Saturday, September 25, 2004

Snippets:
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Art: ArtNYC: Great info site of New York art galleries. Also listing of art suppliers.
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NYC: Skyscraper Museum: Info on the museum in Lower Manhattan, as well as several online exhibitions worth seeing.
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NYC: In 1916 New York City enacted the "set-back law" which decreed that buildings over a certain height must include proportionate setbacks so that light and air could reach the street below.
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Language: LEO: German <---> English dictionary. From TU Munich. Also contains a section with composed entries. Very useful!
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Music: David Gross: Blues. Plays at Scotland Yard in Hoboken, NJ, sometimes. First CD recorded & mixed by VD King from Better Off Dead, also sometimes at the Yard.
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Recreation: Cape Cod Whale Watch: Capt. John Boats, Town Wharf, Plymouth, MA. A nice, long ride out into the open sea on a fast boat. The company goes an extra distance to assure that the customers will indeed see whales.
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Museum: Plimoth Plantation: A recreation of the 1627 Pilgrim village. One feels time warped, especially if you talk to the inhabitants of the village. Make sure you ask them many questions!
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Museum: Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian: New York location near Bowling Green and Battery Park, NYC. Located in the old U.S. Custom House.
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NYC: The Manhattan Skyline. Two posters by John Wagner.
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Literature: Decameron Web: A site for the study of Giovanni Boccaccio's 'Decameron', a collection of short stories from the 14th century. Includes original Italian text and English translation.
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Books: Internet bookstore: Libri.de (in German)
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Travel: Good price offers for flights: Opodo.de (in German)
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Food: VEL Nut & Seed, distributed by K.L. Foods Inc., Markham, Ontario, Canada.
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Film: Margaret O'Brien: Major child star in the 1940s; e.g., in The Canterville Ghost (1944).
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Movie: The Song of Bernadette (1943). 156 min. w/ Jennifer Jones; directed by Henry King; novel by Franz Werfel. Story of Bernadette Soubirous who claimed to have seen 'a beautiful lady' (the Virgin Mary) at a grotto near Lourdes in Southern France. Historical background, but sappy. My rating: 5 out of 10.
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People: Alma Mahler-Werfel: was the wife, successively, of composer Gustav Mahler, architect Walter Gropius, and novelist Franz Werfel; also had an affair with Oskar Kokoschka, who painted 'Bride of the Wind' to represent their love.
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Saturday, September 04, 2004

Interview with God by Reata Strickland.
I dreamed I had an interview with God. 'So you would like to interview me?', God asked. 'If you have the time', I said. God smiled: 'My time is eternity. What questions do you have in mind for me?' 'What surprises you most about humankind ...?' God answered: 'That they get bored with childhood. They rush to grow up and then long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health. That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future. That they live as if they will never die, and die as if they had never lived.' God’s hand took mine and we were silent for a while. And then I asked: 'As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?' God replied with a smile: 'To learn they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is let themselves be loved. To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least. To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and it takes many years to heal them. To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness. To learn that there are persons who love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings. To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently. To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others. But that they must forgive themselves. And to learn that I am here always.' (Flash Version here)

Snippets:
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Photography: Mary Hegarty Neschke: local photographer in Milford, CT. Lighthouse pictures.
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Book: Robert Bach: Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970). A story about a seagull who notices that he is different from the rest of the flock. He breaks out of his familiar environment and becomes a philosophical leader.
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Politics: U.S. Presidential Election 2004: Electoral Vote Predictor as a map and Excel spreadsheet. Calculated from state polls. Updated daily. Great resource.
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Recreation: Sunken Meadow State Park (1266 acres), near Kings Park, Long Island, NY. Nice beach on the North side of Long Island. History (Source): 1920s: The park's original area (520 acres) acquired from George and Antoinette Lamb. 1930: Park opens. Started up by Robert Moses. 1992: Park renamed 'Governor Alfred E. Smith/ Sunken Meadow State Park' to honor Smith's role in promoting Long Island's park system while governor of New York in the 1920's.
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Language: Plutocracy: Government system where wealth is the principal basis of power (from the Greek ploutos meaning wealth). From Wikipedia.
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Games: The History of Scrabble; invented by Alfred Butts in 1948.
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Movie: The Gold Rush (1925, re-issued with narration by Charlie Chaplin in 1942) ; directed by Charles Chaplin; w/ Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Georgia Hale. Silent movie classic about the Tramp in search of gold and romance in the Klondyke in 1898. My rating: 7 out of 10. Also watch: The Kid (1921).
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Life: Distillery: Etter in Zug, Switzerland. Cherry schnaps (and other fruits) in mouthblown glass bottles.
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Music: Ashlee Simpson: Pieces Of Me (Sg); from the CD 'Autobiography'
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Literature: Bestselling 20th-Century American Literature at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Also: Outline of American Literature by Kathryn VanSpanckeren, Key Sites on American Literature (a wealth of information!) at the U.S. Department of State, and the Norton Anthology of American Literature.
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The War Wagon (1967) w/ John Wayne, Kirk Douglas. A man falsely imprisoned for three years returns to get back what belongs to him and take revenge. Cheesy Western comedy with lots of action. Predictable. My rating 4 out of 10.
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Web: Schaller & Weber, Gold Metal Meat Products. Make sure to turn on sound, and enjoy the Schuetzenliesl!
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Geography: 50 American States. Concise listings for every state.
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Theater: Theater Listings in NYC: Theater Mania
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Music: E.G. Kight: Blues Singer, Track: 'Sad, Sad Sunday' from the CD 'Southern Comfort'.
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Movie: The Magnificent Seven (1960): Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Horst Buchholz. Seven gunfighters help to defend an oppressed Mexican peasant village. Great cast. Famous original music by Elmer Bernstein that was later used in Marlboro TV ads. Film is entertaining. Good acting. Simple story. My rating 5 out of 10
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Monday, July 26, 2004

Thomas More (sometimes Thomas Morus, 1478-1535) became Lord Chancellor in 1529, even though he refused to endorse the plan by King Henry VIII TUDOR to divorce his first wife Katherine of Aragon (1527). More resigned in 1532 probably out of conflict with Henry's position toward the church in Rome. He also did not accept Anne Boleyn as the king's new wife (1533). In April, 1534, he refused to swear to the 'Act of Succession' and the 'Oath of Supremacy'.

