Summary of Karen Salmansohn's (somewhat risky & overly simplistic) 'The Road to Success' (AM New York, April 25, 2005, p. 20):

• You're nobody until someone hates you. Don't be afraid to face what you face when you contradict the status quo.


• Purposely cold-call your boss at night, when he/she is in the office.


• FREE is the most powerful word in the marketer's vocabulary.


• Ask yourself: If you weren't afraid of failing what would you do?


• Do something that people say is crazy. If people say something is good, then someone else is already doing it.


• Think grandiose thoughts about what you deserve in your career life.


• If you can't stand out, don't do it.


• Word of mouth is better than big advertisement.


• There's a difference between risk and stupidity.


• Talk to strangers. Start friendly conversations often and everywhere.


• Regularly reinvent, restructure and reassess.


• Don't hear 'no', hear a slooow 'yes'.


• Get over your fear of trying.

Snippets:
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DVD: A Room With A View (1985). w/ Helena Bonham Carter (Lucy Honeychurch), Daniel Day-Lewis (Cecil Vyse), Maggie Smith (Charlotte Bartlett), Julian Sands (George Emerson). Directed by James Ivory (Jefferson in Paris, The Remains of the Day, Howards End). After the novel by E.M. Forster. Set between Florence, Italy, and England in the early 1900's, a story of a young woman in her struggle between an acceptable Victorian life and uninhibited passion. Great acting by Helena Bonham Carter (Big fish). Overall rating: 7 our of 10. More info on the book at GradeSaver.
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Literature: ClassicNotes by GradeSaver. Free novel guides with full summaries and analysis. Written and compiled by Harvard essayists.
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Literature: Jesus von Texas (in German). Radio drama prduced by WDR Koeln (2004). Directed by Martin Zylka. After the book 'Vernon God Little' by DBC Pierre ('dirty but clean Peter', pseudonym for Peter Warren Finnlay), surprise winner of the 2003 Man Booker Prize. Pierre's debut novel. 15-year old teenager is the prime suspect in a school shooting in a small town in Texas. Parodic version of modern American culture.
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DVD: Road to Perdition (2002). w/ Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Tyler Hoechlin. Directed by Sam Mendes. In the Chicago of 1931, son of a hit man Michael Sullivan witnesses his father's work. After Sullivans wife and other son are murdered in error, his only aim is to avenge the killings. Concurrently, the relationship between father and son develops. Good acting by Hanks and Newman, but the story is pretty lame and predictable. Overall rating 4 out of 10.
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Event: Hoboken, Spring Art & Music Festival. Sunday, May 1, 2005: 11am to 6pm. Concert: 4:45pm to 6:00pm: Herman's Hermits featuring Peter Noone. 60s Brit-Pop. Played hits like 'No milk Today', 'I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am', 'Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter', and 'There's a Kind of Hush All Over the World'. Good entertainment, despite the dust it collects.
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Maps: TerraServer USA: Topographic maps and some aerial views. Google Maps: Maps and corresponsing satellite views. Easy to navigate by 'dragging' the picture with the mouse.
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Snippets:
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Saying: 'You want it bad, you get it bad'
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Photography: Small-Town America (1850-1920). Robert N. Dennis Collection of Stereoscopic Views at the New York Public Library.
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Literature: Writer Nicole Krauss married writer Jonathan Safran Foer in 2004.
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Video: Amistad (1997). Directed by Steven Spielberg; w/ Matthew McConaughey (Baldwin), Djimon Hounsou (Cinque), Morgan Freeman (Joadson), Anthony Hopkins (John Quincy Adams). Story of the 1839 revolt by Africans on the slave ship 'Amistad'. Important, serious topic. Presented in Hollywood style: melodramatic, kitschy, sappy. Overdone. Overall rating: 4 out of 10.
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DVD: Time Life's Lost Civilizations (2002). Part 1 of 4: Mesopotamia (Return to Eden), Ancient Egypt (Quest for Immortality), Aegean (Legacy of Atlantis). Reportage on the Babylonian, Assyrian, Sumerian, Jewish, Egyptian, and Greek civilizations. Informative, although sometimes a bit too lurid. On Thera, a small island in the Aegean just north of Crete, the Volcano Santorin erupted ca. 1628 BC. Apparently the people were able to evacuate in time, but never returned. The video considers it as the Atlantis described by Plato (in his 'Timaeus' and his 'Critias'). The Sumerians inhabited the land of Mesopotamia around 3500 BC. It is considered to be the oldest civilization. More about Sumer
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Web: Photo storage for Blogger: Hello.
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Is it true that German was almost one of the official languages of the U.S.A.? (Brian Zahn)

This is one of those legends that is continually passed along as if it were fact. Unfortunately, the facts just don't substantiate it. Here are some facts: Introduction: German as the official language of the United States of America?" in "Die deutschsprachige Presse der Amerikas / The German Language Press of the Americas," 3 (München: K. G. Saur, 1980), 1942.

There was never an attempt to make German the official language of the United States, although (1) there was a failed attempt in Congress in 1794, based on a petition of German residents of Augusta Co., Virginia, to have "a certain proportion" of the laws of the United States printed in German as well as English, and (2) beginning in 1828 ["Deutsche Sprache in Nordamerika", "Das Ausland" (Stuttgart: Cotta), 1 February 1828, 126127, and 2 February 1828, 130131], reports were circulated in the German, English, and American press of an attempt to make German an official language (alongside English) of Pennsylvania, an attempt that was supposedly defeated by only one vote (Arndt, however, was unable to find any bill or resolution proposing to make German the or an official language of the state of Pennsylvania). It is also known as the Mühlenberg legend. In "The German Americans: An Ethnic Experience" by Willi Paul Adams it reads as follows: At the root of the so-called "Mühlenberg legend" lies rather a disappointment that German was not able to hold its ground as a language of daily usage even in Pennsylvania, except within small Mennonite, Amish and other sectarian communities. During both the War of Independence and the War of 1812, at times when anti-German feelings were running high, Americans of German descent comprised less that 9% of the total population of the United States. And even in Pennsylvania, where the Germans had settled most densely, they amounted to only a third of the entire population. Colonial speakers of English fought only for their political independence. They had not stomach for an anti-English language and cultural revolution. When German language farmers in Augusta County, Virginia petitioned the U.S. House of Representatives in 1794 for a German translation of the booklet containing the laws and other government regulations copies of which had been distributed free in the English language officials simply ignored them. Even the bilingual Speaker of the House of Representatives, Frederick Augustus Conrad Mühlenberg, refused to support their modest request, arguing that the faster the Germans became American, the better. No doubt, disappointment with his negative, though realistic, posture contributed a generation later to the birth of this legend. (p.25/26)


