Top Picks: Eilen Jewell's album 'Sundown Over Ghost Town,' PBS's 'Tales From the Royal Wardrobe,' and more
Royal threads
Not only are clothes of British monarchs such as Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria beautiful to look at, but they also provide insight into different time periods, and show how careful the monarchs had to be about every detail of their appearance. Tales From the Royal Wardrobe, airing on PBS on June 21 at 8 p.m., looks at 400 years of rulers’ clothing. Check listings for rebroadcasts.
Culinary expo
This year from May 1 to Oct. 31, Milan, Italy, is the host of an international expo focused on food. Open daily and featuring more than 140 participating countries, the Milan Expo showcases innovations in agriculture, dialogue about food policies, and fun cultural events. Can’t get to Italy this year? There are plenty of virtual tours and food for thought online at www.expo2015.org/en.
Pixar’s secrets
Are you ready for “Inside Out,” the newest Pixar film, coming to theaters June 19? Pixar’s animated films have inspired legions of devoted fans, but most fans probably haven’t taken the time to identify the themes running through each film like a connective thread. A video by Bloop Animation illustrates Jon Negroni’s Pixar Theory behind the surprising commonalities. Check it out at bit.ly/thepixartheoryvideo.
After the secret annex
National Geographic Channel’s Anne Frank’s Holocaust looks at the Holocaust through the experiences of the famous diary writer. The program explores new information about the brutality of the camps, rare photographs, and interviews with people such as Hannah Goslar-Pick, a childhood friend of Anne’s who encountered her by chance at the Bergen-Belsen camp. The two-hour special airs June 21 at 9 p.m.
Her Own Private Idaho
Eilen Jewell sums up her Idaho home as “just one horse shy of a one-horse town.” Fittingly, the songs on Sundown Over Ghost Town often feel as unhurried as an afternoon spent knitting on the porch. But Jewell’s country-roots music can also kick up dust. In “Pages,” an impatient snare drum tries to elbow aside a twangy guitar. “Rio Grande” features blasts of spaghetti western trumpet. The yearning lilt in Jewell’s voice may entice “Ghost Town” listeners to stay awhile.