The 'Act of Succession' vested the succession of the English Crown in the children of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, and set Princess Elizabeth (1558-1603; who later would be last of the Tudors) first in line for the throne, declaring Princess Mary (1553-1558, 'Bloody Mary'; daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon) a bastard. The 'Oath of Supremacy' recognized King Henry VIII as supreme head of the church in England, and therefore its dissociation from the Roman Catholic church in Rome. This act was later repealed by Queen Mary I, and restated under Queen Elizabeth I.

More was found guilty of treason and was beheaded on July 6, 1535. His final words on the scaffold were: "The King's good servant, but God's First." More was beatified in 1886 and canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1935. Thomas More is also known for writing 'Utopia' (1516) and 'The History of King Richard the Third' (written 1513, published posthumously).

Other Links:
Royal Genealogies by Ed Stephan
Royal Genealogies by Henry Churchyard
British Monarchs at Britannia
Directory of Royal Genealogical Data
The Genealogy Home Page
Tudor England
Luminarium: English culture from the middle ages to the 17th century


Snippets:
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Life: Motto: 'Most of the time things are not what they seem to be.'
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Book-on-CD: Richard P. Feynman: The Pleasure of Finding Things Out (2000). Read by Dan Cashman. 8 CDs. Collection of short works by one of the most renowned physicists of the 20th century. Most chapters published previously. Feynman is telling the readers that it most important to discuss things, and that doubt is a key approach to science. He also tells amusing stories from his time in Los Alamos. Overall, an interesting book that tells us something about Feynman as a character.
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Movie: A Man for All Seasons (1966). 120 min. The story of Thomas More with special focus on his disagreement with King Henry VIII who rejected the Roman Catholic Church to obtain a divorce and remarriage. Film won 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture (1967). Thomas More is pictured of a man with high morals and principles. Good story told in appropriate pace. My rating 7 out of 10.
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Saturday, July 24, 2004

Snippets:
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Video: The Usual Suspects (1995). w/ Kevin Spacey. ***SPOILER*** Film is very highly rated on IMDB. What a waste! The movie has so many inconsistencies that the discussion group is flooded with opposing arguments as to who really is Keyser Soze, Verbal Kint or Kobayashi. The movie indeed gives hints in both directions and therefore does not allow a conclusive decision. No matter who it is, this ambiguity is a poor setup. Acting is good, but overall, I find the movie totally overrated. My rating: 3 out of 10.
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Politics: Samuel P. Huntington 'The Clash of Civilizations; also see Wikipedia
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Design: Verner Panton. Danish designer. Inflatable furniture; single molded plastic chair; also: Relaxer 2 Chair, 1974, Rosenthal, Germany; also designed plastic chairs for Bayer AG.
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Sailing: Beaufort Wind Scale
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Video: Diamonds Are Forever (1971). w/ Sean Connery. 124 min. Typical old Bond movie. Entertaining. My rating 5 out of 10.
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Movies: Movie Scripts
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Books: Bookfinder: Search engine for new and used books; searches 60+ web sites; allows price comparisons
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People: Nathan Hale (1755 - 1776): Patriot soldier during the American Revolutionary War; statue at Yale University. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864): New England writer; wrote 'The Scarlet Letter'.
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Art: Painter: John William Waterhouse (1849-1917)
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Life: Info on Social Security from the U.S. Government
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Movie: Felicia's Journey (1999). w/ Bob Hoskins, Elaine Cassidy; directed by Atom Egoyan. A lonely, middle-aged catering manager picks up a pregnant young woman who is in search of the child's father. While he pretends to mean her well, she does not know that young girls of her sort are his 'specialty'. Creepy! Well done! My rating: 8 out of 10.
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Art: Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, CT. Most comprehensive collection of British paintings, prints, drawings, rare books, and sculpture outside Great Britain. Given to Yale University by Paul Mellon, Class of 1929. Building designed by the American architect Louis I. Kahn (1901-1974), who also designed the Yale University Art Gallery.
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Video: Office Killer (1997). 83 min. w/ Carole Kane, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Molly Ringwald. A weird but hard-working office girl goes insane and begins to decimate the staff in very subtle fashion. In this horror-comedy, Cindy Sherman (director) has extended her gory photographs to video. Watch this film not for the story, but for the photography! My rating: 7 out of 10.
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Saturday, July 10, 2004


Snippets:
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Literature: Athur C. Clarke wrote the science fiction novel "2001: A Space Odyssey".
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Computer: DataGlyphs: A new technology for encoding machine readable data onto paper documents or other physical media. Forward or backward slashes. Can be embedded into text and pictures. Suitable for cryptography.
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Computer: Dictionary of Emoticons.
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Video: Empire of the Air: The Men who made Radio. PBS. Ken Burns' America Collection (1991). 120 min. History of radio and broadcasting, and the impact of three important men: Lee De Forest (inventor of the audion tube), Edwin H. Armstrong (pioneer of FM technology), and David Sarnoff(president of RCA).
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Photography: Images from the History of Medicine(IHM).
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World Clock and Calendar. Printable. Can be customized.
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Video: As Good As It Gets (1997). w/ Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt;directed by James L. Brooks. Creepy writer falls in love with waitress, who has potential to make him a better man. Funny. Supreme acting by Nicholson and Hunt. An unusual mix of sarcasm, sweetness, an lunacy. My rating: 8 out of 10.
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Video: Hidalgo (2004). w/ Viggo Mortensen (Frank Hopkins), Zuleikha Robinson (Jazira), Omar Sharif. Mortenson known from Lord of the Rings. In 1890, the supposed Pony Express courier (first fast mail line across the U.S.) and dispatch rider for the US government, Frank T. Hopkins (legacy tribute here), goes to Arabia to win the 'Ocean of Fire', a 3000 mile survival race across the Arabian desert on his mustang Hidalgo. Allegedly based on a true story. My rating: 6 out of 10. The historical Hopkins has claimed in his memoirs (Hidalgo and Other Stories) to have competed in and won over 400 long-distance races, and to have been a member of Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show. In recent years, experts have revealed that Hopkins perpetrated a massive fraud and that most (if not all) of his heroic claims are false.
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Video: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). w/ Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. After the novel by Harper Lee. A depressed lawyer in a small Southern town defends a negro in an unjust rape trial, while tring to educate his two kids about what is important in life. Great story, well told. My rating: 8 out of 10.
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Video: Romeo + Juliet (1996). w/ Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic) and Claire Danes(Terminator 3). Directed by Baz Luhrmann. Shakespeare's drama displayed in a milieu of gangs and violence. Need to get used to the combination of bizarre setting and seventeenth century language. Lots of kitsch. Sometimes feels comic book-like. My rating: 5 out of 10.
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Sunday, June 13, 2004