Snippets:
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Philosophy: Hans Kueng (b. 1928), Swiss theologian, and a prolific author; formerly Roman Catholic theologian until the Vatican rescinded his authority to teach Catholic theology in 1979; rejects the doctrine of papal infallibility; initiated a project called 'Weltethos' (Global Ethic), which is an attempt to describe what the world religions have in common.
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DVD: Ocean's Eleven (2001). 117 min. Directed by Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich, Sex, Lies, and Videotape). w/ George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts. Gang plans to rob Las Vegas casino with a skillful approach. Entertaining, has some good ideas, but story too one-sided. Overall rating: 5 out of 10.
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Art: Painter: Steve Hanks; American; contemporary. Portraits of women and children.
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Greek Mytology: Calypso (retold by James Hunter): Calypso was a nymph, the daughter of the Titan Atlas. She lived on the island of Ogygia. After the last of Odysseus' men had perished at sea, Odysseus himself was washed ashore on Ogygia, where Calypso became enamored of him, taking him as her lover and promising him immortality if he would stay with her. Odysseus refused her offer, wishing to return home to Ithaca and to his wife, Penelope. But Calypso refused to let him leave, and held him prisoner for seven years. Finally Athena complained of Odysseus' plight to Zeus, and Zeus sent Hermes to Ogygia to order Calypso to set Odysseus free. Calypso complied reluctantly, allowing Odysseus to construct a small boat and set sail from the island. More details.
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Art: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905): French academic painter. Realistic genre paintings and mythological themes. Gallery.
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DVD: Mulholland Drive (2001). Directed by David Lynch. w/ Naomi Watts, Laura Harring. Jealous lesbian girl kills her less serious girlfriend. Reality and fantasy mingle. Movie is not chronological. Not easy to understand by itself. Find some help at The Modern Word. Once you've made it through the quagmire, most of it makes sense, though. Overall rating 7 out of 10.
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Music: Judith Holofernes (real name: Judith Holfelder von der Tann): Singer and song writer of the German band 'Wir Sind Helden'. Her stage name is a reference to Judith and Holofernes.
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Religion: Bible: Judith and Holofernes: from the apocryphic Book of Judith in the Old Testament. Judith, a mature and beautiful woman, saved the Jewish city Bethulia by decapitating Holofernes, an invading general of Nebuchadnezzar's army with his own sword while he was drunk. Popular subject in paintings, e.g, by Michelangelo Buonarroti, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Gustav Klimt (Judith I), and Artemisia Gentileschi.
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DVD: Le Boucher (The Butcher, 1970). 93 min. French with English subtitles. Directed by Claude Chabrol. w/ Stephane Audran (Helene), Jean Yanne (Popaul). In a small French village, a butcher meets the respectable, pretty school teacher Helen. Then a girl is murdered, and Helen finds a clue, endangering her own life. Minimalist story, a master piece of classic suspense. Predictable, slow plot, but the pictures are enjoyable. Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
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Art: Web Gallery of Art: Virtual museum and searchable database of European painting and sculpture from 12th to mid-19th centuries. Dual view possible allows comparisons. Large images. Rich collection, but unfortunately the second half of the 19th and the 20th century are not covered.
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Snippets:
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Book on Tape: Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu. Translated by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English. Read by Jacob Needleman. Translation by D.T. Suzuki & Paul Carus with comments at Sacret Texts. Other translations.
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Web: World Wide Web Virtual Library. Many links to various topics.
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DVD: The Passion of the Christ (2004).126 min. Aramaic/Latin/Hebrew with English subtitles. Directed by Mel Gibson. w/ James Caviezel. Also Monica Bellucci as Magdalen. Retells the final hours of Jesus, including his crucifiction. Kept close to the biblical text. Gory representation. Unfortunately leaves nothing to the imagination of the viewer. Overall rating: 3 out of 10.
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Video: Battleship Potemkin (1925). 74 min. Silent movie. Directed by Sergei Eisenstein. Version of 1988 with a score composed by Dmitri Shostakovich. Influential Russian revolutionary propaganda film. Fictional story meant to glorify a real-life event that occurred in 1905, 'Battleship Potemkin uprising' that later came to be viewed as an initial step towards the Russian Revolution. Most famous scene from the movie is the massacre on the Odessa Steps. Probably a great accomplishment for its time, but story too simple for today. Overall rating 4 out of 10.
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Language: Potemkin village (German: Potemkinsche Doerfer): Something that appears elaborate and impressive, but in actual fact lacks substance; hollow or false construct, physical or figurative, meant to hide an undesirable or potentially damaging situation. Named after Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin (1739-1791), who reputedly had elaborate fake villages constructed to impress Catherine the Great (Empress Catherine II) during her visit of the Ukraine and the Crimea in 1787.
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DVD: Nowhere in Africa (German: 'Nirgendwo in Afrika'; 2002). 142 min. Directed by Caroline Link. w/ Juliane Koehler, Merab Ninidze. After the novel by Stefanie Zweig. German movie; won the Oscar for best foreingn language film in 2002. Jewish family flees from Nazi Germany to Kenya and tries to survive there on a remonte farm. Has some stunning pictures of Africa and the people there. Not as dreamlike as 'Out of Africa', more realistic, more down to earth, and still full of beauty. And the story has a lot to give, not as clear cut as some of the Hollywood movies, more ambiguous, more unpredictable. Like the times. Like the country. Nazis against Jews, Blacks against Whites, man against woman, drought against rain. Overall rating: 8 out of 10.
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DVD: Botherhood of the Wolf (Le Pacte des Loups, 2002). 144 min. Directed by Christophe Gans. w/ Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Monica Bellucci. In a village in 18th century France, Chevalier de Fronsac (Gans) is hunting a furious murderous beast, but learns that it is not an animal he is loking for, but a man. Flat, hokey plot, predictable, plenty of inconsistencies. Acting okay. Overall rating: 4 out of 10.
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Snippets:
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Literature: Reiner Kunze, German poet.
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Geography: Aleutian Islands: a string of islands off the Southern coast of Alaska. In the 2000 census, there was a population of 8,162 on the islands, of which 4,283 were living in the main settlement of Unalaska. The islands are part of the Ring of Fire, a zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that encircles the basin of the Pacific Ocean.
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Photography: Dirk Westfall, Anchorage, AK. Outdoor Photography. Some stunning pics!
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DVD: Man of La Mancha (1972). 129 min. w/ Peter O'Toole, Sophia Loren. Directed by Arthur Hiller. Film version of the Broadway musical of 1965. After the novel 'Don Quixote' (Pt. 1: 1605, Pt. 2: 1615) by Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra. Text in translation by John Ormsby (London 1885) also at Project Gutenberg. Spanish gentleman gets deluded by reading too many books on knights and chivalry. With the help of his servant Sancho Panza, he fights for the heart of his beloved Dulcinea. Together, they dream the impossible dream: To dream the impossible dream / to fight the unbeatable foe / to bear with unbearable sorrow / to run where the brave dare not go // To right the unrightable wrong / to love pure and chaste from afar / to try when your arms are too weary / to reach the unreachable star. Poor singing. Overall rating: 4 out of 10.
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Medicine: From Diabetes In Control, 3/29/05: A new generation of physicians believe maggots are one of the most effective ways of treating wounds infected by the superbug methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Maggots are remarkably efficient at cleaning up infected wounds by eating dead tissue and killing off bacteria that could block the healing process. Maggot medicine has a long history: Napoleon's battle surgeon wrote of the healing powers of maggots 200 years ago, and they were put to work during the American Civil War and in the trenches in World War One. With the arrival of modern antibiotics in the 1940s, however, maggots were consigned to the medical dustbin. In a bid to prove the case for maggots conclusively, Dr. Pauline Raynor of the University of York is now recruiting 600 patients across Britain for the world's biggest ever maggot trial.
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DVD: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003). 105 min. w/ Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Demi Moore. Directed by McG. No story. Poor acting. Some good special effects. Eye candy. Overall rating: 3 out of 10.
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DVD: Big Fish (2003). 125 min. Directed by Tim Burton (Batman, Sleepy Hollow). w/ Ewan McGregor (Ed Bloom (Young)), Albert Finney (Ed Bloom (Senior)), Billy Crudup (Will Bloom), Jessica Lange (Sandra Bloom), Helena Bonham Carter (Jenny (Young & Senior) & The Witch). Dying old man tells fantastic stories of his life; his son wants to find who is father really is. Truth and fiction mingle. Great story touching on many topics the audience can relate to. Overall rating: 8 out of 10.
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Book: Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis (c. 1380-1471). First published anonymously in A.D. 1418. Popular book of Christian faith, second only to the Bible. Meditations on the life and teachings of Jesus. Also at Project Gutenberg in a translation by William Benham (1831–1910). More info (in German).
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The 13 Virtues of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), from his Autobiography:

