Snippets:
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Video: Alexander Nevsky (Aleksandr Nevskiy, 1938). B/W. Directed by Sergei M. Eisenstein (Battleship Potmekin). w/ Nikolai Cherkasov. Music by Sergei Prokofiev. 13th century Russian prince defeats an army of Teutonic knights on the frozen Lake Peipus. Extensive battle scenes. Russian propaganda movie, commissioned by Stalin. Eisenstein's first sound film. Overall rating: 5 out of 10.
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Art: 'Masterworks from the Morgan' at the Morgan Library & Museum (formerly Pierpont Morgan Library), 225 Madison Ave @ 36th St, NYC. Re-opened April 29, 2006 after 2-year renovation. Collection of more than 350,000 objects. Books, drawings, prints, manuscripts, ancient seals and tablets etc. Many famous artists and writers. Also library and study of Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), including a hidden passage to upper bookshelves. A gem.


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DVD: Lady Sings the Blues (1972). w/ Diana Ross (Billie Holiday), Billy Dee Williams (Louis McKay), Richard Pryor (Piano Man). Directed by Sidney J. Furie. Story of Billy Holiday, her rise to fame and drug addiction. Diana Ross puts her own style into the movie, does not try to imitate Holiday. Remarkable acting for her first movie role. Story too corny at times. Overall rating: 6 out of 10.
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DVD: The Crucible (1996). w/ Daniel Day-Lewis (John Proctor), Winona Ryder (Abigail Williams). Directed by Nicholas Hytner (The Madness of King George). After the play by Arthur Miller, who also wrote the screenplay. Story around the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Dramatic, melodramatic at times. Brilliant acting. Overall rating 7 out of 10.
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Real Estate: Prices: Zillow. Including price development over time.
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Photography: Pentti Sammallahti. Finnish photographer (b. 1950). Great nature shots, often with an animal or a figure in the foreground. Pictures have incredible depth.



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Photography: Ed Ruscha. American Photographer (b. 1937). Series on 'gas stations' and 'parking lots'. Raises questions on the nature of art.
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Photography: Sally Kuzma: Scans botanical objects directly on flatbed scanner, then the image is cropped, the color inverted, and the sample is layered and rotated to create a series of kaleidoscopic variations. Example: Corn Rotations (2003-06).
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Astronomy: When Halley's Coment approached the sun in May 1910, some believed it would be the end of the world when the earth passed through the comet's tails. Well, the world did not end, nor was this the last 'doomsday comet' to be seen.
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Music: Find music that is similar to the one you like: Pandora and the Music Genome Project.
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Music: Mario Pavone. Bass player.
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Science: Johann Joachim Becher (1635-1682), German physician, alchemist, precursor of Chemistry, scholar and adventurer. Father of the phlogiston theory.
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Art: Antoni Tàpies (b. Barcelona, 1923): Catalan painter. Considered one of the great master artists of the 20th century.
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Photography: James Balog. Fotos of large trees.
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Science: Mars Exploration: Rovers (Sprit, Opportunity), Orbiters (Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, Mars Express [ESA], Mars Reconaissance Orbiter [March 10, 2006])
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