Hinduism: is based on Vedas, which are the oldest sacred writings of the Hindus (2000-1000 BC); more recent Vedas are called Upanishads (ca. 600 BC); in Indian (Vedic) philosophy it holds that: The Atman ("Self") which is Brahman ("World Soul"); Hindu philosophy further holds that this World Soul should itself be regarded as being the Three-in-One God known as the Trimutri: Brahma-the Creator, Vishnu-the Preserver, and Shiva-the Destroyer, are all perceived as being aspects or manifestations of the One-ness which is Brahman.

Snippets:
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CD: Patricia Barber: Verse (2002)
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Louisiana Purchase: Treaty signed April 20, 1803 in which the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory (2 million square kilometer, from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, for 60 million francs ($15 million). At first, France had ceded Louisiana to Spain in 1762, but the French had regained the area in the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1800 under the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon envisioned a great French empire in the New World with the island Hispaniola (today: Haiti/Dominican Republic) as the heart of this empire. He therefore anticipated the Mississippi Valley to become crucial as a food and trade center. However, a rebellion of Haitian slaves and his soldiers struggling with yellow fever forced Napoleon to abondon the island, which also made Louisiana useless to him. In order to fund his military venture in Europe, he sold the territory to the United States in 1803.

The longest bridge in the world: The Second Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, which joins Mandeville and Metairie, Louisiana, USA, is 38.422 km (23 miles 1,538 yd) long. It was completed in 1969. The First Causeway Bridge was opened in 1956.

Snippets:
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New Orleans' Oldest Candy Store: Laura's Candies; est. 1913
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Other interesting artists featured at the Hanson Gallery, New Orleans: Edward Povey, Joanna Zjawinska, Joseph Lorusso.
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Linnzi Zaorski: vocalist, New Orleans; strives to re-create the classic vocal stylings of 1920s and 30s era jazz legends.
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Book: The Lost Continent: Small Towns in America by Bill Bryson; very funny, often sarcastic or ironic, describes author's experiences while traveling the U.S.; sometimes low density of information; often negative perception.
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Book: Tanazaki Jun'ichiro: Lob des Schattes. Entwurf einer japanischen Aesthetik (1933, in German).
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Book: Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson: The One Minute Manager (1983).
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Book: Siegfried Lenz: Das schoenste Fest der Welt (1955 in German): book on tape; audio show.
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Book: James Abbott McNeill Whistler: The Gentle Art of Making Enemies (1892, edition of 1967): reflections on art and art critics. Letters, newspaper clippings. Whistler drew plenty of butterflies for this book.
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Book: Hermann Hesse: Siddhartha (1922, in German): condensed wisdom.
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CD: John Coltrane: Stellar Regions (1967): free jazz; spiritual.
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Movie: Trading Places (1983): w/ Dan Ackroyd, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Lee Curtis. Comedy. Two commodity brokers make a bet that they can turn a drug dealer into a successful businessman, and an honest employee into a criminal by mixing things up a little. But the two victims of the plot get their revenge. Funnny!
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Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis (b. 1958): daughter of Janet Leigh (Psycho) and Tony Curtis (Some Like It Hot); starring roles in Halloween (1978), Trading Places (1983), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), and True Lies (1994).
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Adrian Deckbar: American, contemporary realistic artist; paintings and drawings are psychologically and emotionally charged; drama enhanced by strong lighting and unusual perspectives; similarity of paintings to Cindy Sherman's 'Untitled Film Stills'; represented by Hanson Gallery, New Orleans.

Other links: Adrian Deckbar: Diva Art Group


Snippets:
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Einstein Documents: Einstein Archives Online
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Movie: Duel (1971, TV); w/ Dennis Weaver. Man gets chased by a mystery truck, and fears for his life. Movie is very slow at times.
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Juan Medina; super-realistic technique and surreal imagery; represented by Bryant Galleries, New Orleans.
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Excerpt from 'In Blackwater Woods' by Mary Oliver (taken from: 'American Primitive', Pulitzer Prize in 1984)

Every year
everything
I have ever learned
in my lifetime
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side
is salvation,
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.

To live in this world
you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.

Snippets:
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Die Klage-Industrie (Der Spiegel, 17/2003, p122; in German): In the U.S. it has become very popular to sue companies for all kinds of things (drug side effects, open shoe laces, obesity, tobacco); class-action suits are especially profitable for lawyers; a 'culture of victims' is nurtured.
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Vertigo (1958). Director: Alfred Hitchcock. Starring: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes. Ex-cop with acrophobia falls in love with apparently suicidal girl.
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Book: Martin Milar: Die Elfen von New York (1996, in German). Two Scottish fairies turn New York City upside down.
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Dynamic Planet Blog
TOC: Table of Contents
April 2003

1.) Arai Hakuseki's "Told round a brushwood fire..."
2.) Ludwik Fleck and Thomas Kuhn
3.) Albert Einstein
4.) Poetry of Sight, The Prints of James McNeill Whistler
5.) Lunar Eclipse
6.) Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America
7.) The Structure of DNA