1. TEMPERANCE.
Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2. SILENCE.
Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3. ORDER.
Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4. RESOLUTION.
Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5. FRUGALITY.
Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
6. INDUSTRY.
Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. SINCERITY.
Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. JUSTICE.
Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9. MODERATION.
Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
10. CLEANLINESS.
Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.
11. TRANQUILLITY.
Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
12. CHASTITY.
Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.
13. HUMILITY.
Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

Notes on: Unblinking Witness to a Moody Town, New York Times, March 27, 2005, by Avis Berman, author of "Edward Hopper's New York" (Pomegranate Communications, 2005)

Edward Hopper (1882-1962): not a New York native; born in Nyack, 25 miles north of the city; came to New York in 1899 to study illustration; later enrolled in the New York School of Art to learn painting and took a studio on 14th Street.

Though New York remained his home base, he made several trips to Europe, living mainly in Paris, and he was struck by the differences between Manhattan and the City of Light. The Parisians, he wrote to his mother, "seem to live in the streets, which are alive from morning until night, not as they are in New York with that never-ending determination for the long-green - but with a pleasure-loving crowd that doesn't care what it does or where it goes, so that it has a good time."

As Hopper saw it, the grim business of living in New York encased people in themselves. He understood that New York was essentially a city of people intent on commerce. People become hardened by materialistic pressures, he concluded, and to survive, they grow indifferent or estranged from one another.

Hopper once described New York as "the American city that I know best and like most," and its physical face inspired seven decades' worth of paintings, drawings, watercolors and prints. Hopper, who lived in Manhattan, mainly in Greenwich Village, from about 1905 until his death in 1967, roamed the city with a passion and had a well-worn familiarity with the byways and corners off the tourist's map.

Ever the contrarian, Hopper offered an alternative to the New York that most other American artists of his day seized on - the city of the new, the gigantic, the technologically thrilling depicted, for example, in the paintings of Joseph Stella.


Snippets:
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Actress: Tilda Swinton played the lead role in the movie 'Orlando' (1992), after the novel by Virgina Woolfe. Also speaks as member of the 'Cannes' committee in the Special Features section of Fahrenheit 9/11 DVD.
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DVD: Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004). By Michael Moore. 122 min Documentary about George W. Bush, the invasion of Iraq, and his oil connections. Good idea to reveal Bush's ties and motifs, but por execution. One sided. Too much schmaltz, little facts. Poor entertaiment at best. Overall rating 5 out of 10.
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Life: Tete du Moine. A grated cheese with a special, circular rasper to cut it. History of over 800 years.
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Photography: Affordable digital camera: CardCam from Creative. Size of a credit card. 1.3 Megapixels (1280 x 960 resolution). 26 photos at 1280 x 960 resolutions (interpolated) or 101 photos at 640 x 480 resolutions. 8 MB memory. Mediocre picture quality, but cheap price.
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Technology: Steve Fossett flew around the world in the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer between Feb. 28 and Mar. 3, 2005. Fossett already held the record for flying solo around the globe in a balloon, as well as dozens of other aviation and sailing records.
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Geology: Predicted tsunami after an eruption of Cumbre Vieja volcano, La Palma, Canary Islands. Would also affect the United States with waves 30-75 ft high 6-9 h later. However, currently no volcanic activity reported.
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Phone: Country Calling Codes.
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Nature: Pulse of the Planet. 2 minute sound portaits of the planet earth as MP3 and transcripts. Dates back to 1996. Presented by the National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science.
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Food: Hediard. Delicatessen store in Paris and other French cities.
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Geography: Unalaska, an island in the Fox Islands group in the middle of the Aleutian Islands southwest of Alaska, is said to be the rainiest place within the territory of the United States. There, it rains about 250 days a year.
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Philosophy: The Skeptics Dictionary
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Philosophy: Edgar Cayce, a psychic with questionable success . Notes and transcripts on his sessions are now under the protection of the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE). Cayce proclaimed that the star Arcturus is one of the most advanced civilizations in our galaxy. It is a fifth-dimensional civilization and the prototype for Earth's future. Oh well...
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Snippets:
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Mythology: Galatea und Polyphemus. Famous painting by Raphael in the Villa Farnesina in Rome. Story here, also told in Ovid's 'Metamorphoses'.
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CD: Beth Gibbons: Out of Season (2003). Solo album of the voice of Portishead. Sad and quiet.
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CD: Alice Ripley: Everything's Fine (2001). Pop. Voice okay. Some country touch.
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Web: KartOO: Visual Meta Search Engine. Search engine that presents the results in form of a 'mind map'.
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DVD: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). 142 min. w/ Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley). Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, after the novel by J.K. Rowling. Harry's third year at Hogwarts, discovering more of his own personal history. The teenagers start to become serious actors. Plot contains an interesting sequence of time travel. Overall rating 6 out of 10.
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Sg: 'Breaking a habit' by Linkin Park from the CD 'Meteora'
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Video: Paris, Texas (1984). 145 min. Directed by Wim Wenders. w/ Harry Dean Stanton (Travis), Nastassja Kinski (Jane), Dean Stockwell (Walt), Hunter Carson (Hunter). Long thought dead man shows up in a desert in Texas, and is picked up by his brother. After getting some rest, and accompanied by his son, he makes his way to Texas to find his wife. Pretty slow plot. Only the last 30 min are really worth watching, the rest is a sleeper. Overall rating: 5 out of 10. HDS played Lyle Straight, Alvin's Brother, in The Straight Story.
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Video: Julius Caesar (2002, TV mini series). 176 min. Epic about life and death of the great Roman leader. w/ Jeremy Sisto (Julius Caesar), Richard Harris (Lucius Sulla), Christopher Walken (Marcus Cato), Chris Noth (Pompey). Directed by Uli Edel (Last Exit to Brooklyn). Epic about life and death of the great Roman leader. Don't know how historically accurate it is, but it's entertaining. Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
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I do not understand how an instructor for a 'safe driving course' can weigh 250 lbs: Doesn't he know that while in 2003 a total of 42,643 people in the United States died in traffic crashes, it was estimated in 1999 that the number of annual deaths attributable to obesity among US adults is approximately 280,000? [Allison DB et al., JAMA. 1999 Oct 27;282(16):1530-8. Annual deaths attributable to obesity in the United States]. Over six times as many!


