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.
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Quoteworld: Collection of 15,000 quotations. Searchable.
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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).
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History Guide
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Media Guide: Mondo Times. Collection of links to over 13,300 media around the world (newspapers, magazines, radio, TV).
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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).
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William Derham (1657-1735): Anglican clergyman; wrote: Astro-Theology: or A Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God (1715).
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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.
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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.
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Animal Diversity Web: Good collection of info for all different animals; searchable; includes pictures and classification.
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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.
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The Venerable Bede (673-735): English monk and historian; wrote 'Ecclesiastical History of the English People'. Other medieval texts at the Internet Medieval Sourcebook.
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Reverse Phone Directory: Annoying pop-ups though.
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Price Engine: NexTag.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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Consumer Reports and Consumers Union.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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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