Monday, July 26, 2004

Thomas More (sometimes Thomas Morus, 1478-1535) became Lord Chancellor in 1529, even though he refused to endorse the plan by King Henry VIII TUDOR to divorce his first wife Katherine of Aragon (1527). More resigned in 1532 probably out of conflict with Henry's position toward the church in Rome. He also did not accept Anne Boleyn as the king's new wife (1533). In April, 1534, he refused to swear to the 'Act of Succession' and the 'Oath of Supremacy'.

The 'Act of Succession' vested the succession of the English Crown in the children of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, and set Princess Elizabeth (1558-1603; who later would be last of the Tudors) first in line for the throne, declaring Princess Mary (1553-1558, 'Bloody Mary'; daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon) a bastard. The 'Oath of Supremacy' recognized King Henry VIII as supreme head of the church in England, and therefore its dissociation from the Roman Catholic church in Rome. This act was later repealed by Queen Mary I, and restated under Queen Elizabeth I.

More was found guilty of treason and was beheaded on July 6, 1535. His final words on the scaffold were: "The King's good servant, but God's First." More was beatified in 1886 and canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1935. Thomas More is also known for writing 'Utopia' (1516) and 'The History of King Richard the Third' (written 1513, published posthumously).

Other Links:
Royal Genealogies by Ed Stephan
Royal Genealogies by Henry Churchyard
British Monarchs at Britannia
Directory of Royal Genealogical Data
The Genealogy Home Page
Tudor England
Luminarium: English culture from the middle ages to the 17th century


Snippets:
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Life: Motto: 'Most of the time things are not what they seem to be.'
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Book-on-CD: Richard P. Feynman: The Pleasure of Finding Things Out (2000). Read by Dan Cashman. 8 CDs. Collection of short works by one of the most renowned physicists of the 20th century. Most chapters published previously. Feynman is telling the readers that it most important to discuss things, and that doubt is a key approach to science. He also tells amusing stories from his time in Los Alamos. Overall, an interesting book that tells us something about Feynman as a character.
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Movie: A Man for All Seasons (1966). 120 min. The story of Thomas More with special focus on his disagreement with King Henry VIII who rejected the Roman Catholic Church to obtain a divorce and remarriage. Film won 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture (1967). Thomas More is pictured of a man with high morals and principles. Good story told in appropriate pace. My rating 7 out of 10.
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Saturday, July 24, 2004

Snippets:
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Video: The Usual Suspects (1995). w/ Kevin Spacey. ***SPOILER*** Film is very highly rated on IMDB. What a waste! The movie has so many inconsistencies that the discussion group is flooded with opposing arguments as to who really is Keyser Soze, Verbal Kint or Kobayashi. The movie indeed gives hints in both directions and therefore does not allow a conclusive decision. No matter who it is, this ambiguity is a poor setup. Acting is good, but overall, I find the movie totally overrated. My rating: 3 out of 10.
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Politics: Samuel P. Huntington 'The Clash of Civilizations; also see Wikipedia
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Design: Verner Panton. Danish designer. Inflatable furniture; single molded plastic chair; also: Relaxer 2 Chair, 1974, Rosenthal, Germany; also designed plastic chairs for Bayer AG.
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Sailing: Beaufort Wind Scale
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Video: Diamonds Are Forever (1971). w/ Sean Connery. 124 min. Typical old Bond movie. Entertaining. My rating 5 out of 10.
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Movies: Movie Scripts
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Books: Bookfinder: Search engine for new and used books; searches 60+ web sites; allows price comparisons
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People: Nathan Hale (1755 - 1776): Patriot soldier during the American Revolutionary War; statue at Yale University. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864): New England writer; wrote 'The Scarlet Letter'.
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Art: Painter: John William Waterhouse (1849-1917)
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Life: Info on Social Security from the U.S. Government
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Movie: Felicia's Journey (1999). w/ Bob Hoskins, Elaine Cassidy; directed by Atom Egoyan. A lonely, middle-aged catering manager picks up a pregnant young woman who is in search of the child's father. While he pretends to mean her well, she does not know that young girls of her sort are his 'specialty'. Creepy! Well done! My rating: 8 out of 10.
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Art: Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, CT. Most comprehensive collection of British paintings, prints, drawings, rare books, and sculpture outside Great Britain. Given to Yale University by Paul Mellon, Class of 1929. Building designed by the American architect Louis I. Kahn (1901-1974), who also designed the Yale University Art Gallery.
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Video: Office Killer (1997). 83 min. w/ Carole Kane, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Molly Ringwald. A weird but hard-working office girl goes insane and begins to decimate the staff in very subtle fashion. In this horror-comedy, Cindy Sherman (director) has extended her gory photographs to video. Watch this film not for the story, but for the photography! My rating: 7 out of 10.
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Saturday, July 10, 2004


Snippets:
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Literature: Athur C. Clarke wrote the science fiction novel "2001: A Space Odyssey".
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Computer: DataGlyphs: A new technology for encoding machine readable data onto paper documents or other physical media. Forward or backward slashes. Can be embedded into text and pictures. Suitable for cryptography.
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Computer: Dictionary of Emoticons.
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Video: Empire of the Air: The Men who made Radio. PBS. Ken Burns' America Collection (1991). 120 min. History of radio and broadcasting, and the impact of three important men: Lee De Forest (inventor of the audion tube), Edwin H. Armstrong (pioneer of FM technology), and David Sarnoff(president of RCA).
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Photography: Images from the History of Medicine(IHM).
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World Clock and Calendar. Printable. Can be customized.
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Video: As Good As It Gets (1997). w/ Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt;directed by James L. Brooks. Creepy writer falls in love with waitress, who has potential to make him a better man. Funny. Supreme acting by Nicholson and Hunt. An unusual mix of sarcasm, sweetness, an lunacy. My rating: 8 out of 10.
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Video: Hidalgo (2004). w/ Viggo Mortensen (Frank Hopkins), Zuleikha Robinson (Jazira), Omar Sharif. Mortenson known from Lord of the Rings. In 1890, the supposed Pony Express courier (first fast mail line across the U.S.) and dispatch rider for the US government, Frank T. Hopkins (legacy tribute here), goes to Arabia to win the 'Ocean of Fire', a 3000 mile survival race across the Arabian desert on his mustang Hidalgo. Allegedly based on a true story. My rating: 6 out of 10. The historical Hopkins has claimed in his memoirs (Hidalgo and Other Stories) to have competed in and won over 400 long-distance races, and to have been a member of Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show. In recent years, experts have revealed that Hopkins perpetrated a massive fraud and that most (if not all) of his heroic claims are false.
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Video: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). w/ Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. After the novel by Harper Lee. A depressed lawyer in a small Southern town defends a negro in an unjust rape trial, while tring to educate his two kids about what is important in life. Great story, well told. My rating: 8 out of 10.
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Video: Romeo + Juliet (1996). w/ Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic) and Claire Danes(Terminator 3). Directed by Baz Luhrmann. Shakespeare's drama displayed in a milieu of gangs and violence. Need to get used to the combination of bizarre setting and seventeenth century language. Lots of kitsch. Sometimes feels comic book-like. My rating: 5 out of 10.
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