Snippets:
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DVD: Sex and Lucia (Lucia y el sexo, 2001). Spanish w/ English subtitles. Directed by Julio Medem. w/ Paz Vega (Lucía), Tristan Ulloa (Lorenzo), Najwa Nimri (Elena). The film is exactly about what the title says: about Lucia, a young woman who tries to find her boy friend, and about sex, occasionally quite explict. First hour is rather sluggish. However, later in the movie, more of a story actually unravels, and the line between fiction and reality disappears. Some great under water shots. Najwa Nimri is remarkable. Overall Rating: 6 out of 10.
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DVD: Chaos (Kaosu, Japan, 1999). Japanese w/ English subtitles. Directed by Hideo Nakata. w/ Masato Hagiwara, Miki Nakatani, Ken Mitsuishi. Wife fakes her own kidnapping, with unexpected consequences. Film is not chronological. Sometimes confusing, but idea is good. Overall rating 6 out of 10.
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Art: Christo (Javacheff) and his wife Jeanne-Claude opened 'The Gates' in Central Park, NYC, on February 12, 2005. 7500, by releasing the panels of saffron-colored fabric from atop the 7,500 16-foot-tall gates, along 23 miles of footpaths. What a spectacle! Will be on display until February 28, 2005.
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Humor: "We have normality. I repeat, we have normality. Anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem." Douglas Adams (British comic writer, 1952-2001)
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History: The Writings of Benjamin Franklin, Vol. I - V (Vol. I, II, III online).
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Video: The Ring (2002). Directed by Gore Verbinski. w/ Naomi Watts. After the novel by Koji Suzuki and the movie Ringu (aka Ring; directed by Hideo Nakata, see above: 'Chaos'). People who watch a certain video tape get a phone call and die within a week. A Seattle journalist (Watts) joins the club, and her time is running out. Neat idea for a horror flick. Gripping. Great special effects. Mysterious. Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
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Life: Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Statistics of motorvehicle and traffic related fatalites and injuries.
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Snippets:
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DVD: Sylvia (2003). w/ Gwenneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig. About the life of famous American poet Sylivia Plath, the relationship with her husband, Ted Hughes, her jealousy, her depresseion, and her longing to become an acclaimed writer. Film is not a historically accurate portrayal. Depressing, sad, slow at times. Lacks the 'magic' of a good movie. Paltrows acting is good in this difficult role. Overall rating 5 out of 10.
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Language: Islamism: 1.) from Merriam-Websters: the faith, doctrine, or cause of Islam. 2.) from Wikipedia: Islamism is a political ideology derived from the conservative religious views of Muslim fundamentalism. It holds Islam is not only a religion, but a political system that also governs the legal, economic and social imperatives of the state. [...] In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Islamism, along with other political movements inspired by Islam, gained increased attention in the Western media. The media often confuses the term Islamism with related terms such as Islam, fundamentalism, militant Islam, and Wahhabism. Although the groups and individuals representing these are not mutually exclusive, within academia, each term does have a distinct definition. Some Islamist groups have been implicated in terrorism and have become targets in the War on Terrorism.
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DVD: Pather Panchali (Song of the Road, 1955). Bengali w/ English subtitles. 126 min. Directed by Satyajit Ray. First part of the 'Apu Trilogy', along with 'Aparajito (The Unvanquished, 1957)' and 'Apur Sansar (The World of Apu, 1959)'. Everyday life of a poor family close to starvation. Father Hari is a dreamer and poet, while his hardworking wife struggles to feed the family. Their daughter Durgha is free-spirited and petty thief. And her younger brother Apu is watching the world with his eyes wide open. Exotic, very different cultural background is interesting to study. But slow plot. Much redundancy. Overall rating: 4 out of 10.
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DVD: A Clockwork Orange (1971). Directed by Stanley Kubrick, after a novel by Anthony Burgess; w/ Malcolm McDowell (Star Trek Generations). Members of gang in near-future Britain entertainthemselves by raping and murdering innocent victims. One of them, Alex, gets caught and imprisoned, and volunteers to subject to an experimental aversion condition method to cure him from his preverse desires by losing his ability to choose. After he is released, he becomes as defenseless as his former victims, but finds his own way to manage. Movie was initially X-rated. Plenty of sex and violence, to the point of disgust. Kubrik has built in several subtle, but deliberate inconsistencies (e.g. filling height of glasses in subsequent scenes) to generate additional confusion. Overall rating 7 out of 10. Anthony Burgess (1917-1993) did reportedly not authorize the movie, and later wrote a play based on the book. As to the title, Burgess wrote it came from an old Cockney expression "As queer [i.e. strange] as a clockwork orange", but other interpretations have also been found, including the 'mechanically responsive (clockwork) non-human (orang, Malay for "person")'. Alex is now "good" after his treatment, but his ability to choose this has been taken away from him. His "goodness" is as artificial as the clockwork orange of the title, and this might be much worse than having the freedom of choice to be 'bad'. More info about book and movie at Wikipedia.

The painter Clyfford Still (1904-1980) was one of the 'founders' of Abstract Expressionism. Born in Grandin, North Dakota, he grew up in Washington State and in Alberta, Canada. He influenced many others, including Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman. When visiting New York in 1945, Rothko introduced him to Peggy Guggenheim, who shortly thereafter, hosted Still's first one-man show. Still was considered a member of the 'New York School', that also included Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem deKooning. However, Still always tried not to be ascribed to any movement, and disliked verbal explanations of his art: "The paintings should be permitted to speak for themselves". Still was mostly a loner and aloof. In 1961, he moved to a small town near Baltimore to escape the New York art scene and focus on his art.

Today, many of Still's paintings can be viewed at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (30+), the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. The MoMA in NYC has '1944-N' on display. A book (ISBN 0-87099-213-9) by Clyfford Still and John P. O'Neill (Ed.), published in 1979, is a catalog from an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Nov. 17, 1979 - Feb. 3, 1980. It contains all paintings from the large exhibition in color together with notes and letters by the painter. Recently, Denver has been chosen to receive Still's much desired 2,000+ piece private collection under the premise to create and maintain a museum devoted exclusively to his art.