Snippets:
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Gadgets: Think Geek
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Comics: R. Groscinny, A. Uderzo: Asterix: Obelix auf Kreuzfahrt (1996). In German. Obelix drinks too much of the magic potion, transforms into a child, and get kidnapped by the Romans. Asterix and company set out to rescue him.
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Boats: General Slocum, a steamboat that sank due to a fire near Randall's Island in the East River on June 15, 1904, costing 1,021 passengers their lives. On that day, the boat had been chartered by St. Mark’s German Lutheran Church for an annual Sunday School outing with mostly women and children on board. After the disaster, the General Slocum was raised and refitted into a barge called the Maryland. It sank again on December 4, 1911 somwhere near Atlantic City, NJ.
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History: Randall's Island, Ward's Island, and Sunken Meadow in the East River of NYC, today the lacation of the Triboro Bridge.
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History: New York History
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Video: The Avengers '64. British TV Cult Series (1961-1969). 6 complete episodes from 1964: The White Elephant, The Little Wonders, The Wringer, Mandrake, The Secrets Broker, The Trojan Horse. Starring Honor Blackman as Mrs. Cathy Gale and Patrick Macnee as John Steed. B/W; approx 312 min total. Two special agents solve unusual cases. A classic. Note: A few years later (1965-1967), Diana Rigg succeeded Cathy Gale as Emma Peel.
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Video: Red Dwarf. Series III, Byte Two (1998). 83 min. Bodyswap; Timeslides; The Last Day (all originally transmitted in 1989). Remastered edition. British Sci-Fi Sitcom. Funny.
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Monday, May 31, 2004

Snippets:
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Sports: Fussballdaten (in German). Web site with all the data from various German soccer leagues.
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Art/Illustration: Rene Milot. Contemporary fantastic art.
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Photography: George Simhoni (Westside Studio): Mackenzie Baby. Source: Applied Arts Magazine.


Mackenzie Baby

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Video: Mr. Bean: The Whole Bean Vol. 3. w/ Rowan Atkinson. Episode 11: Back to school Mr. Bean; Episode 12: Tee off Mr. Bean; Episode 13: Good night Mr Bean; Episode 14: Hair by Mr. Bean of London; Never-before-seen-in-TV sketches (Bus Stop, Library). Approx. 150 min. (1993-97). Some good, some poor sketches. 'Mail Bag' sketch is best. My rating over all: 3 out of 10.
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Video: My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002). 95 min. Greek girl falls in love with guy, handsome, but definitely not Greek. Prepare for a culture clash! A romantic comedy, but overall a total sleeper; predictable, boring. Based on the reviews I expected a lot more. My rating: 2 out of 10.
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Directory: Bioscorpio: Various pharma and biotech databases. Worldwide R & D Lifescience Companies.
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Video: The Elegant Universe (180 min). 2003. PBS/Nova. Hosted by Brian Greene, professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, NYC. Topic: Sting Theory. Also covers fundamentals of quantum mechanics and Einstein's theory of relativity. Othe thoughts: membranes (branes) as parallel universes; sparticles; unifying theory; Edward Witten. The website has all the resources, including transcripts and the whole show as online videos.
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Video: What Lies Beneath (2000). 130 min. w/ Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford. Wife of an ambitious scientist starts seeing ghosts, and thinks she is going mad, until her investigations reveal a shocking truth. Superb acting. Great camera angles. The scene with Pfeiffer paralysed in the bathtub is breathtaking. Prepare for some chills. Story may be predictable, but the movie is still taking a few unexpected turns. My rating: 8 out of 10.
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Video: The War of the Worlds (1953). 85 min. w/ Gene Barry, Ann Robinson; after the novel by H.G. Wells. Oscar for special effects. Cult sci-fi classic. Martians invade Earth and (almost) nothing, not even an atomic bomb explosion can stop them. Seems a little dated in our times, but not bad for being filmed over 50 years ago. Typical to see that the authorities throw the atomic bomb first, and only after it fails send the scientists off to think about the problem. My rating: 5 out of 10.
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Video: Birdy (1984). 120 min. w/ Nicolas Cage (Al Columbato), Matthew Modine (Birdy). A friendship between two boys from blue collar families. Birdy's only passion is birds and the wish to fly like a bird. After the Vietnam war, both meet again in an Army hospital where Al has the duty to snap Birdy out of a catatonic 'bird-like' state. Overall a good idea, but the movie dwells on the same theme too long. Funny scenes interchange with war, depression, and psychosis. Intense at times. My rating: 4 out of 10.
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Sunday, May 02, 2004

From The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519): #686: "This shall be placed in the hand of Ingratitude. Wood nourishes the fire that consumes it."

Other Links:
- Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum, NYC: Leonardo da Vinci, Master Draftsman
- Leonardo Museum in Vinci with lots of devices built from his notes


Snippets:
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News: Newseum. The interactive museum of news. Contains original title pages of 250 newspapers around the world in PDF format. Very useful!
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The Skeptic's Annotated Bible and Quran. Some interesting thoughts, but clearly also a lot of rubbish.
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Video: Noah's Ark (1999, TV)/ w/ Jon Voight (Noah), Mary Steenburgen (Naamah), James Coburn (Peddler, minor role). The biblical story retold. Shallow presentation. Poor special effects. Nothing in there makes it worth watching. My rating 2 out of 10.
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Literature: Mathematical Fiction, a list of books and films that (more or less) deal with mathematics, compiled by Alex Kasman.
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Video: The Lost Boys (1987). 98 min. Directed by Joel Schumacher (St. Elmo's Fire). w/ Jason Patric. Horror-comedy. Teenager runs with a blood-sucking crowd, while his little brother and his buddies are trying to find the head vampire. A little twisted, a little quirky. Some funny moments, but overall pretty dull. My rating: 4 out of 10.
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Video: The Falcon and the Snowman (1985). 132 min. w/ Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn. Directed by John Schlesinger (Marathon Man). Based on the true story of the two spies Christopher Boyce and Daulton Lee, who sold top secret information to the Russian Government in the Seventies. Music by Pat Metheny, including 'This is not America' by David Bowie.Good movie. My rating: 7 out of 10.
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Awards: Razzie Awards, Golden Raspberry Award Foundation. Honoring the worst movies of each year.
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Saturday, April 24, 2004

Exhibition: Biennial 2004 at the Whitney Museum, NYC. Highlights:

  • Mary Kelly: Circa 1968 (2004) compressed lint and projected light.

