The State We're In, 31 December 2011. Producers Belinda, Diana and Mignon pick their favourite stories of the year, featuring Egyptian blogger Sandmonkey; a man pretending to be his dead lover’s son at a funeral; the creator of amazing Strandbeesten (or Beach Beasts); and a man who chases down the Ponzi schemer who cheated him. Comment on the show.
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Seven years ago, a revolutionary blog was born: 'Rantings of a Sandmonkey'.
An anonymous Egyptian man was taking on Middle East politics with venom.
But as protests escalated in Cairo’s Tahir Square, Sandmonkey decided that if he wanted to tell the world the real story behind the Egyptian revolution, he needed to reveal his true identity.
Follow @sandmonkey on Twitter.
Sandmonkey at Tahir Square.
When Mark Dowd in Manchester, England began a teenage fling with a much older man, they kept their relationship secret with a daring lie: Mark pretended to be his lover’s long-lost son.
Ten years after his affair, Mark got a phone call out of the blue: his ex-lover has died, and his family wants him, as the long-lost son, to come to the funeral.
Against his better judgement, he went with his real father... who had no idea Mark was gay.
Dutch artist Theo Jansen makes moving sculptures, or as he calls them "strandbeesten" – literally, "beach animals".
His multi-legged creations roam the coasts of Holland, all powered by wind. More photos below.
His aim: to attain a kind of everlasting life through his sculptures which he believes will outlive him.
And that ambition may yet be realised - since Jansen begin creating them, the beasts have taken on a life of their own and now others are building their own versions.
Jonathan meets a beech beast on a very windy beach, Kijkduin, Netherlands (video: Diana Steenbergen).
For more information, visit the Strandbeest website. Watch Theo Jansen speak at TEDTALKS.
Canadian filmmaker Billie Mintz had his life savings stolen from him in a Ponzi scheme.
He tells host Jonathan Groubert about tracking down and confronting the man responsible – and the surprise awaiting him when he finally found the culprit.
Billie tells his story in the documentary film The Ponzi Scheme - more photos below.
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Those bamboo projects look like a lot of fun! I would expect a few splinters those. Ouch!
Thanks, Dominic. And where did you stumble upon us?
I'm so happy to have stumbled upon you and the wonderful tale Son of my Father. A movie script indeed! I wonder if Andrew (Weekend) Haigh is listening.
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