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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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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