Other Links:
Examples of Paintings
Clyfford Still: Short Biography


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Ecce Homo: When Pontius Pilate presented Jesus to the Jews demanding his Crucifixion, Pilate cried 'Ecce homo' (Behold the man). The words Ecce Homo have come to signify a type of devotional image that depicts Jesus after the scourging, crowned with a wreath of thorns, and with his face typically gaunt and drawn as he goes to his death. Also a famous writing by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, and paintings by Lovis Corinth and Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.
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DVD: Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004): Directed by Quentin Tarantino. w/ Uma Thurman, David Carradine. The bride gets her revenge. More story than in Vol. 1, but some scenes are too sluggish. Overall rating: 6 out of 10.
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Music: Ravi Shankar: Sitar player. CDs: India's Master Musician (1963), Ragas and Talas (1964). Indian Classical music. Shankar has also collaborated with George Harrison in the 60s. John Coltrane was influenced by Shankar. Shankar's idea was to introduce the Western world to traditional Indian Music. The sitar is a plucked string instrument with 20 movable frets. It is retuned with different intervals for each piece. It has six or seven main strings and 13 symapthetic strings. The tamboura is another instument with 4-5 strings which are plucked witout stopping the strings in a constant drone. The tabla is a pair of drums played by hand. A raga is not a tune, melody, scale, mode, or any concept for which an English word exists. It is instead a combination of different characteristics, including a certain number of notes, modal structure, ascending or descending struture, and certain importance of notes. A tala is a recurring time-measure or rhythmic cycle.
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Music: Sitar player: Roop Verma. From the web site: "A world-renowned Indian musician; a master of the healing sounds of the Indian Sitar, a brilliant concert performer, teacher, and composer." He cannot be found in the AllMusic Guide though.
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Literature: Talbot Mundy was the bestselling writer of adventure stories during the 1920's and 1930's. His novels include King of the Khyber Rifles, Caves of Terror, Om: The Secret of Ahbor Valley, Black Light, and The Nine Unknown.
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Shopping: CNET Shopper for electronics. Reviews, recommendations, price comparisons.
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Life: The best thing about carrying home a large pizza take-out in the winter time is that it will keep your hands warm.
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Art: Abstract-Art.com. Impressive collection of modern art. Especially the 'Grandfathers and Influences Gallery' and the 'More Artists Galley'. Navigation buttons allow an easy 'walk-through'. Site design could be more imaginative, though.
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Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski (b. 1941), the director of the trilogy Trois Coleurs, has previously made Polish movies and a TV series called 'Dekalog'. Among them, 'A Short Film About Love ' (Krotki film o milosci), and 'A Short Film About Killing' (Dekalog, piec), both from 1988.
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Art: Photographer: Wolfgang Volz, Exhibition: ManMade Planet, Jan 28 – Mar 1, 2005, at the Chelsea Art Museum, Chelsea, NYC. Gallery opening 1/28/05; saw Christo & Jeanne-Claude there. Volz is the designated photographer of their art. Will also cover their project 'The Gates' in Central Park (Feb. 12 -29, 2005).
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Art: Chelsea Museum of Art also has a permant collection of Jean Miotte (b. 1926). 'L'Arte Informel' is the European equivalent to the American 'Abstract Expressionism'. Main artists: Jean Miotte, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Emil Schumacher and Kazuo Shiraga and others. Miotte reminds of Clyfford Still.
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Language: An epitome (Greek epitemnein = to cut short) is a summary or miniature form; it is also used as a synonym for embodiment. Many lost documents from the Ancient Greek and Roman world survive only now 'in epitome' referring to the practice of some later authors (epitomators) who would write distilled versions of now lost larger works (Wikipedia).
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Video: Smoke (1995). Director: Wayne Wang. Written by Paul Auster. w/ Harvey Keitel, William Hurt (Lost in Space), Stockard Channing (Grease). 112 min. Life in and around a New York cigar store in 1990. Some good lines and intriguing stories.Overall rating 7 out of 10.
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WWW: Search engine for scientific information: Scirus . Searches Journal and the Web.
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Snippets:
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DVD: Kandahar (2001); aka 'Safar e Ghandehar'. Directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf. w/ Nelofer Pazira, Hassan Tantai. Mixture of movie and documentary. Shortly before the last solar eclipse of the century. an Afghanistan-born Canadian woman (Pazira) tries to reach Kandahar to save her sister from suicide. On her journey she is exhibits much of the Iranian-Afghan culture, poverty, mutilation by landmines, and the situation of women in the area. Exotic. Informs about very different issues. DVD also has a version with explanations by Nelofer Pazira. Overall rating: 7 out of 10. Hassan Tantai (aka David Belfield) is under indictment in the United States for the 1980 murder of the former Iranian diplomat Ali Akbar Tabatabai, a supporter of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi. More about Belfield in the New Yorker, Issue of 2002-08-05.
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Snippets:
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Video: Lord of the Rings I, II, III: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), The Return of the King (2003). An extensive story. After seeing the movie, I would want to read the book. Overall rating: 6 out of 10.
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Video: Moulin Rouge (2001). w/ Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor. Director: Baz Luhrman (Romeo and Juliet). Unusual love story. Lots of sung scenes; sometimes cuts are too short; interesting mixture of well known songs in modern versions; 'Roxanne' is best interpretation; overall poor story; spectacular costumes; bizarre acting; Nicole Kidman should know by now that her singing is even worse than her acting. Overall rating 3 out of 10.
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Metropolitan Museum 10/24/04: 1.) Roof Garden: Andy Goldsworthy on the Roof. 2.) German Drawings and Prints from the Weimar Republic (1919-1933). Otto Dix, George Grosz, Max Beckmann and others. Senses the situation after WW-I and shows many mutiliations. Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity). 3.) China: Dawn of the Golden Age, 200-750 AD. Han Dynasty was ~ 300 BC to 300 AD. Fine sculptures and textiles. 4.) George Washington: Man Myth, Monument. A collection of GW portraits. Dauguerrotype with young woman standing in front of GW portrait.
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Video: Matrix Reloaded (2003): pointless, useless, dull, waste of time. 2 out of 10.
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Video: Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994); aka 'Red'. French with English subtitles. Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski. w/ Irene Jacob as Valentine Dussaut, Jean-Louis Trintignant as The Judge. Captivating movie about a model who, by coincidence, meets a retired judge who is spying on his neighbors. A movie about love, betrayal, and life in general. Excellent tempo. Third part of the trilogy. Perfect acting. 9 out of 10.
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Video: Trois couleurs: Blanc (1994). aka: 'White'. Polish and French with English subtitles. Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski. Bizarre story; man becomes crook after his wife left him; planning for revenge; no magic in the story; disappointing; 4 out of 10.
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Video: Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993); aka 'Blue'. French with English subtitles. Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski. Woman loses man and daughter in a car accident. She mourns her loss by starting a new life, away from old companions and memories. Only after realizing that her husband had a long-term affair with another woman, she regains the strength to abandon her misery. Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
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Stop Telemarketers: federal and NJ.
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Video: Excalibur (1981): Cheezy tale about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Overall Rating: 5 out of 10
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Video: Trainspotting (1996). Drug addict tries to leave the Edinburgh scene, but is held back by his friends. Overall Rating: 5 out of 10.
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Video: Women in Love (1969). 131 min. Directed by Ken Russell; after the novel by D.H. Lawrence; w/ Alan Bates (Rupert Birkin), Oliver Reed (Gerald Crich), Glenda Jackson (Gudrun Brangwen), Jennie Linden (Ursula Brangwen). Exploration of the relationships, personalities, and philosophies of two men and two women in the high society of the early 1900s (IMDB). Multi-layered tale about love, friendship, and the philosophy of life. Glenda Jackson won the Oscar for 'Best Actress in a Leading Role' in 1970. Good acting, bizarre story. Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
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Video: Vendredi Soir aka 'Friday Night' (2002). Directed by Claire Denis. Woman wants to move in with her boyfriend. Gets stuck in traffic. Meets another man. Spends night with him, and leaves him. Slow story. Overall rating: 5 out of 10
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DVD: Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003): Directed by
Quentin Tarantino. w/ Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu. Developing story. Comic strip brutality. Overall raiting: 7 out of 10. Want to see Vol. 2.
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Politics: What is a "lame duck" session? When Congress (or either chamber) reconvenes in an even-numbered year following the November general elections to consider various items of business. Some lawmakers who return for this session will not be in the next Congress. Hence, they are informally called "lame duck" members participating in a "lame duck" session. For more U.S. politics terms see U.S. Senate glossary.
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Culture: Bad Fads: A virtual museum of fun and nostalgic fashions, collectibles, activities and events which are cherished by some and ridiculed by others.
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Theater: Symphonie Fantastique. Dodger Stages, 350 W 50th St, NYC. 60 min. Created by Basil Twist. Abstract under water puppet theater to the music of the same name by French romantic composer Hector Berlioz (1803-1869). Intriguing effects with shapes, clothes, and light in a 1000 gallon fish tank. Visualizes the music. Unusual idea.
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DVD: Benjamin Franklin. An Extraordinary Life (2002). PBS documentary. 3.5 hours. Well narrated biography of the versatile 18th century man, who invented the lightning rod and played an important role in creating the United States of America.
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Theater: nytheater.com. Theater listings and reviews.
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Movies: Actor Danny Aiello can be found often at Tutta Pasta in Hoboken, NJ
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Movies: Actress: Jessika Cardinahl. Renowned from the German comedy movie 'Otto, der Film'. Now successful as a painter.
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Video: The Day after Tomorrow (2004). Directed by Roland Emmerich. The world freezes over as a results of environmental pollution. Not as bad as I thought it would be. Overall rating: 7 out of 10
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Video: The House of Mirth (2000). 140 min. Directed by Terence Davies after a novel by Edith Wharton. w/ Gillian Anderson, Eric Stoltz, Dan Aykroyd. Woman in New York in Victorian times refuses to marry and paves the way for her destruction. Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
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Video: Finding Forrester. w/ Sean Connery. Hermit writer coaches black kid with writing ambitions. Overall rating 7 out of 10.
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Food: Beth's Farm Kitchen. Jams & Chutneys. Favorite: Mighty Hot Pepper Jelly with jalopenio peppers, and red and green bell peppers. NYC Greenmarket: Fri. and Sat. at Union Square.
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Culture: Auroville: City in Southern India founded in 1968. The Auroville concept is that of an ideal township devoted to an experiment in human unity. Important figures are Mirra Alfassa (The Mother) and Sri Aurobindo (Aurobindo Ghose, 1872-1950).
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Movies: Ebert & Roeper: Movie reviews.
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Music: Donny McCaslin: January 2, 2005 at 55 Bar. Donny McCaslin - Saxophones, Ben Monder - Guitar, Ben Street - Bass, Adam Cruz - Drums. All four are talented musicians.
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Google now offers the beta version of a search engine called 'Google Scholar'. The engine helps finding scientific papers and web pages of all kind. The nice thing is that the search also yields the number of citations the paper has been cited in, allowing a crude estimate of its impact. You can click on the 'Cited by' link in the results section to list them. Also, the 'Advanced Scholar Search' includes additional search options. The down side may be that it is not as up-to-date as, for example, PubMed/Medline.
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Culture: Eating 12 Grapes on New Year's Eve. For a long time, Spanish people have had a traditional custom to celebrate New Year's Eve. On the last day of the year, the 31st of December , they wait until twelve p.m. Everybody has to have twelve grapes ready to eat when the clock starts to chime. It is traditional to listen to the clock from Puerta del Sol in Madrid.
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Web: Washed Ashore: casting a message in a bottle into the world wide ocean. A personal site by Ben Discoe, rich in ideas.
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DVD: Fa yeung nin wa (2000), aka In the Mood for Love (Hong Kong: English title and USA), aka Hua yang nian hua (Hong Kong: Mandarin title). The Criterion Collection (2 DVDs). Director: Wong Kar-wai (Kar Wai Wong); w/ Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Maggie Cheung. In Hong Kong in the 60s, two neighbors discover that their spouses have an affair, and reenact their story. Film was shot without a detailed script. Very subtle story and movements. Interestingly, the 'deleted scenes' section and the included documentary of the making of the film included on the DVD unfolds a very different story. Overall rating: 7 our of 10. Sequel: 2046 (2004). Earlier movie by Wong Kar-Wai: Days of Being Wild (1991).
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Fashion: Cheongsam, also known as Qipao (Ch'ipau), is one of the most typical, traditional costumes for Chinese women. Characteristic is the high and tight fitting collar. Qipao was originally the costume worn by the Manchus (17th centruy). Cheongsam was brought back to vogue by a movie called "In the Mood for Love" (see above).
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History: In 1644, the Manchus united China and established the Qing Dyansty which lasted until 1911. History of China. Time line.
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Museum: MoMA in NYC. Re-opend after renovation in November 2004. Interior was completely re-designed. Wide, open spaces. Reminds a bit of a hybrid between a modern airport and a department store. Lacks smaller, more quiet rooms to retreat a bit. Some interesting views in the distance though. Collection is exceptional.
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Snippets:
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Theater: The Adding Machine (1923). Expressionist play by the American playwright Elmer Rice (1892-1967). Medicine Show Theatre, 549 West 52nd Street, New York, NY. Sept. 9-12, 2004. Dreary life, death, and after-life of Mr. Zero, a white-collar drone who learns that, after twenty-five years, `the Boss' has fired him in favor of a machine. Depicts dehumanization of society in the technocratic age. Other Plays by Elmer Rice.
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Literature: Paul Auster opened the new season of Works & Process on September 12-13, 2004, by reading from his Collected Poems at the Guggenheim Museum in NYC, NY. In addition, Works & Process has commissioned vocal music settings of his poetry from five leading composers (world premiere performances). The composers are Milton Babbitt, Lee Hyla, Louis Karchin, Roger Reynolds, and Charles Wuorinen; and each of the works is a duet for one voice and one instrument, performed by The Group for Contemporary Music.
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Book: Der Sommer der lachenden Kühe by Arto Paasilinna (in German). Story of a former sergant and a cab driver on a scurrile tour through Finland. Entertaining, but not too philosophical.
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Video: Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003). Directed by Peter Webber. After a novel by Tracy Chevalier. w/ Colin Firth (Johannes Vermeer) and Scarlett Johansson (Griet). In the 1660s, a maid is hired into the services of the painter Vermeer, becomes more and more intimate with her master, and finally poses as a model for the famous painting. A story made up for a painting. Probably little historical. Good cinematography. Many of the scenes look like Vermeer paintings. Ratig 6 out of 10.
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Snippets:
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Art: ArtNYC: Great info site of New York art galleries. Also listing of art suppliers.
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NYC: Skyscraper Museum: Info on the museum in Lower Manhattan, as well as several online exhibitions worth seeing.
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NYC: In 1916 New York City enacted the "set-back law" which decreed that buildings over a certain height must include proportionate setbacks so that light and air could reach the street below.
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Language: LEO: German <---> English dictionary. From TU Munich. Also contains a section with composed entries. Very useful!
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Music: David Gross: Blues. Plays at Scotland Yard in Hoboken, NJ, sometimes. First CD recorded & mixed by VD King from Better Off Dead, also sometimes at the Yard.
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Recreation: Cape Cod Whale Watch: Capt. John Boats, Town Wharf, Plymouth, MA. A nice, long ride out into the open sea on a fast boat. The company goes an extra distance to assure that the customers will indeed see whales.
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Museum: Plimoth Plantation: A recreation of the 1627 Pilgrim village. One feels time warped, especially if you talk to the inhabitants of the village. Make sure you ask them many questions!
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Museum: Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian: New York location near Bowling Green and Battery Park, NYC. Located in the old U.S. Custom House.
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NYC: The Manhattan Skyline. Two posters by John Wagner.
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Literature: Decameron Web: A site for the study of Giovanni Boccaccio's 'Decameron', a collection of short stories from the 14th century. Includes original Italian text and English translation.
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Books: Internet bookstore: Libri.de (in German)
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Travel: Good price offers for flights: Opodo.de (in German)
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Food: VEL Nut & Seed, distributed by K.L. Foods Inc., Markham, Ontario, Canada.
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Film: Margaret O'Brien: Major child star in the 1940s; e.g., in The Canterville Ghost (1944).
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Movie: The Song of Bernadette (1943). 156 min. w/ Jennifer Jones; directed by Henry King; novel by Franz Werfel. Story of Bernadette Soubirous who claimed to have seen 'a beautiful lady' (the Virgin Mary) at a grotto near Lourdes in Southern France. Historical background, but sappy. My rating: 5 out of 10.
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People: Alma Mahler-Werfel: was the wife, successively, of composer Gustav Mahler, architect Walter Gropius, and novelist Franz Werfel; also had an affair with Oskar Kokoschka, who painted 'Bride of the Wind' to represent their love.
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Interview with God by Reata Strickland.
I dreamed I had an interview with God. 'So you would like to interview me?', God asked. 'If you have the time', I said. God smiled: 'My time is eternity. What questions do you have in mind for me?' 'What surprises you most about humankind ...?' God answered: 'That they get bored with childhood. They rush to grow up and then long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health. That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future. That they live as if they will never die, and die as if they had never lived.' God’s hand took mine and we were silent for a while. And then I asked: 'As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?' God replied with a smile: 'To learn they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is let themselves be loved. To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least. To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and it takes many years to heal them. To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness. To learn that there are persons who love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings. To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently. To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others. But that they must forgive themselves. And to learn that I am here always.' (Flash Version here)