  • Chloe Piene: Blackmouth. 4-minute loop of a girl in her underwear, covered in mud and screaming in slow-motion. Sounds weird? Is weird!

  • Alec Soth: Photographs.

  • Zak Smith: Pictures Showing What Happens on Each Page Of Thomas Pynchon's Novel Gravity's Rainbow. A piece of art rather difficult to understand. Lousy presentation, some of the little pictures were hung so high up that you couldn't see anything. More about book and author.

  • Ernest Caivano: Birds (Philapores) in ink on star maps.

  • Robert Longo: Giant waves / breakers drawn in charcoal.

  • Katy Grannan: Photographs. Placed an ad in search of models; left it to the model how he/she wanted to be depicted.


Snippets:
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Video: Jefferson in Paris (1995). 139 min. w/ Nick Nolte (Thomas Jefferson), Gwyneth Paltrow (Patsy Jefferson, daughter), Thandie Newton (Sally Hemings, slave), Greta Scacchi (Maria Cosway, mistress); director: James Ivory. Jefferson comes to Paris, falls in love with a married woman, and fools around with one of his slaves. Shallow story! Bad acting at times. At least the last 15 minutes are well done. My rating: 3 out of 10.
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Musical: Les Miserables. Shubert Theater New Haven, April 8, 2004. Based on the book by Victor Hugo. Great story. Voices and music was good, but did not reach the quality of a Broadway performance. Gina Milo (Eponine) was the best performer.
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Restaurant: Portobello's, Cafe & Grill, Chaplin, CT 06235. Diner-like; just right for rural CT.
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Recreation: Trailwood, the former home of Edwin Way Teale (see Blog Feb. 13, 2004). Includes trails on and around woodland, field, wetland and ponds. Don't miss the beaver pond!
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Exhibition: Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC: Chuck Close: Prints.
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Recreation: National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
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Book-on-Tape: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (2003). Unabridged. 11 cassettes with 1.5. hours each. American symbologist gets accused of murdering the curator of the Louvre in Paris. Together with the victim's granddaughter, who happens to be a French cryptologist, he needs to find clues and solve riddles to find the real murderer. Talks a lot about secret societies, the Holy Grail, the Knights Templar etc. Book holds you captive up to about three quarters through, but then the plot gets a little too improbable when the author tries to tie up his lose ends. Overall still worth reading though.
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Language: Look up irregular English verb forms.
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Photography: Model / Pin-Up / Actress: Caprice Bourret.
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News: Drudge Report.
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Video: Biography of the Millennium: 100 People - 1000 Years (1999). 4 video cassettes with ~ 40-45 min each. Counting down the 100 most influencial people of the millennium. First 3 are: (1) Gutenberg (printing press), (2) Newton (physicist) (3) Luther (religious reformer). Complete list. Good overview, but nothing more than that. Use as inspiration for further research.
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Friday, April 16, 2004


Snippets:
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Photography: Robert A. Schaefer Jr. Met him at a Jersey City Arts Festival in 2000.
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Video: All the President's Men (1976). 155 min. w/ Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. Based on the book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, two Washington Post journalists who uncovered the story of 'Watergate'. Film won 4 Oscars. Important piece of American history. Good acting by most of the cast. However, the story in itself appears a little dusty and boring today. Can get confusing, if you are not already familiar with some of the names and details of the story. My rating: 4 out of 10.
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News: Pickings.de. has a news digest (Presseschau) in German.
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Essay: The Awful German Language by Mark Twain. Funny to read, and in many ways sooo true! More interesting writings on the EServer.
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Museum: The Cradle of Aviation, Garden City, Long Island, NY. A Museum about aviation on Long Island; a small version of the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. Exhibits include historic airplanes, plane cockpits to sit in, and the original Apollo 19 Lunar Lander.
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Movie: Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure. Retells key points of the 'Endurance' adventure in IMAX format; some scenes dramatically reenacted; also contains original film material and photos by Frank Hurley; phantastic shots of ice bergs and the island South Georgia.
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Movie: Tampopo (1985). 114 min. Japanese with English subtitles. w/ Nobuko Miyamoto (Tampopo), Tsutomu Yamazaki (Goro), and Ken Watanabe (Gun). Young widow runs a noodle shop in Tokyo gets help from truck driver in finding the perfect soup receipe. People in the movie either eat or scuffle. Colorful characters and witty humor. My rating: 5 out of 10
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Monday, March 29, 2004

NASA scientists recently announced that in November 2003 they have discovered a new object in the solar system that they named named '2003 VB12' or 'Sedna', after the Inuit goddess who created the sea creatures of the Arctic. Sedna is called a 'planetoid', because it does not meet the requirements for a planet. It has a diameter of 800-1100 miles (Pluto: 1400 miles), and probably constist of rock and ice. Its path is highly ellipitical and well beyond the Kuiper Belt. Sedna's current distance from the Earth is about 3x the distance of Pluto. One year on Sedna takes 10,500 Earth years. Sedna may be the first body to be discovered in the Oort Cloud, a hypothetical region of icy objects that become comets.

The Kuiper Belt is an icy asteroid belt just beyond Neptune. Recently discovered Kuiper Belt objects are Quaoar and 2004 DW.

Other Links:
Sedna legend
Homepage of Chad Trujillo
Tenagra Observatories: Amateur Telescope


Snippets:
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Photography: Artist: Ryan McGinley. Pictures at Bailey Fine Arts, Toronto, CA.
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Video: Through a Glass Darkly (1961).Original Title: Sasom i en spegel. B&W, 89 min. Directed by Ingmar Bergman. w/ Harriet Andersson (Karin), Gunnar Bjoernstrand (David, her father), Max von Sydow (Martin, her husband), Lars Passgard (Minus, her brother). Swedish w/ English subtitles. Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1962. Schizophric woman vacations with her loving husband, dryly depressed father, and adolescent brother on an island. In her delusion and hallucinations, she believes to encounter God in the form of a terrifying spider. Anderson is highly believable in her role. The film is heavy to swallow, but the cinematography (by Sven Nykvist) and acting are excellent. My rating: 7 out of 10. First film in a religious trilogy (Winter Light, The Silence).
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Essay: William Kingdon Clifford (mathematician, philosopher of science, 1845-1879): The Ethics of Belief (1877). "It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence". However, Clifford does not provide a whole lot of evidence himself ... so is it right to believe him? :-) Other documents from the Historical Library and the Modern Library.
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Composer: Laura Andel: between jazz and classical music
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Book: Caroline Alexander: The Endurance - Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition. w/ photographs by Frank Hurley. Tells the story of Shackleton's failed expedition in 1914-16 and the incredible achievements that lead to their rescue from Elephant Island. Hurley's fantastic photographs help the reader tremendously to imagine how 'life' in the Arctic really was.
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Music: Rachel Perry: VH-1 VJ, previously Muchmusic (Canada)
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Online Book: The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire (1773-1788) by Edward Gibbon. Will take a bit of time to read. Download here.
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Friday, March 12, 2004

