Datasets:

BAAI

/

IndustryCorpus_literature

like 1

Follow

Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence 829

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/25014

REVIEW: White Seed Title: White Seed: The Untold Story of the Lost Colony of RoanokeAuthor: Paul ClaytonGenre: historical fictionPrice: $17.95Publisher: BookLockerISBN: 978-1609100018Point of Sale: AmazonReviewed by: Chris GerribAccording to his biography, Paul Clayton became a writer due to his experiences in Vietnam. Ironically, his first book, Calling Crow, has nothing to do with Vietnam, being rather a novel about the Indian experience under the Spanish settlement of the 1600s. This book and two sequels were published by Berkley. Paul then self-published his Vietnam novel, and re-released his older books. With White Seed, Paul returns to the historical fiction genre, focusing on the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke.In the dedication to White Seed, Paul expresses his admiration for James Michener, who writes historical fiction at epic length. At 482 pages, White Seed is definitely at a Michener-esc length. The book is largely the story of Maggie Hagger, a seventeen year old Irish serving girl who signs on to Raleigh’s famed attempt to establish an English colony on the coast of what became modern North Carolina. Maggie, an attractive red-head, is fleeing criminal trouble in England, and she’s broke, so she becomes an indentured servant to the Governor’s daughter, and eventual nanny to Virginia Dare, the first European born in North America. Not much is known of what really happened in the Roanoke colony, especially after Governor White departed early in the first year of the colony’s establishment. By the time he gets back with a relief force, three years later, the colonists are gone. Paul extrapolates from these few facts and the general conduct of European colonists to tell a tale of murder, betrayal, greed and stupidity. There’s also a love story, as Maggie and several other colonists marry into the Croatans, the only friendly Indians in the area. Paul Clayton’s story is certainly plausible, and fits into both the known history and the persistent rumors of Englishmen living with the Indians that greeted the Jamestown settlement (1607). It’s at times not a pretty tale, with English class warfare and extreme greed for gold causing many of the problems facing the colonists. One of the subplots, that of White’s repeated efforts to mount a relief expedition, paints English society of the time in even poorer light. To be fair, Clayton’s Indians, especially the war chief Powhatan, aren’t painted as particularly noble either.In general, I found the book to be entertaining, although I have a couple of writerly nits to pick. First, Paul uses an omniscient point of view, with the narrative thread jumping from head to head at will. I found it very difficult at times to keep track of whose thoughts I was reading. Second, the story, especially the middle third, tended to drag. There was not enough conflict or actions to drive the plot. Although I respect the epic novel form, I do think Paul could have trimmed the book significantly without losing anything. Sometimes, less truly is more.Lastly, I felt a number of the characters in White Seed were uninteresting. Maggie made a sympathetic character, but she was at times too passive. Too many of the other characters blurred into one another, becoming faceless people about whom I cared little. Having said all of that, I can recommend White Seed for anybody interested in historical fiction or the story of early American settlement. It’s an entertaining and at times informative work, and it stays very close to the known history of the Lost Colony. RATING 7/10Note – I received a galley copy of the book reviewed, which remains my property. Chris Gerrib, callingcrow Chris, thanks for your review of White Seed. I do appreciate it. Just for the record, Vietnam DID make me a writer, just as I state in my bio on my website, and Carl Melcher Goes to Vietnam WAS my first novel. But I couldn't sell it at first. So, I asked myself at that point, did I want to be a writer? Or did I want to be a guy who wrote a book about his experience in Vietnam. I decided on the former and wrote another novel (Calling Crow, originally titled by me as Cacique) which I managed to sell to a commercial house, Putnam/Berkley. Two more novels followed, Flight of the Crow and Calling Crow Nation. Eventually, and many years later, that first novel, Carl Melcher Goes to Vietnam, was published by Thomas Dunne books in hardcover.Anyway, best in your own writing efforts!Paul Clayton, author

