Sports: In the Swim, Diana Nyad's epic journey rertld

Hillary Clinton said that Find a Way would stay with her through the general election:  “When you’re facing big challenges in your life, you can think about Diana Nyad getting attacked by the lethal sting of box jellyfishes. And nearly anything else seems doable in comparison.”

When Diana Nyad arrived on the shore of Key West after fifty-three hours of grueling swimming across an epic ocean, she not only set a world record—becoming the first person to swim the shark-infested waters between Cuba and Florida with no cage for protection—she also succeeded in fulfilling a dream she first chased at age twenty-eight and at long last achieved when she was sixty-four.

Now, in a riveting memoir, Diana shares a spirited account of what it takes to face one’s fears, engage one’s passions, and never ever give up. For no matter what life may throw at you, or how many times you may have experienced defeat, it is always possible—as long as you commit to living life to the nth degree, no regrets—to “find a way."

About Diana Nyad: For her maverick open-water performance of the 1970s, Diana Nyad was known as the world’s greatest long-distance swimmer. For the next thirty years, Nyad was a prominent sports broadcaster and journalist, filing compelling stories for National Public Radio, ABC’s Wide World of Sports, and others. She is a national fitness icon, has written three other books, is a talented linguist, and is one of today’s most powerful and engaging public speakers.

Small Screen, Big Stories Pt II: From Boardwalk to (South) Beach via Renaissance Rome

Impossible as the above route may sound, it summarizes the continuing overachievement of cable TV as the new home of cinematic splendor, especially in the city-specific period crime drama. firstly, we anxiously await the coming of the fourth instalment in the Prohibition-era classic, Boardwalk Empire, with no less than Martin Scorcese and Mark Wahlberg as exec producers. Season 3 was the darkest, most layered yet, with several story lines unspooling and gathering narrative steam. Even more, the addition of the incomparable

Geoffrey Wright, as Harlem kingpin Dr Narcisse, is further

inducement, as if any were needed. Then, with elements of Boardwalk, Mad Men and the Godfather II comes the STARZ channel's  Magic City, set in late 50s Miami, with Fidel Castro still just a pesky but growing revolutionary and Cuba a model for Miami's vices.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan, of the TV series Grey's Anatomy and the Watchmen movie fame, stars as the owner of the Miramar Playa, a club where anything goes, and all manner of persons come for the booze, the girls and the drugs. All those things, of course, bring violence and intrigue.

In between those, the group billed as "The Original Crime Family" continues its machinations in 16th Century Rome. The peerless Jeremy Irons is well settled and still unsettling, as Pope Alexander VI, forging alliances, bringing down powers and fomenting war, mayhem and passion. Incidentally, the notes to the series say that the dynasty originated in Spain.

These three are just a sampling of the great original series on cable, but they feature here because of their subject matter and general format. Pick a period and a city, stock up on the refreshments and sit back to your cinema-quality narrative experience on the small screen.

Viva la Revolucion?: Habana Station

Its not that often used, but it is growing - the penchant of  directors to use children and a seemingly playful and innocent setting to bring over some hard truths about grown-up life in the modern world. We've seen it with Mark Hermon's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and now Cuban director has used the ploy to equally engaging effect in this deceptively congenial film.

Ernesto Escalona and Andy Fornanis are Mayito and Carlito, two pre-teens growing up in a post-Revolutionary Cuba that is both more and less fervent about its stature than it was when Fidel was the active ruler. The pioneers are still revered and the doctrine is still instilled, but now there's TV magazine coverage of the MayDay observances - the revolution is definitely televised.

But more, there are are class divisions in this 21st century Habana - Mayito, whose father makes a comfortable and travel-filled living as a jazz musician, is chauffered to school (in a Hyundai) and boasts of having the "ultimate" PlayStation 3 game console (from which the film partly derives its title).

Carlos, on the other hand, lives in the Revolutionary equivalent of the ghetto, where dysfunctional payphones stand useless on street corners, and music and trash are equally abundant. In the care of his abuela (grandma) while his Dad serves a jail term, he is rough-and-tumble and street smart where his new friend, who accidentally gets lost in the neighbourhood after the said MayDay parade, is refined and naive.

Of course, the two bond through several seri-comic experiences, one of which involves facing up to a local lgang of bullies. In the meantime, Mayito's overprotective mother and his caring teacher are, along with Dad, mounting a frantic search for their son.

No question, the film is heartwarming, but Padron's deft touch makes both the sentiment and the steely edge easy to swallow. Of course, this being a Cuban production, there is music liberally sprinkled throughout, as well as a good dose of Latin fatalism.

It all adds up to a good time, but one from which the sterner lessons are not forgotten after the show is over.