Snippets:
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Photography: Mary Hegarty Neschke: local photographer in Milford, CT. Lighthouse pictures.
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Book: Robert Bach: Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970). A story about a seagull who notices that he is different from the rest of the flock. He breaks out of his familiar environment and becomes a philosophical leader.
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Politics: U.S. Presidential Election 2004: Electoral Vote Predictor as a map and Excel spreadsheet. Calculated from state polls. Updated daily. Great resource.
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Recreation: Sunken Meadow State Park (1266 acres), near Kings Park, Long Island, NY. Nice beach on the North side of Long Island. History (Source): 1920s: The park's original area (520 acres) acquired from George and Antoinette Lamb. 1930: Park opens. Started up by Robert Moses. 1992: Park renamed 'Governor Alfred E. Smith/ Sunken Meadow State Park' to honor Smith's role in promoting Long Island's park system while governor of New York in the 1920's.
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Language: Plutocracy: Government system where wealth is the principal basis of power (from the Greek ploutos meaning wealth). From Wikipedia.
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Games: The History of Scrabble; invented by Alfred Butts in 1948.
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Movie: The Gold Rush (1925, re-issued with narration by Charlie Chaplin in 1942) ; directed by Charles Chaplin; w/ Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Georgia Hale. Silent movie classic about the Tramp in search of gold and romance in the Klondyke in 1898. My rating: 7 out of 10. Also watch: The Kid (1921).
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Life: Distillery: Etter in Zug, Switzerland. Cherry schnaps (and other fruits) in mouthblown glass bottles.
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Music: Ashlee Simpson: Pieces Of Me (Sg); from the CD 'Autobiography'
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Literature: Bestselling 20th-Century American Literature at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Also: Outline of American Literature by Kathryn VanSpanckeren, Key Sites on American Literature (a wealth of information!) at the U.S. Department of State, and the Norton Anthology of American Literature.
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The War Wagon (1967) w/ John Wayne, Kirk Douglas. A man falsely imprisoned for three years returns to get back what belongs to him and take revenge. Cheesy Western comedy with lots of action. Predictable. My rating 4 out of 10.
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Web: Schaller & Weber, Gold Metal Meat Products. Make sure to turn on sound, and enjoy the Schuetzenliesl!
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Geography: 50 American States. Concise listings for every state.
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Theater: Theater Listings in NYC: Theater Mania
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Music: E.G. Kight: Blues Singer, Track: 'Sad, Sad Sunday' from the CD 'Southern Comfort'.
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Movie: The Magnificent Seven (1960): Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Horst Buchholz. Seven gunfighters help to defend an oppressed Mexican peasant village. Great cast. Famous original music by Elmer Bernstein that was later used in Marlboro TV ads. Film is entertaining. Good acting. Simple story. My rating 5 out of 10
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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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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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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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Snippets:
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Gadgets: Think Geek
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Comics: R. Groscinny, A. Uderzo: Asterix: Obelix auf Kreuzfahrt (1996). In German. Obelix drinks too much of the magic potion, transforms into a child, and get kidnapped by the Romans. Asterix and company set out to rescue him.
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Boats: General Slocum, a steamboat that sank due to a fire near Randall's Island in the East River on June 15, 1904, costing 1,021 passengers their lives. On that day, the boat had been chartered by St. Mark’s German Lutheran Church for an annual Sunday School outing with mostly women and children on board. After the disaster, the General Slocum was raised and refitted into a barge called the Maryland. It sank again on December 4, 1911 somwhere near Atlantic City, NJ.
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History: Randall's Island, Ward's Island, and Sunken Meadow in the East River of NYC, today the lacation of the Triboro Bridge.
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History: New York History
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Video: The Avengers '64. British TV Cult Series (1961-1969). 6 complete episodes from 1964: The White Elephant, The Little Wonders, The Wringer, Mandrake, The Secrets Broker, The Trojan Horse. Starring Honor Blackman as Mrs. Cathy Gale and Patrick Macnee as John Steed. B/W; approx 312 min total. Two special agents solve unusual cases. A classic. Note: A few years later (1965-1967), Diana Rigg succeeded Cathy Gale as Emma Peel.
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Video: Red Dwarf. Series III, Byte Two (1998). 83 min. Bodyswap; Timeslides; The Last Day (all originally transmitted in 1989). Remastered edition. British Sci-Fi Sitcom. Funny.
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Snippets:
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Sports: Fussballdaten (in German). Web site with all the data from various German soccer leagues.
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Art/Illustration: Rene Milot. Contemporary fantastic art.
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Photography: George Simhoni (Westside Studio): Mackenzie Baby. Source: Applied Arts Magazine.


