Montague, a familiar figure. According to park custom, his belongings, consisting mostly of books and stuffed animals, are givien away to anyone who wants them. Much music. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Remembering the Summer of Love and other songs Color / sound / 30 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-36-3 A musical tribute to Bill Graham. Also includes several songs from the musical play by Claire Burch: It's a Blues to be Called Crazy when Crazy's All There Is. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Telegraph Avenue Street Musicians The Concert at Ashkenaz Color / sound / 58 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-83-5 A group of Telegraph Avenue street musicians get together to celebrate a C.D. done on a grant to empower the homeless. Their concert at Ashkenaz contains surreal documentary cut-ins that introduce rebellious social issues to the outward reality of their concert. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Second Timothy Leary Tape Color / sound / 150 minutes Containing: Ghost of the SF Oracle Meets Timothy Leary If Leary Was Dreaming How Tim Leary Changed My Life Second Thoughts Of Tim Leary Tim Leary Remembers the Summer of Love (two songs) Claire Burch writes: In 1995 and '96 I was able to film Dr. Leary whenever he was in the San Francisco area. This material began to assume assorted forms and eventually became the basis for the pieces on this tape. Like his own thinking, they are not all rooted in "straight reality"; both his words and images are collaged against psychedelic overlays that still preoccupy his vision. "In appreciation of Claire Burch's brilliant video documentaries of the 60's counter culture" Michael Horowitz / Cynthia Palmer Author - archivists Cynthia Palmer and Michael Horowitz are directors of the Fitz Hugh Ludlow Memorial Library in San Francisco. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To Save Jack Kerouac's Daughter Color / sound / 58 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-90-8 Archival documentation, including interesting surreal visual material, of a benefit to save Jan Kerouac, daughter of Jack, by raising money to get her a kidney transplant. Ken Kesey, Paul Krassner, Allen Cohen, editor of the old Oracle, Ramblin' Jack Elliot and others present tributes to Jack Kerouac, and poet Gerald Nicosia describes the controversy about a "conspiracy" involving the Will of the author of On the Road. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I Can't Give You Anything but Love drawings by Claire Burch Including more of the "Unusual People drawings" used in the forthcoming Hollywood movie "Timothy Leary's Dead" plus Solid Gold Illusion paintings by Claire Burch set to original music. Color / sound / 90 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-34-7 Images from the book Solid Gold Illusion, plus new ones, set to music. "Finally I liked the funky poem drawing collage works of Claire Burch. Burch is something else. . . . The main interest in Burch's show is a series of drawings incorporating fragments of family snapshots and matched to the pages of a manuscript of poems. Gallant and garrulous the poems confront the trauma of the artist's loss with lines a likeable as these: ". . . my mother rages / get out and look for a new father for your children / my children don't want a new father they want pizza." The graceful economical drawings meanwhile depict men and women sitting or lying around in a state of sensuous alertness. The intimacy is unforced and infectious. . ." Peter Schjeldahl The New York Times ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stranger on the Planet The Story of Laurie Color / sound / 30 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-58-4 Laurie, who died of an overdose, was one of a huge group of people -------------- strangers on this planet -- who were always given what is called a "dual diagnosis," emotional problems and chemical dependency. You see them wander by, often in some dire emergency, often in pain. They live in a thousand places, go to hospitals for a few days, take a geographical escape often, hoping that a new place will make them better. They need more help than they get, and they need it now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Street Survivors, More Street Survivors, & History of a Street Survivor Color / sound / 90 minutes (in three parts, 30 minutes each) / ISBN 0-916147-51-7 A compassionate look at the people who go through life's most intense emotions on the streets of Berkeley, sometimes landing in hospitals, other times simply "expressing themselves" in an area that tolerates more differences than the mainstream of American society. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Telegraph Avenue Street Calendar LIVE Color / sound / 58 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-53-3 The filmmaker probes the soul of people on the street with her guerrilla camera and open heart. Includes The "Naked People" of Berkeley. Thumbed a Ride to Heaven ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Music of Alfonia Tims and Others Color / sound / 40 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-74-6 An all-music film which features the music composed and improvised by Alfonia Tims, a young African American musician, along with others. There are powerful visual cut-ins to this brilliant early funk music by several jazz musicians. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ What Really Killed Rosebud? Color / sound / 58 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-69-x Tells the story of Rosebud Abigail Denovo, a homeless young girl of 19 who was killed by an Oakland police officer on August 25, 1992. A later autopsy report revealed heavy discrepancies in the story given to the media. The piece interviews street survivors, Rosebud's boyfriend, her many friends from People's Park of Berkeley, and others, raising disturbing questions. It contains songs and incidental music, memorials by those who knew and loved her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Ghost of James Baldwin at Glide Memorial Color / sound / 30 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-49-5 A touching reminder of poverty in San Francisco. Across from the church dispensing free Christmas dinners, a homeless break-in is taking place. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Solid Gold Illusion, Variations I, II and III Color / sound / 90 minutes / ISBN 0-916147-34-7 Images from the book, plus new ones, set to original music. