Virtual Choir

Virtual Choir: Eric Whitacre's virtual choir projects on YouTube/Vimeo. 1.) Lux Aurumque 2.) Sleep 3.) Water Night. View how it all started (from EW Blog). Whitacre's presentation at TED2011 with explanations:

Office Space (1999)

Movie: Office Space (1999). w/ Ron Livingston (Peter Gibbons), Jennifer Aniston (Joanna). Directed by Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-Head). Partly based on the animated short 'Office Space' from 1991. The life of an abused and frustrated office worker changes after he sees a hypnotherapist, as suddenly everything works out in his favor. Funny. Just like the real corporate world. Overall rating 8 out of 10.

George Bellows Exhibition

Art: George Bellows (1882–1925) at the Metropolitan Museum, NYC, Nov 15, 2012 – Feb 18, 2013. Colorful, expressive. Covered different subjects (sports, tennis, portraits, landscapes, tenements, war). Most renowned are two boxing scenes, painted at the beginning and the end of his career. Bellows died prematurely of appendicitis at the age of 42.

Discovering Columbus

Art: Discovering Columbus: Art project by Tatzu Nishi (b. 1960, Nagoya, Japan) on Columbus Circle, NYC, Sep 20 – Dec 2, 2012, funded by Public Art Fund. The 13-foot-tall statue of Columbus that rests 75 feet atop a granite column on the SW-corner of Central Park is little known, usually visible only as a silhouette against the sky or at a distance from surrounding buildings. Nishi therefore placed the statue in a fully furnished, modern living room built around it in its native location atop a scaffold. Surreal to be able to study the oversized statue in this environment. Also, great views of the City when looking outside the windows.

Der Seewolf (1971)

TV-Mini Series (YT): Der Seewolf (The Sea Wolf, 1971), Episodes 1 - 4 (in German). After the novel 'The Sea Wolf' and other stories by Jack London. w/ Edward Meeks, Raimund Harmstorf.  Directed by Wolfgang Staudte, Alecu Croitoru, Sergiu Nicolaescu. Produced by Walter Ulbrich. Mostly filmed in Romania. After being shipwrecked in the bay of San Francisco in 1906, the writer Humphrey van Weyden (Meeks) is rescued by the sealer 'Ghost' bound for the South Seas and captained by Wolf Larsen (Harmstorf), who is also called 'Sea Wolf' for his cruel and immoral take on life. But Weyden is puzzled by the fact that Larsen is also well read. It dawns on him that, as juveniles, they had been friends, although Larsen does not seem to remember their time together. Weyden ultimately escapes from the 'Ghost' and survives under extreme circumstances. Years later, on his own ship, Weyden tracks down Larsen to take his revenge. Good story, though told lengthy at times with stretches of little activity. Overall rating 7 out of 10.

Ready...

"Dad, when do you think you'd be ready to die?" And he said: "When I stop being curious." (Libby Wallfisch, Australian Baroque violinist).

Nat Janoff

Jazz: Nat Janoff, 55 Bar, NYC, 11/18/2012. Jazz guitar, with drums and electric bass. Liked his original tune 'Sunday Morning' from the latest album 'Come Together Move Apart'.

Georg Cantor

Mathematics: German mathematician Georg Cantor (1845-1918) invented set theory (Mengenlehre). He also realized that there are different types of infinity. Cantor suffered from manic-depressive illness and ended up in mental institution.

Barbarella (1968)

Movie (YT): Barbarella (1968) w/ Jane Fonda (Barbarella), John Phillip Law (Pygar), Anita Pallenberg (The Great Tyrant), Milo O'Shea (Concierge/Durand-Durand). Directed by Roger Vadim. Barbarella travels from Earth to the planet Lythion to find Duran Duran, who turns out to have become a mad, evil scientist. Poor story, poor special effects, even for it's time. Fonda is very pretty and shows some skin. Film encourages free love. Overall rating 4 out 10

Success

SUCCESS = KNOWLEDGE * SKILL * PRESENTATION * FUDGE

The fudge factor FUDGE includes aspects like timing (i.e. being in the right place at the right time), demand, instinct and luck.