Mme. Blavatsky and The Colonel Part One
Series: A Sense of Place
From: Helen Borten
Length: 00:30:01
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- Helen Borten
A journey through time in the company of the historical character most responsible for America's one-hundred year love affair with spiritualism. Bizarre, brilliant and larger than life, Mme.Blavatsky's own words bring this dramatic story alive. Her modern-day coubnterparts in Lily Dale--a village in upstate New York reminscent of Brigadoon--round out a narrative that is always stranger than fiction.
One :15 promo for parts 1 & 2 (click "listen" page, promo labeled "Segment 2")
One :30 promo for parts 1 & 2 (click "listen" page, promo labeled "Segment 3")
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Piece Description
A journey through time in the company of the historical character most responsible for America's one-hundred year love affair with spiritualism. Bizarre, brilliant and larger than life, Mme.Blavatsky's own words bring this dramatic story alive. Her modern-day coubnterparts in Lily Dale--a village in upstate New York reminscent of Brigadoon--round out a narrative that is always stranger than fiction. One :15 promo for parts 1 & 2 (click "listen" page, promo labeled "Segment 2") One :30 promo for parts 1 & 2 (click "listen" page, promo labeled "Segment 3")
2 Comments
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Review of Mme. Blavatsky and The Colonel Part OneA listenable overview of one of the most influential spiritualist of all times, both pro and con. I've helped people out of high demand groups and must invariably explain the importance of Madame Blavatsky in modern day spirtualism. So I was glad to find that this hour long piece provides good background on Blavatsky, her associate The Colonel and what she really thought about what she was doing. For those who believe in spiritualism, the piece is probably too skeptical. For those who don't, the piece is probably too gung-ho, which leads to me believe that it's a nice balance for those without a formed opinion. The promos do a good job of piquing interest, but the piece may not deliver on thoroughly exploring those items in the promos from both sides. Eg: an elderly believer talks about seeing "a trumpet flying through air," on a regular basis in her home because her sister was a medium. While intriguing, the skeptical side of me wanted to hear more about what could be going on, instead of the obvious answer of, "it's true." Yet, these ommissions can be forgiven because there's a lot packed into this hour. Good production quality and good pacing with a thoughtful outlook kept me wrapped for the duration. |
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Bill McKibben
Posted on February 24, 2005 at 08:53 AM | Permalink
Review of Mme. Blavatsky and The Colonel Part One
This is a story everyone needs to hear, since it sheds actual light on the endless fascination with the occult. TShe story of Madame Blavatsky, Col. Alcott, and all that it led to is told with economy, grace, and real style, and the ending of Part Two is the only possible ending, absolutely perfect. I have no idea how this reporter becomes authoritative on such a wide variety of subjects, but I'm awfully glad she does. There is a modesty about these pieces that belies theair authority