Alain (pseud. for Emile Auguste Chartier, 1868-1951): French philosopher, columnist; wrote papers on politics and ethics for newspapers and reviews; best known for thousands of aphoristic essays, called 'propos', which he contributed to his own weekly 'Libres Propos' and other journals; expressing pacifism and distrust of official power; other works: Systeme des beaux arts (1920), Histoire de mes pensees (1936), Alain on Happiness (1973); teacher of Simone Weil (1909-1943, French philosopher and activist) and Andre Maurois (1885–1967, French biographer, novelist, essayist, and critic).

Do not confuse 'Alain' with Alain Chartier (c.1392 - c.1430), the French poet and political writer. Margaret of Scotland is said to have kissed his lips while he was sleeping in her palace, to honour, she said "the mouth which elicited so many virtuous words". This famous story is depicted in the painting by Victorian painter Edmund Blair Leighton (1853-1922).

Other Links:
Alain by Thierry Leterre
Textes d'Alain (in French)
Weggefaehrten (in German)

Snippets:
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Koinonia: term of the New Testament meaning 'fellowship' (the spirit of generous sharing as contrasted with the spirit of selfish getting), somtimes also used in the sense of 'communion'.
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Geography: Andaman and Nicobar Islands: group of 572 islands (only 38 inhabited) located in the Bay of Bengal, 92-94 degrees E, 6-14 degrees N; capital: Port Blair; Indian government. More info from the Annual Report of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
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Book: Bluenose, Queen of the Grand Banks by Feenie Ziner. Illustrations by Zeke Ziner. Chilton Book Company, Philadelphia. First Ed. 1970. The story of the 143-feet salt banker 'Bluenose', her skipper Agnus Walters, and the Nova Scotian's fishing town of Lunenburg. This book preserves a piece of history that otherwise would probably have vanished with the schooner when it struck a reef off the coast of Haiti. It also goes into detail about the fishing business and the races. Great read!
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Video of Bluenose vs. Gertrude L. Thebaud by W.R. MacAskill (1887-1956), one of Nova Scotia's best-known photographers.
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Word: forecastle = fo'c'sle: 1.) the forward part of the upper deck of a ship 2.) the crew's quarters usually in a ship's bow
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Music: Abra Moore: ... somewhere between the stylings of Edie Brickell and Rickie Lee Jones; CDs: Swing (1995), Strangest Places (1997), Everything Changed (March 23, 2004)
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Monday, March 08, 2004

Notes on Video: 'Essential Alan Watts: On Meditation, Nothingness' (1973, 58 min) by Alan Watts (1915-1973): "To go out of your mind at least once a day is tremendously important, because by going out of your mind you come to your senses."

Nothingness:
- there is no nothing without something

On Meditation:
- there is a difference between the Real World and the symbols we have in our minds about this world; we often believe to see the former although we really only think about the latter

- our world is a system of concepts: e.g., constellations of stars are not really there, they are man-made systems

- most of us are compulsivly thinking, i.e. it almost never stops, it becomes a constant chatter; but: he who talks all the time does not hear what others have to say.

- in meditation, we become interiorly silent, and seize from the interminable chatter in our heads

- meditation should not have a reason (such as to serve improvement of the self); it should rather be like making music or dancing, i.e. for enjoyment and fun; it is important to understand that the journey is the point, not reaching the goal; in meditation we have the insight that the point is always the arrival at the immediate moment; time is always NOW, no past and no future; realizing this brings us into a state of peace

- support items: gong, incense, string of beads (to unconsciously time yourself; move one bead per breath stroke)

- how to engage into meditation: be aware of what IS by doing the following:
1.) listen to sounds around you
2.) listen to your toughts (without trying to control them)
3.) be aware of your breath

ad 1.) begin meditation by listening to all sounds around you (the hum and buzz of the world); do not try to name sounds, do not try to identify what they are, do not judge them, just let go; but: if you can't help judging, do not force the thoughts out of your mind, just let them happen

ad 2.) look at your own thoughts just as if they were noises; the thoughts become happenings like the sounds on the outside

ad 3.) let the breathing go just as it will, do not do breathing exercises; do not think about breathing, just let breathing happen; when exhaling, let the air fall out; when inhaling also let it fall in; the breath will get more and more easy, and slower, and more peaceful over time, and more poweful

- sound (e.g., gong) and chanting can aid in the exercise; one can chant a Mantra (=chanted sound). Mantras are used not so much for their meaning as for their simple tones; should be chanted with slow breath; e.g., Om = mantra that represents the total energy of the Universe


Snippets:
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Video: Strange Days (1995). 145 min. w/ Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient), Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis (What's Eating Gilbert Grape); directed by Kathryn Bigelow (Point Beak); story and screenplay by James Cameron (Titanic, Terminator). Sci-fi thrilller. Ex-cop who serves the black market with recordings of memories and emotions (similar to 'Brainstorm' (1983)), tries to solve the murder of a prostitute and friend. Sex and violence. Nothing for the squeamish. Plot is good, but story is a little too artificial. Angela Bassett has an excellent performance. My rating: 6 out of 10.
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Mylene Farmer. French-Canadian disco chanteuse. More Photos.
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Theater: King Lear by William Shakespeare. Yale Repertory Theater, New Haven, CT. Feb. 13-March 13, 2004. w/ Avery Brooks (Star Treck: Deep Space Nine) and an all-African-American cast. Directed by Harold Scott. Great, colorful performance. Tragic story of a British king and his three daughters, of the struggle for power and of vengeance and deception. Plot and comments. Text, Essays, and Links. Painting by Edwin Austin Abbey (American, 1852-1911). King Lear (1898).
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Video: Still of the Night (1982). 93 min. w/ Roy Scheider, Meryl Streep, Jessica Tandy. Directed by Robert Benton. Psychiatrist suspects an assistant auctioneer (that he fell in love) with, to have murdered one of his patients. Effective suspense with small tricks. Good camera angles. Story is on the simple side. My rating: 5 out of 10.
~~~~~~~
Book on Tape: Robert A. Heinlein: Stanger in a Strange Land (1961). Part 1 (10 cassettes, 15 hours) + Part 2 (9 cassettes, 13.5 hours). Unabridged version, including some 60,000 words that had been cut from the original manuscript. A man who was raised on Mars, returns to earth, becomes independently wealthy, has super powers, and preaches his philosophy for a new type of religion. Long, but worth it! Contains many unusual thoughts, sometimes revolutionary. Has to be put into perspective to the time it was written.
~~~~~~~