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/25048

Playwrights' Commons: A New Development Organization Launches in Boston Another exciting opportunity for playwrights in Boston! Ilana Brownstein, professor of theatre at BU, former dramaturg at the Huntington Theatre, and, in general, a champion for playwrights and new plays, has launched a new development organization to service New England playwrights. It's called Playwrights' Commons. Another development opportunity? It's more than that. Personally, as a playwright, I think one of the cool things about it is that it's focused on the development of the playwright (the person) in new creative ways, not a development opportunity that seeks to "fix" our "broken" plays.Here's the mission statement: "Playwrights’ Commons is a nascent playwright development (not play development) organization whose mission is to strengthen the Boston-area theatre ecology through innovative laboratories, workshops, collaborative opportunities, and fiscal sponsorships of emerging artists. Playwrights’ Commons seeks to provide dramaturgical support to writers at all stages of their careers, with a special focus on deepening the opportunities for artists who hope to put down professional roots in Boston and surrounding cities." Check out the website for more details AND, for information on how to apply for the Freedom Art Theatre Retreat this summer. Follow Playwrights Commons on Twitter @PwritesCom and on Facebook. boston theatre, dramaturgs, emerging playwrights, Ilana Brownstein, new plays,

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/25296

Click Here for More Articles on WHEN WE WERE YOUNG AND UNAFRAID Photo Flash: First Look at Cherry Jones, Zoe Kazan & More in MTC's WHEN WE WERE YOUNG AND UNAFRAID Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of When We Were Young and Unafraid, the new play by Sarah Treem ("House of Cards," "In Treatment"), directed by Tony Award winner Pam MacKinnon (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Clybourne Park), is currently in previews at MTC at New York City Center - Stage I, ahead of an official opening night on Tuesday, June 17. Tickets for the production are currently on sale through Sunday, August 10. Check out a first look below! The cast will feature two-time Tony winner Cherry Jones (2014 Tony Nominee for The Glass Menagerie), Obie Award Winner Cherise Boothe (MTC's Ruined, Milk Like Sugar), Patch Darragh (Appropriate, Kin), Zoe Kazan (Ruby Sparks, Behanding in Spokane), and Morgan Saylor ("Homeland," Jamie Marks Is Dead). Two-time Tony winner Cherry Jones (The Glass Menagerie, Doubt, "24") returns to MTC for Sarah Treem's ("House of Cards," "In Treatment") powerful new play that takes us inside an underground women's shelter in the early 1970s... before Roe v. Wade, before the Violence Against Women Act, before women had places to turn in times of distress. Agnes (Cherry Jones) has turned her quiet bed and breakfast into one of the few spots where a woman on the run can seek refuge. But to Agnes' dismay, her latest young runaway Mary Anne (Zoe Kazan) is having a profound influence on her teenage daughter Penny (Morgan Saylor), forcing each girl to question her destiny. And as the drums of the feminist revolution grow louder, Agnes is forced to confront her own presumptions about the people she's been trying to help. Deeply moving and beautifully rendered, When We Were Young and Unafraid explores the passion of youth, the wisdom of age, and the people who awaken us to new possibilities. The creative team for When We Were Young and Unafraid includes Scott Pask (scenic design), Jessica Pabst (costume design), Russell H. Champa (lighting design), Broken Chord (original music & sound design), and Thomas Schall (fight director). Photos by Joan Marcus MORGAN SAYLOR, Cherry Jones Patch Darragh Zoe Kazan, MORGAN SAYLOR Cherry Jones, Cherise Boothe Zoe Kazan, Cherry Jones Zoe Kazan, Patch Darragh MORGAN SAYLOR, Zoe Kazan & Cast Cherry Jones, MORGAN SAYLOR, Zoe Kazan Cherise Boothe