Mackenzie Baby

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Video: Mr. Bean: The Whole Bean Vol. 3. w/ Rowan Atkinson. Episode 11: Back to school Mr. Bean; Episode 12: Tee off Mr. Bean; Episode 13: Good night Mr Bean; Episode 14: Hair by Mr. Bean of London; Never-before-seen-in-TV sketches (Bus Stop, Library). Approx. 150 min. (1993-97). Some good, some poor sketches. 'Mail Bag' sketch is best. My rating over all: 3 out of 10.
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Video: My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002). 95 min. Greek girl falls in love with guy, handsome, but definitely not Greek. Prepare for a culture clash! A romantic comedy, but overall a total sleeper; predictable, boring. Based on the reviews I expected a lot more. My rating: 2 out of 10.
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Directory: Bioscorpio: Various pharma and biotech databases. Worldwide R & D Lifescience Companies.
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Video: The Elegant Universe (180 min). 2003. PBS/Nova. Hosted by Brian Greene, professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, NYC. Topic: Sting Theory. Also covers fundamentals of quantum mechanics and Einstein's theory of relativity. Othe thoughts: membranes (branes) as parallel universes; sparticles; unifying theory; Edward Witten. The website has all the resources, including transcripts and the whole show as online videos.
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Video: What Lies Beneath (2000). 130 min. w/ Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford. Wife of an ambitious scientist starts seeing ghosts, and thinks she is going mad, until her investigations reveal a shocking truth. Superb acting. Great camera angles. The scene with Pfeiffer paralysed in the bathtub is breathtaking. Prepare for some chills. Story may be predictable, but the movie is still taking a few unexpected turns. My rating: 8 out of 10.
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Video: The War of the Worlds (1953). 85 min. w/ Gene Barry, Ann Robinson; after the novel by H.G. Wells. Oscar for special effects. Cult sci-fi classic. Martians invade Earth and (almost) nothing, not even an atomic bomb explosion can stop them. Seems a little dated in our times, but not bad for being filmed over 50 years ago. Typical to see that the authorities throw the atomic bomb first, and only after it fails send the scientists off to think about the problem. My rating: 5 out of 10.
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Video: Birdy (1984). 120 min. w/ Nicolas Cage (Al Columbato), Matthew Modine (Birdy). A friendship between two boys from blue collar families. Birdy's only passion is birds and the wish to fly like a bird. After the Vietnam war, both meet again in an Army hospital where Al has the duty to snap Birdy out of a catatonic 'bird-like' state. Overall a good idea, but the movie dwells on the same theme too long. Funny scenes interchange with war, depression, and psychosis. Intense at times. My rating: 4 out of 10.
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From The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519): #686: "This shall be placed in the hand of Ingratitude. Wood nourishes the fire that consumes it."