Monday, February 23, 2004


Snippets:
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Video: Marco Polo: Journey to the East (1995). 50 min. A&E Biography. Overview of the life and travels of the young merchant Marco Polo (1254-1324) to the East, especially Mongolia and China, in the 13th Century, and his encounters with the great Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan (1214-1294). More about Marco Polo and his Travels.
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"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure-dome decree..." begins the famous poem fragment 'Kubla Khan' (1798) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834). Coleridge Archive here.
~~~~~~~
Quoteworld: Collection of 15,000 quotations. Searchable.
~~~~~~~
Old Man of the Mountain: Franconia Notch State Park, NH; was a natural rock formation that was formed by a retreating glacier during the lasst ice age; geologists speculate it looked out over Profile Lake for more than 12,000 years; it suddenly collapsed due to erosion on May 3, 2003.
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The dialectic between the Apollonian and the Dionysian: Apollo was the Greek god of truth, light, and order; Dionysus (Bacchus), the god of fertility, passion, spontaneity, and rebellion. They represent polarities of the human personality. Apollonian modes of thinking see form and structure as the basis for individuality and rational thought. Dionysian concepts value the breaking of boundaries through extreme action or experience (drunkenness, madness).
~~~~~~~
History Guide
~~~~~~~
Media Guide: Mondo Times. Collection of links to over 13,300 media around the world (newspapers, magazines, radio, TV).
~~~~~~~
Rainer Kunze: German writer and poet, b. 1933. Transferred from East to West Germany in 1977. Georg-B?chner-Preis1977. Biography (in German). Press info w/ bio and list of books <> (in German). Some poems (in German).
~~~~~~~
William Derham (1657-1735): Anglican clergyman; wrote: Astro-Theology: or A Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God (1715).
~~~~~~~
Short Story: Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire (1694-1778): Micromegas: A Philosophical History (1752); science fiction short story, English translation. At the end of the story, Micromegas gave to man a rare book of philosophy that tells all that can be known of the ultimate essence of things. The pages of the book were blank.
~~~~~~~
Cavia porcellus (Guinea pig): first found by Europeans when arriving in South America where the animals were domesticated by inhabitants; species does not exist in the wild.
~~~~~~~
Animal Diversity Web: Good collection of info for all different animals; searchable; includes pictures and classification.
~~~~~~~
John Dryden (1631-1700): English poet, dramatist, critic, and translator; wrote 'The Maiden Queen' (1667. Selection of works. Other English Poets at Samuel Johnson's Lives of English Poets.
~~~~~~~
The Venerable Bede (673-735): English monk and historian; wrote 'Ecclesiastical History of the English People'. Other medieval texts at the Internet Medieval Sourcebook.
~~~~~~~
Reverse Phone Directory: Annoying pop-ups though.
~~~~~~~
Price Engine: NexTag.
~~~~~~~
Video: Gattaca (1997). 101 min; w/ Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman; directed by Andrew Niccol. Science Fiction. In an age where genetic analyses are routinely used to design perfect children, and to determine their future disease profile and life expectancy, a young 'imperfect' guy -- conceived and born 'natural' -- decides to slip into a different identity to become an astronaut for the aerospace company Gattaca Corp. A murder in the company as well as a love affair jeopardize his plans. Chilled atmosphere, good story. Some breathtaking moments. Some B-class acting. Overall, a good movie. My rating: 7 out of 10.
~~~~~~~

Friday, February 13, 2004

Notes from 'The Path to Tranquility' by His Holiness the XIV. Dalai Lama, edited by Renuka Singh:

January 18: "To develop patience, you need someone who willfully hurts you. Such people give us real opportunity to practice tolerance. They test our inner strength in a way that even our guru cannot. Basically, patience protects us from being discouraged."

January 29: "It is said that if you want to know what you were doing in the past, look at your body now; if you want to know what will happen to you in the future, look at what your mind is doing now."


Snippets:
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Edwin Way Teale (1899-1980), American naturalist. North with the Spring (1951), Autumn Across America (1956), Journey Into Summer (1960), Circle of the Seasons (1953), Wandering Through Winter (1965).
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Book: 'Durst' (in German, Engl. transl. 'Thirst'). 1976. An extraxt from 'Wind, Sand, und Sterne' ('Wind, Sand, and Stars). A desert pilot crashed in the desert and struggles against his own mind. Good tempo. Beautiful language.
~~~~~~~
Video: Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace. 1999. 133 min. w/ Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor. Prequel to the first Star Wars film. More special effects, lots of shooting, laser sword fights, and battles. Trying to give a meaning to 'later' episodes in the series. Don't expect too much.
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All Movie Guide. Useful information about movies. Similar to All Music Guide.
~~~~~~~
Video: Seven Years in Tibet (1997). 136 min. w/ Brad Pitt, David Thewlis. The story of the Austrian mountain climber Heinrich Harrer during his years in Tibet, and his friendship with the young Dalai Lama. Film has too much Hollywood Schmalz and is too shallow for the intensity of the subject. Thewlis' acting is significantly better than Pitt's. However, some great nature scenes.
~~~~~~~
John Pike (1911-1979): American watercolor artist and illustrator. Wrote books on watercolor painting.
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Public Citizen: national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that represent consumer interests
~~~~~~~
Consumer Reports and Consumers Union.
~~~~~~~
Video: Stephen Hawking: A Brief History of Time (1992). 84 min. Directed by Errol Morris. Documentary on the life and work of the renowned cosmologist. Hawking is suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, motoneuron disease), which nearly completely paralyses his body, but leaving his mind fully active. Excellent biography of the person, including interviews with friends and family. However, the science of Hawking's work could have been explained a little more in detail.
~~~~~~~

Friday, February 06, 2004

The basis of good communication: Meant is not yet said, said is not yet heard, heard is not yet understood, understood is not yet agreed, agreed is not yet done, and done is not yet maintained. (freely translated from German; after Konrad Lorenz, 1903-1989, biologist, ethologist [ethology = the scientific study of animal behaviour], Nobel Laureate: Gemeint ist noch nicht gesagt, gesagt ist noch nicht gehoert, gehoert ist noch nicht verstanden, verstanden ist noch nicht einverstanden, einverstanden ist noch nicht getan, und getan ist noch nicht beibehalten).

Snippets:
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Book: Odoric of Pordenone (1265?-1331): The Travels of Friar Odoric (2002). Translated by Sir Henry Yule (1820-1889). A report by the Franciscan Friar Odoric on travels to the East in the 14th century, written in 1330. Odoric was from a monastary in Udine, a city about 100 km northeast of Venice in Northern Italy. He tells tales of Turkey, Iran, India and China, and of the Great Khan. Some of his stories seem exaggerated, but he claims that he has either seen things with his own eyes, or knows the facts from 'reliable sources'. Interesting historic document.
~~~~~~~