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Timothy Leary San Francisco Memorial Color / sound / 58 minutes Documenting an unusual memorial service for Timothy Leary at the First Unitarian church in San Francisco on June 12, 1996. Some of the noted speakers and musicians were Ram Dass, Robert Anton Wilson, Ralph Metzner, Frank Barron, Michael Horowitz and Cynthia Palmer, Diane Di Prima, Richard Katz, R.U. Sirius, Nina Graboi, Robert Forte, Country Joe McDonald, Paul Kantner, Diana Tremble, Barbara Imhoff, and family members Rosemary Leary, Deidra and Zach Leary. "Light is the language of the sun and the stars, where we'll all meet again." Timothy Leary May 30, 1996 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wavy Gravy Birthday Benefit for Seva Foundation Color / sound / 58 minutes Documenting a concert on activist Wavy Gravy's birthday, featuring Bob Wier of the Grateful Dead, Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane, Maria Muldauer, and many others. This delighful concert was a benefit for Seva Foundation and Camp Winnarainbow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Streetwise Color / sound / 58 minutes A close look at people and events on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley and Haight Ashbury in San Francisco. Puntuated by original music, and heartfelt encounters with street people young and old. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A World We Never Made Color / sound / 58 minutes Another close look at life in the streets. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jim Henry and the Infamous Bones Color / sound / 58 minutes Two of the people tell their story in depth, intercut with music performed by Bones. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Poetry on Telegraph Avenue Color / sound / 90 minutes Poetry Flash sponsors a street reading, featuring such stirring poets as Diane Di Prima, adjunct to the annual Telegraph Avenue Bookfair. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A Visit to NIAD Color / sound / 50 minutes Documenting the National Institute for Art and Disability in Richmond, Ca.. This sheltered workshop is a model resource for art therapy for the developmentally and or physically disabled. Some of the work done by "outsiders" as they are described, is fascinating. People in the workshop describe their feelings and hopes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Runaways Color / sound / 40 minutes Runaways takes a close look at the lives and hopes of a group of young people who've left their homes all over the United States, to come to Berkeley, a place which gives a measure of entitlement to the homeless of all ages. They are all different, Raven, Sweetleaf, Jeremy, Doug and the others, but they share a rebellious nature, a comination of innocence and weary cynicism, and a tendency to get into trouble with the law (often not their fault) since citations for trespassing usually means they've found a place to sleep that wasn't legal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A Short History of Nudity and A Short History of Love Color / sound / 50 minutes These jaunty spoofs celebrate the year of "The Naked People of Berkeley," a time when they walked about like Adams and Eves in the Gardens of Edens, explaining that their cheerful decision to bare all was protected by the First Amendment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Update on People's Park Color / sound / 30 minutes The battle of People's Park continues well into the 90's, with the constant threat of the removal of the Free Box and free food delivery by Food Not Bombs. The years have passed - 1996 brought a great fight over an attempt to pass the new anti-loitering anti-panhandling bill. Much music by bands performing on the free stage during special events. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Memoirs of a Barbed Wire Surgeon an interview with Elmer Shabart M.D., FACS One Surgeon's Incredible Legacy as a Prisoner of the Japanese During World War II Color / sound / 70 minutes This is a video about a survivor of the Bataan Death March in World War II who managed to continue practicing his profession all through their long ordeal, without instruments, anesthetics, antibiotics, medicines or even simple supplies like bandages and antiseptics. Dr. Shabart, first as a young man who takes his Hippocratic oath seriously, later as a surgeon reflecting on how they somehow managed to stay alive, takes us on a frightening and revealing journey that begins before the fall of Bataan and actually carries us through the present. A series of hair raising adventures, none of them for fun, add up to a saga of war-is-hell courage and endurance. One of the lucky ones who gets home after the surrender, this compassionate ex POW has woven a tale of bombings, hurricanes and jungle problems with a passionately ironic almost end - when the war is over he is made a present of two huge cases of finely crafted surgical instruments which had been in the possession of their captors all along. Eventually he donates them to the Army Medical Museum. Mysteries lurk in the material, questions of Army Intelligence investigations into a possible deal struck in connection with war crimes such as the rumored injections of plague given to POWs at the infamous Unit 731, other atrocities, and little known facts about the American military urge to be one up on all enemies in possible chemical warfare. His brushes with death and encounters with deprivation have served to motivate him to continue working and studying towards his goal, improving thoracic surgery. Historic events and tales of quiet heroism are included in this modest story of a life well spent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The CIA Contra Crack Connection Parts 1 and 2 Hosted by Jerry Brown Color / sound / each is 60 minutes Learn the awful facts about the CIA/Contra/Crack connection. Hear award- winning investigative journalist Dennis Bernstein and former DEA agents Celerino Castillo and Michael Levine as they blow the lid off U.S. government drug involvement. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SOME NOTABLE QUOTES: "I was impressed with Claire Burch's painstaking and voluminous work as a video artist and also by her extensive documenting and collecting of art made by homeless people. She has a longstanding involvement with the arts in the community, particularly communities at risk." Julie Mackaman, Film Arts Foundation "Ms. Burch has turned to film as a way of combining personal image and graphics with social issues to make a powerful statement.' Michael Winter, Director, Center for Independent Living "Your work defies easy classification. You make the viewer/perceiver "work" and feel on multi-levels. We think your sarcasm, wit, style and genius comes through beautifully." Jane Muramoto, KQED Inc., San Francisco "In appreciation of Claire Burch's brilliant video documentaries of the 60s counter culture." Michael Horowitz / Cynthia Palmer Cynthia Palmer and Michael Horowitz are directors of the Fitz Hugh Ludlow Memorial Library in San Francisco. Also visit our website: http://www.dnai.com/~cburch