Four TV Programs That Suit You

The Creative Mind

Channel: C4

As one of the most popular programs on TV at the moment, The Creative Mind has different artistic themes from exhibition reviews, information about major and smaller museums, and interviews with artists, writers, actors and musicians.

Time: Every Wednesday at 10:00 p. m.

The World Around Us

Channel: C8

A study of the ancient Egyptian pyramids and the area around the River Nile in Egypt. The filming of this program is a work of art as it is so thoughtfully done. As well as the obvious camels, there are also many other desert animals and plant life.

Time: Every Friday at 8:00 p. m.

Prepared for Special Moments

Channel: TFl

The fun cookery program that offers lots of exciting ideas from children’s birthday parties to the candlelit (烛光的) dinner for the boss and his wife. It is easy to follow the instructions that show you how to make your dinner party a little bit special.

Time: Every Friday at 7:00 p. m.

Born to Run

Channel: W9

An interesting story of a young man with learning difficulties who overcame the problems in his life, through his great talent for sports. This is a true story of how one person made the most of his life and also helped many other people with similar problems.

Time: Every Sunday at 8:00 p. m.

When Jack, my husband, and I drove past a fire station with a sign reading, “Are you ready for the next storm?” Our area had just been in the path of Hurricane Irma, causing downed trees and outages. We were stuck in the dark and cut off from the outside world.

We have had our share of storms in the past years — a snowstorm and other heavy snows that knocked down trees, sometimes up to a week at a time. Those days in a cold house weren’t fun, but we learned so much from those early storms, things that made later storms easier to bear.

Now we have stored up flashlights, lanterns and candles. We bought a battery-operated radio to keep up with the news. We stocked up on batteries so that we’d have plenty for extended power failures. We make sure our grill (烤架) is ready and its tank is full, and we purchase food that can be easily prepared and then cooked or heated on the grill. And we don’t forget to buy emergency chocolate! We have book lights to read in the dark. We keep our car gas tanks full and have emergency cash on hand.

We’re ready for the next storm, but we wouldn’t have learned to do all those things if we hadn’t encountered a storm in the past. The same is true spiritually. Those little storms in our lives are never fun, but they prepare us for the big storms — the big trials — that will come our way. They can teach us some valuable lessons.

Are you ready for the next storm? Now is the time to get ready, not when the storm arrives.

Marcelo Toledo usually creates sculptures and jewelry out of metal. Now the Argentine artist is working with a new material: waste from the COVID-19 pandemic (传染病), such as masks, to create an exhibition exploring the painful impact of the virus.

Toledo, who has made jewelry for the musical “Evita” on Broadway and unique pieces for many famous people, was among the first in Argentina to be infected with COVID-19, which left him hospitalized for eight days. The experience had a great effect on his life and led to a series of artworks, including a 14-meter mask with the Argentine flag that he placed on the famous obelisk (方尖纪念碑) in Buenos Aires to raise awareness about organ donation during the pandemic.

For his new exhibition, the “Museum of the After”, Toledo is collecting recycled waste from the COVID-19 sent by hospitals, laboratories and strangers, including old medical parts and newspapers about the pandemic.

“I am excited to be able to turn pain into beauty and this exhibition is just recording everything that is happening to us as a society,” said Toledo. The artworks, which will go on show from September in a public space in downtown Buenos Aires, will all be made from waste materials or garbage that people send him. “It is the first time that I have done an exhibition in which I do not have to buy any of the elements,” he said.

In the exhibition there will be a real ship that will symbolically cross a “storm” and recycling islands to raise awareness about the importance of caring for the environment. “The exhibition will tell the story of this ship that went sailing and was stranded (搁浅) by a storm, which is a great metaphor (比喻) for what is happening to us. This pandemic is a great global storm,” said Toledo.

As with the huge mask, which was replicated (复制) in countries such as the United States and Japan, the artist dreams of replicating the new exhibition in other cities around the world.