Bluenose: Fishing schooner designed by W.J. Roue of Halifax, and built by Smith & Rhuland Shipyard in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, CA. Launched on March 26, 1921, she was used for racing and fishing until her wreckage on a reef near Haiti in January 1946 . The image of the Bluenose has graced the Canadian Dime since 1937. The ship itself is a salt banker, i.e. the preservative for the caught fish is salt (1 barrel for 4 barrels of fish).

In 1963, a replica of the Bluenose with much more comfortable interior (Bluenose II) was launched, but has not been allowed to race, so she could not jeopardize the reputation of the original Bluenose. Bluenose II has become Nova Scotia's most recocgnized symbol, and was sold to the province in 1971 for $1. She is now maintained by the Bluenose II Conservation Trust

Other Links:
Bluenose Resources
Bluenose II Pictures
Bluenose II Specifications

Snippets:
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Sailing: Port lights are red (remember by associating it with the color of port wine), starboard lights are green.
~~~~~~~
Sailing: Schoonerman: Schooners and Tall Ships; includes links to many web sites of tall ships.
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Thursday, February 05, 2004

"One of the most important rank differences between writers is whether they only think for themselves or also bring the rest of the world to think about itself" (Egon Friedell, Austrian historian and writer, 1878-1938, in 'Steinbruch').

Snippets:
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Philosophy: Martin Amerbauer: Erste Schritte in der Philosophie (2000, in German). 111 pages. Link to text on Amerbauer website. Concise introduction to philosophy in PDF format; w/ good references to important books.
~~~~~~~
Video: Kundun (1997). 135 min. Directed by Martin Scorcese. Music by Phillip Glass. Based on the life of the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso). Dalai Lama means 'Ocean of Wisdom', Kundun means 'The Presence'. Very slow story, but beautiful pictures. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the colors and the music. However, the oppression by the Chinese is a major theme in the second half of the movie. Well balanced.
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Fishing: Chebacco: famous narrow-sterned boat style without jib; formerly much used for fishing; originated in Chebacco (now Essex, MA); also called pinkstern and chebec
~~~~~~~
History: LeMO = Lebendiges virtuelles Museum Online. German history from 1900 to now; w/ pictures, videos, and lots of information (in German); hosted by: Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin.
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Thursday, January 29, 2004


Snippets:
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Computer: To change appearance of Windows XP and improve performance (e.g. turn off fading of menus): Right click 'My Computer' --> Properties --> Advanced tab --> Performance: Settings. Source.
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Marsch der Verdammten (Der Spiegel, 2/2004, p114; in German): Article about the 'Ross Sea Party', a group of men that had the objective to install supply depots for Ernest Shackleton's 'famous' Antarctis crossing in 1915/16. Starting from the opposite site of the continent toward the pole, three men lost their lives after a series of mishaps, including loosing their ship. In the end the party met their goal under harsh conditions, only to learn later that Shackleton's effort had failed. Interesting to see again, how poorly expeditions were prepare in those days.
~~~~~~~
Book: History of Herodotus at the Gutenberg Project: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. There is a Gutenberg 'Best Of' CD with some great world literature!
~~~~~~~
People of Ideas: Names, pictures and info on important people.
~~~~~~~
Video: Mystic Seaport . Video Tours Great America Series. Eastman Kodak. ~27 min. 1989. Narrated by Walter Cronkite. Short overview of the seaport part of the museum in Mystic, CT. Mostly advertisment for the museum, with some history. Overall not very informative; there would be so much more to tell.
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Book on CD: John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men. Unabridged. 3 CDs. Original material 1937. Penguin HighBridge Audio 2002. Story of the mentally disabled Lenny and his friend George, who nurture a dream of independence. Until reality catches up... Must read. Sometimes depressing atmosphere.
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Books: Booksense: A family of independent booksellers. Lists with book recommendations.
~~~~~~~
Books: Bookcrossing. Creative way of telling others about a good book, and emptying your bookshelf! Register a book at the web site, obtain a unique ID number, then release it into the wild. Whoever finds it should then go to the website again to acknowledge the receipt, read it, and potentially release it again. And so on ... sounds like fun!
~~~~~~~
Music: Air. French duo (Jean-Benoit Dunckel, Nicolas Godin) that recorded the music to the movie 'The Virgin Suicides' (2000). Several albums. Easy listening music; gets boring after a while.
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Video: Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition: 1.) Star Wars (1977, 1997), 125 min. 2.) The Empire Strikes Back (1980, 1997), 127 min. 3.) The Return of the Jedi (1983, 1997), 135 min. w/ Mark Hamil (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia). Produced by George Lucas. Special Edition is refreshed and new scenes were added. Some scenes were enhanced. Action-packed science fiction movies without any big story, lots of bad acting and cheesy moments. Special effects are outstanding considering when the movies were filmed. Overall an important set to watch, but don't expect too much.
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Computer: McAfee AVERT Stinger: Free stand-alone utility used to detect and remove specific viruses.
~~~~~~~
Book: Giacomo Casanova, Chevalier de Seingalt: History of My Life (written ~ 1797). 12 Volumes. Lengthy account of Casanova's life and the art of seduction. Simple style. Draws an interesting picture of 18th century life in France and Italy.
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Tuesday, January 20, 2004

Janine Antoni. Touch. 2002. 9 min 37 sec. Single-channel video installation with audio. Antoni balances on a tightrope on a beach with view onto the water. The gently breaking waves provide a tranquil rhythm to the sceene. While Antoni walks, the rope stretches, giving the illusion that she actually walks on the horizon.


Janine Antoni: Touch



Antoni is represented by Luhring Augustine Gallery in Chelsea, NYC.


Snippets:
