Snippets:
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Philosophy: Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) wanted knowledge for practical purposes ('Knowledge is power'). He also advocated to make knowledge public.
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DVD: Ninotschka (1939). w/ Greta Garbo (Nina Ivanovna 'Ninotchka' Yakushova), Melvyn Douglas (Count Leon d'Algout). Directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Prude Russian envoy is sent to Paris to arrange for the sale of jewels, but falls in love and begins to fancy Western life. Praised for Garbo's performance in the transition from 'poor' communist comrad to a lady with a sense of humor. Film was probably important in its time, but seems schmaltzy, obvious and predictable today. Overall rating 4 out of 10.
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DVD: United 93 (2006). Directed by Paul Greengrass. Real time account of the flight that was hijacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001. When passangers became aware via phone contact with relatives on the ground that the plane might be targeted to fly into the building, they decided to regain control and attempted to land it. In the course of the struggle, the plane crahed into a field in Pennsylvania. Important movie, realistic, but therefore also has stretches of little activity. Overall rating 7 out of 10.
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Literature: Laurence Sterne (1713-1768). English novelist, best known for his novels 'The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman', a book that in its style and humor was far ahead of its time, and influenced many subsequent writers. Also wrote 'A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'.
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Art: Exhibition: Spanish Painting from El Greco to Picasso. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Nov. 17, 2006 - March 28, 2007. Paintings arranged not by time period, but by subject, allowing comparisons of the various periods.
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Life: New Years Eve Cruise with Atlantica NY Yacht Cruises. Royal Princess: 3-deck yacht, up to 200 people for sit-down, open-air deck.
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Life: New York City Blog: Gothamist.
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Life: Placeblogger: Directory of local blogs around the world. E.g. Blogs in NYC and Hoboken, NJ.
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Maps: 1.) Microsoft Live Maps. Analogous to Google Earth. Includes locations of businesses and live traffic. Has 3D feature. 2.) Wikimapia. Can link personal events to a map.
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Web: Open Culture Podcast Portal: Includes listings from universities.
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DVD: The Searchers (1956). 119 min. John Wayne (Ethan Edwards), Jeffrey Hunter (Martin Pawley), Natalie Wood (Debbie Edwards, older; Brainstorm). Directed by John Ford. 10-year search of a lone racist war veteran for his little nice who was kidnapped by Comanches in 1868. Typical John Wayne movie. Filmed in Monument Valley, UT, that was discovered for movies by Ford. Commentary gives hints on Ford's signature, such as moving the camera and designing beautiful shots of the landscape. Need to pay attention to detail, especially in non-dialogue scenes to appreciate the work. Overall rating 6 out of 10.
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Video: The Big Trail (1930). w/ John Wayne (Breck Coleman), Marguerite Churchill (Ruth Cameron). Directed by Raoul Walsh. Scout, who is friends with the Indians, leads the wagon trail to Oregon, falls in love with a girl on the way, and avenges the murder of a couple of old friends. Story is straightforward. Some of the scenes remind of the times of silent movies. Some spectacular scenes for the time, e.g. when wagons are lowered over a cliff or river crossings. Overall rating: 6 out of 10.
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History: George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876). First a soldier in the Civil War, later an officer in the fight against Indians in the Northern Plains. Died at the hands of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors at the Battle of the Little Bighorn (today southeast part of Montana), after attacking an Indian village. It seems that overall he was a mediocre military man, but a myth created around his persona made him a well-known figure in American history. Little Bighorn was the pinnacle of the Indians' power and their greatest victory. Custer is also a town in the Black Hills in soutwest North Dakota (population 1860 in year 2000), near Mount Rushmore.
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History: Ghost Towns in the U.S. amd Canada. Catalog of deserted human settlements Includes photos and directions.
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Physics: Satyendra Nath Bose (1894-1974): Bengali Indian physicist, specializing in mathematical physics. Quantum mechanics in the early 1920s. Provided foundation for Bose-Einstein statistics and the theory of the Bose-Einstein condensate.
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Psychology: Gustave Le Bon (1841-1931). French social psychologist, sociologist, and amateur physicist. Studies, among others, herd behaviour and crowd psychology. Book: 'The Crowd: Study of the popular mind' (1896)
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DVD: My Darling Clementine (1946). 96 min. w/ Henry Fonda (Wyatt Earp), Victor Mature (Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday), Cathy Downs (Clementine Carter). Directed by John Ford. Earp takes a job as a sherrif in Tombstone to find the murderer of his little brother, and falls in love with the former girlfriend of Doc Holiday. Movie culminates in the shootout at the O.K. Corral. Partly filmed in Monument Valley. Film has multiple factual errors (e.g. dates; Doc Holiday did not die at the O.K. Corral). Some errors (e.g., year on James Earp's grave) were introduced when producer Darryl F. Zanuck edited, re-cut and re-shot certain scenes of the film in the absence of John Ford to improve quality. An Alternate Pre-Release Version (work-in-progress version) of the movie and explanations to changed scenes is available on the DVD. Sometimes amusing, but a classic. Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
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Francis Parkman (1823-1893): The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life. Text at Project Gutenberg. HTML-Version. Parkman was an American historian who followed on the trail in 1846.
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History: National Register of Historic Places: List of cultural resources worthy of preservation. Administered by the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The National Register Information System (NRIS) is a database that contains information on places listed in or determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
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Video: The Oregon Trail. (1992). 120 min. Includes: Beginnings; Across the Plains; Through the Rockies; Final Steps. By Mike Trinklein and Steve Boettcher. PBS documentary about the history of the Oregon trail. Relates the experiences of its travellers using live action re-creations, archival materials and visits to important sites along the trails (including Scott's Bluff, Fort Laramie, and the nearby trail ruts). Also contains discussion of the rigors and dangers of the journey west. Shows the trail today and also uses interviews with historians, still photos, maps, drawings, and excerpts from emigrant diaries. Tells, among others, the story of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, who were probably the first emigrants to make the journey in 1836. The origin of the name 'Oregon' is still controversial today. More info on the Oregon Trail from Idaho State University. Some good historic facts, but sometimes confusing. Reenactment is partly repetitious. Overall rating 5 out of 10.
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