Smart box.

Decidedly lean pickin's tonight. Tune in to Easy Rider at 12:30am on TCM. Wonder where all the Easter shows are? Guess they're coming.

History Television has History's Secrets- The Hunt for Hitler at midnight.

See ya tomorrow.

Clean behind the ears.

With the new prosperity that the end of WW II brought America sprouted all over the place. All those factories making washing machines and toasters needed workers and worker had families that needed houses so the 'burbs blew like a hurricane across the continent swallowing forests and prairie alike. You can just hear the munching.

But the concept of making a spot for the worker is not a new one. Certainly not one that a simple world war had anything to do with. I give you Port Sunlight. The ultimate burb.

Since we all use soap (I hope) we know where this is going. Named after Sunlight Detergent this delightful little town was built entirely for the employees of Lever Bros Soap by William Hesketh Lever on the Wirral peninsula in Merseyside (yes . . . Gerry and Pacemakers-Ferry Across the Mersey).

In 1887 Lever was looking for a spot to build and expand his soap business and settled on this location because of it's proximity to both sea and rail. From the start Lever was totally involved in the planning; from layout to the designs of the buildings.

Over 15 years he saw to the construction of over 800 houses and public buildings. Now Lever was a hell of a nice guy. On top of using the best construction and architects of the day he built an art gallery, the Lady Lever, and a swimming pool, hospital, schools, concert hall, churches and even social programs to help families through tough times.

The social significance of Port Sunlight can't be understated. Aside from being a model for worker housing it was a successful example in what he termed "profit sharing". Deeply Christian in his beliefs he genuinely felt that by providing for the emotional and spiritual well being of his staff as well as a substantial menu of the basics, he would in turn get higher production and employee retention. Hmmm, wonder if you got free soap?Cadbury Chocolate had a similar town called Bourville.

Idiot box.

In keeping with high value and most for the buck television you can't get any better than the next installment of 100 Greatest Discoveries: Astronomy. Wow. Even better than a hundred toasters. It's on the Knowledge Network at 8pm.

If your quick, (started at 6) TCM has the Caine Mutiny. But stick around because it's mutiny night at TCM with Mutiny on the Bounty at 9pm and Damn the Defiant right after at 10:30. And if your still up and the neighbours have been complaining about all the racket (mutinies are, after all, by their nature, noisy affairs) you can catch the silent classic The Battleship Potemkin. Christ what a night.

Never enough channels.

The History Channel ( as opposed to History Television) has few offerings tonight. All I can see is: Decoding The Past series has Secrets of the Dollar Bill at 11pm. Too bad we missed a show called Modern Marvels-Whiskey. It was on late last night. I'll keep watching out for a repeat.

History Television has Digging for the Truth: Lost Empire of Ghengis Khaan at 8pm and Robin Hood: The First Outlaw Hero at 9pm.

We just missed Harvey, the 1950 Jimmy Stewart classic about the invisible rabbit. Rats.

Did he, or didn't he?

This is from a story I saw on CBC today. Seems Luftwaffe pilot Horst Rippert thinks he shot down the author of The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The famous French author was flying a Lockheed P-38 Lightning on July 31, 1944 when he disappeared. Rippert is quoted, in an exclusive in the French magazine, Le Figaro, as saying he shot him down. It later quotes him as saying he didn't actually see the pilot and would have backed off the fight if he had known who it was.

Antoine Jean-Baptiste Marie Roger de Saint Exupéry, his full name (they don't have book covers wide enough) was a famous aviator and aviation writer before he wrote the The Little Prince while in New York in 1942.

The pictures, they're moving.

This is topical. History Television has Disasters of the Century, Super Outbreak at 7pm. Weird title. It's about a cluster of tornadoes. And at 8pm they have the latest installment in the superb Dogfights series: Battle of the Falklands. Right after that is the continuation of another great series Rome at 9pm. There's gonna be a rut in my chair.

And for those night owls who want to stay up you can catch (I'm not making this up) the 2007 Bozo Cup on TSN at 1:30AM. Sorry it's not history related, but it IS the Bozo Cup.

Thursday, March 13 watchables.

History Televison has Turning Points of History In the Heart of the Lion: The Road to the Boer War on at 10pm and later on Hamburger Hill at 1am.

Sheesh, the pickings are slim. I feel guilty.