Other Links:
- Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum, NYC: Leonardo da Vinci, Master Draftsman
- Leonardo Museum in Vinci with lots of devices built from his notes


Snippets:
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News: Newseum. The interactive museum of news. Contains original title pages of 250 newspapers around the world in PDF format. Very useful!
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The Skeptic's Annotated Bible and Quran. Some interesting thoughts, but clearly also a lot of rubbish.
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Video: Noah's Ark (1999, TV)/ w/ Jon Voight (Noah), Mary Steenburgen (Naamah), James Coburn (Peddler, minor role). The biblical story retold. Shallow presentation. Poor special effects. Nothing in there makes it worth watching. My rating 2 out of 10.
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Literature: Mathematical Fiction, a list of books and films that (more or less) deal with mathematics, compiled by Alex Kasman.
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Video: The Lost Boys (1987). 98 min. Directed by Joel Schumacher (St. Elmo's Fire). w/ Jason Patric. Horror-comedy. Teenager runs with a blood-sucking crowd, while his little brother and his buddies are trying to find the head vampire. A little twisted, a little quirky. Some funny moments, but overall pretty dull. My rating: 4 out of 10.
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Video: The Falcon and the Snowman (1985). 132 min. w/ Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn. Directed by John Schlesinger (Marathon Man). Based on the true story of the two spies Christopher Boyce and Daulton Lee, who sold top secret information to the Russian Government in the Seventies. Music by Pat Metheny, including 'This is not America' by David Bowie.Good movie. My rating: 7 out of 10.
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Awards: Razzie Awards, Golden Raspberry Award Foundation. Honoring the worst movies of each year.
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Exhibition: Biennial 2004 at the Whitney Museum, NYC. Highlights:

• Mary Kelly: Circa 1968 (2004) compressed lint and projected light.


• Chloe Piene: Blackmouth. 4-minute loop of a girl in her underwear, covered in mud and screaming in slow-motion. Sounds weird? Is weird!


• Alec Soth: Photographs.


• Zak Smith: Pictures Showing What Happens on Each Page Of Thomas Pynchon's Novel Gravity's Rainbow. A piece of art rather difficult to understand. Lousy presentation, some of the little pictures were hung so high up that you couldn't see anything. More about book and author.


• Ernest Caivano: Birds (Philapores) in ink on star maps.


• Robert Longo: Giant waves / breakers drawn in charcoal.


• Katy Grannan: Photographs. Placed an ad in search of models; left it to the model how he/she wanted to be depicted.

Snippets:
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Video: Jefferson in Paris (1995). 139 min. w/ Nick Nolte (Thomas Jefferson), Gwyneth Paltrow (Patsy Jefferson, daughter), Thandie Newton (Sally Hemings, slave), Greta Scacchi (Maria Cosway, mistress); director: James Ivory. Jefferson comes to Paris, falls in love with a married woman, and fools around with one of his slaves. Shallow story! Bad acting at times. At least the last 15 minutes are well done. My rating: 3 out of 10.
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Musical: Les Miserables. Shubert Theater New Haven, April 8, 2004. Based on the book by Victor Hugo. Great story. Voices and music was good, but did not reach the quality of a Broadway performance. Gina Milo (Eponine) was the best performer.
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Restaurant: Portobello's, Cafe & Grill, Chaplin, CT 06235. Diner-like; just right for rural CT.
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Recreation: Trailwood, the former home of Edwin Way Teale (see Blog Feb. 13, 2004). Includes trails on and around woodland, field, wetland and ponds. Don't miss the beaver pond!
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Exhibition: Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC: Chuck Close: Prints.
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Recreation: National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
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Book-on-Tape: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (2003). Unabridged. 11 cassettes with 1.5. hours each. American symbologist gets accused of murdering the curator of the Louvre in Paris. Together with the victim's granddaughter, who happens to be a French cryptologist, he needs to find clues and solve riddles to find the real murderer. Talks a lot about secret societies, the Holy Grail, the Knights Templar etc. Book holds you captive up to about three quarters through, but then the plot gets a little too improbable when the author tries to tie up his lose ends. Overall still worth reading though.
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Language: Look up irregular English verb forms.
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Photography: Model / Pin-Up / Actress: Caprice Bourret.
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News: Drudge Report.
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Video: Biography of the Millennium: 100 People - 1000 Years (1999). 4 video cassettes with ~ 40-45 min each. Counting down the 100 most influencial people of the millennium. First 3 are: (1) Gutenberg (printing press), (2) Newton (physicist) (3) Luther (religious reformer). Complete list. Good overview, but nothing more than that. Use as inspiration for further research.
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Snippets:
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Photography: Robert A. Schaefer Jr. Met him at a Jersey City Arts Festival in 2000.
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Video: All the President's Men (1976). 155 min. w/ Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. Based on the book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, two Washington Post journalists who uncovered the story of 'Watergate'. Film won 4 Oscars. Important piece of American history. Good acting by most of the cast. However, the story in itself appears a little dusty and boring today. Can get confusing, if you are not already familiar with some of the names and details of the story. My rating: 4 out of 10.
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News: Pickings.de. has a news digest (Presseschau) in German.
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Essay: The Awful German Language by Mark Twain. Funny to read, and in many ways sooo true! More interesting writings on the EServer.
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Museum: The Cradle of Aviation, Garden City, Long Island, NY. A Museum about aviation on Long Island; a small version of the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. Exhibits include historic airplanes, plane cockpits to sit in, and the original Apollo 19 Lunar Lander.
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Movie: Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure. Retells key points of the 'Endurance' adventure in IMAX format; some scenes dramatically reenacted; also contains original film material and photos by Frank Hurley; phantastic shots of ice bergs and the island South Georgia.
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Movie: Tampopo (1985). 114 min. Japanese with English subtitles. w/ Nobuko Miyamoto (Tampopo), Tsutomu Yamazaki (Goro), and Ken Watanabe (Gun). Young widow runs a noodle shop in Tokyo gets help from truck driver in finding the perfect soup receipe. People in the movie either eat or scuffle. Colorful characters and witty humor. My rating: 5 out of 10
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