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Science Cartoons: by Sidney Harris; some are quite enjoyable.
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Restaurant: Eisbach. Munich, Germany. Minimalist website.
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Exhibition: Haus der Kunst, Munich: Patti Smith 'Strange Messenger'. Dec 19, 2003 - Feb 29, 2004. Just because you're famous playing rock music, doesn't mean you can paint. Expendable!
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Music: Delta Goodrem: Young Australian pop singer; CD: Innocent Eyes; diagnosed w/ Morbus Hodgkin
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Music: John Coltrane Web Site.
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Music: Lyrics of many Anne Clark songs. Best collection, despite annoying pop-ups
~~~~~~~
DVD: Blackadder. Blackadder Goes Forth (saw 4 epsodes). w/ Rowan Atkinson. Transcripts.
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Exhibition: Loriot. 11/8/03-1/25/04. Extended to 2/22/04. Bayerische Akademie der Schoenen Kunste. Original drawings; film clips.
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Education: University of Phoenix Online. Online university. Watch the 60 Minutes-Sement on the pros and cons of online vs. campus education.
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Theater: Samuel Beckett (1906-1989). Waiting for Godot. Beckett ordered that none of the characters can be played by a woman. Theaters need to honor this rule until the rights for the existentialist play expire 70 years after Beckett's death.
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Design: The Work of Charles and Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention. 10/12/99-1/9/00, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, NYC. Organized by the Library of Congress. Other online exhibits.
~~~~~~~
Video: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). 91 minutes. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. w/ Peter Sellers (3 roles). B/W. Dark satire-comedy hybrid on the dangers of an atomic war between the U.S. and Russia. Very strange. Must have been even more effective during cold war times. Must see, but once is enough.
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Thursday, January 15, 2004

A treatise called Stomachion is attributed to the Greek mathematician Archimedes of Syracuse, Sicily (287 BC - 212 BC; best known for his exclamation 'Eureka'). The treatise is based on a game by the same name consisting of 14 pieces of various polygonal shapes originally forming a square. The goal of the game was to reconfigure the pieces to form different interesting shapes (e.g., animals). Similarity with the ancient Chinese puzzle 'Tangram'. Recent investigations suggest that Archimedes' Stomachion is a treatise on combinatorics, i.e. the mathematical discipline to determine in how many ways a given problem can be solved. (see New York Times, Dec. 14, 2003)

Stomachion is described in a fragmentary manuscript called the Archimedes Palimpsest (Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, MD). The term palimpsest comes from a Greek word meaning "scraped again", since the parchment was scraped and reused to write a Christian prayerbook, probably because of shortage of paper .


Other Links:
Archimedes of Syracuse


Snippets:
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Video: The World According to Garp (1982). w/ Robin Williams, Mary Beth Hurt, Glenn Close. 137 min. Based on a novel by John Irving. Starts out funny, but then mutates into a weird, irrelevant, pointless family drama. Certainly a quite unique combination, but could have been cut to under 90 min. Only John Lithgow (as Roberta Muldoon) gives a stellar performance.
~~~~~~~
CD: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): Weihnachts-Oratorium (Christmas Oratorio), BWV 248; Archiv Produktion; Polydor International (1965). Just right for the season.
~~~~~~~
Video: Galileo's Battle for the Heavens (2002). Based on the book 'Galileo's Daughter' by Dava Sobel. PBS/NOVA Video. 120 min. Describes Galileo's struggle against the Catholic Church and its Inquisition. A side track of the film is the relation between Galileo and his illegitimate daughter Maria Celeste. Most disputed book: 'Dialog'. More info at PBS and The Galileo Project (includes translations of the letters by Maria Celeste to her father).
~~~~~~~
The Official U.S. Time , accurate within 0.2 sec, is provided by the two time agencies of the United States: the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the U. S. Naval Observatory (USNO). Also contains links to educational exhibits about time, including one about Daylight Saving Time.
~~~~~~~
Video: Start Treck IV: The Voyage Home (1986). w/ William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley; directed by Leonard Nimoy. Capt. Kirk and crew saves the earth by traveling into the past to pick a couple of humpback whales. Does not take itself seriously. Cheesy plot, but funny!
~~~~~~~
Mesothelioma: rare type of cancer with tumor cells found in pleura, peritoneum, and pericardium. Disease is caused by chronic inhalation of asbestos.
~~~~~~~
Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811) and Henriette Vogel (1780-1811) were friends and committed suicide together.
~~~~~~~
Restaurant in NYC: The Sazerac House, 533 Hudson St, Manhattan, West Village. American and Seafood in a house from 1826; decent prices. History.
~~~~~~~
Music: John Cage, American experimental composer: 4'33", written in 1952, consists of three completely silent movements; lasts exactly 4 minutes and 33 seconds.
~~~~~~~
Sir Thomas Malory (d. 1471): Le Morte Darthur. Malory's "Book of King Arthur and of his Noble Knights of the Round Table.". Volume 1 and Volume 2. Standard source for later versions of the legend. T. H. White's 'The Once and Future King' (4 novels, published in 1958) and the conclusion 'The Book of Merlyn' (1977) are 20th-century retellings of the Arthurian story.
~~~~~~~
Radio: BBC Radio. Includes 'BBC Radio Player', a Radio on Demand to listen to the program of the last 7 days, e.g., The Official Chart Show.
~~~~~~~
Exhibition: Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Costume Institute, NYC: 'Bravehearts: Men in Skirts' (Nov 4, 2003–Feb 8, 2004). "Bravehearts locates 'men in skirts' in historical and cross-cultural contexts and looks at designers as well as individuals who have appropriated the skirt as a means of injecting novelty into male fashion, transgressing moral and social codes, and redefining ideals of masculinity." Oh, well ...
~~~~~~~

Dynamic Planet Blog
TOC: Table of Contents
November 2003


1.) The English Patient
2.) Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art / Ieoh Ming Pei
3.) Mongoose
4.) Ways to perceive a piece of art
5.) Wikipedia sister projects