Snippets:
~~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~~
"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.
~~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~~