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/25468

What makes the Met a great museum? Posted at 1:01 pm in Similar cases Philippe de Montebello, director of the Met takes a similar line of reasoning to Neil MacGregor at the British Museum regarding the significance of the concept of universal museums. He has progressed further than the British Museum though in returning some artefacts, notably the Euphronios Krater although he still remains oddly blasé & unrepentent about the whole issue. Philippe de Montebello: Beauty and the eye of the beholder What makes a great museum? The collections within it, says Philippe de Montebello. He should know, he’s been director of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art for the past 30 years. Interview by Elizabeth Heathcote I think the answer to what makes a great museum is irreducible – it is the collections. The activities, the programmes, the exhibitions, the educational materials – all of these things are ancillary to the collections. If a museum does not have great works of art it is simply not worth visiting. You could put on the most beautiful or timely programmes, but without great works their reach will only be local. Think of a traveller in London. They will visit the British Museum and the National Gallery without asking what is on now, which is an extra; they are going for the collections. You don’t go to Madrid and say: “I am not going to the Prado because they don’t have an exhibition of Impressionists.” When we travel we look for the great seats of culture and history. A museum places you within the culture that you are visiting, even if the works are not from that culture. Every museum, every country and every city has a different approach to presenting things. Works of art are all different; they all have their own individuality and personality. Seeking out culture is part of the magic of travel. You may live in a city and rarely visit its museums and sights. I know a great many Parisians who have never been to the top of the Eiffel Tower; that is human nature. But there is something about travel that takes us on to a different level, that opens us up to culture. Travel gives you a relatively small amount of time in a place that you may not revisit, and it is instinctive to want to see as many of the sights that make that city famous as possible. That is what triggers the travel, after all. Why would you take a plane to New York if it were not to see different things from what surrounds you every day? And the different things in New York are the skyscrapers, the Statue of Liberty and the Metropolitan Museum. Of course you can create a marvellous environment for the collections. I hope that anyone travelling to New York would want to see the Met because they have heard that one enters the place with a sense of awe and wonder. Because the collections are not only first-class but they are presented with calculated drama. I say calculated because the lighting and sense of éclat must not pre-empt or dominate the work of art. If you can have harmony between an exciting presentation, a clear interpretation of works of art, you have achieved that ultimate dialogue between curator and visitor, and that is the heart of the museum experience. When you go to national museums such as the National Archaeological Museum in Athens or the Villa Giulia National Museum in Rome, you see the art of that country. When you go to universal museums, like the Museumsinsel in Berlin or the Metropolitan, what you see is great encyclopaedic collections. The art of the world is under one roof – a constellation of museums under one roof. You can see all the civilisations of mankind and you can make the comparisons and the contrasts. It is the ultimate family tree where everyone can find their own roots. It is a journey in its own right. At the Met, there is art from everywhere. It is an encyclopaedia with no missing letter. Yet it is American. Some of the great private American collections have been donated to the museum. This creates depth and a certain flavour. The Morgan collection, the Lehman collection, the Wrightsman collection, the Havemeyer collection – these reflect the Americans who put them together. The Wrightsman rooms, for example, are the period rooms of the French 18th century, yet uniquely American. A recreation of the old world, which the old world has not felt the same necessity to re-create. After 30 years, my stamp lies in placing a great emphasis on the collections and the clarity of their presentation. I hope a visitor to the Met feels a certain seriousness of purpose but without pedantry, a sense of the institution’s authority but without authoritarianism, that there is a guiding intelligence in the way the works are presented. I have lived in America for 50 years now. I feel like an American, but like a Frenchman at the same time. I have taken advantage of the two cultures that animate me. The thing about America that inspires me is the tremendous freedom of choice and action that one has, the real meritocracy that it is, and that is reflected in the museum. One can take a great many risks and go on many adventures without incurring, if some of them fail, opprobrium and sanction on the part of one’s trustees. Without risk, there is only boredom and matter-of-fact results. There is probably more freedom in American than European museums. In London, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Berlin, the museums are state-funded so there is an element of the political scene and changing governments’ influence to a certain degree on what museums are like. The Musée d’Orsay in Paris was the creation of a Socialist government, done under Mitterrand, and there was a very distinctly politically correct agenda of egalitarianism in the presentation of the collections. In this country, whether we elect a Democrat or a Republican makes absolutely no difference to the art institutions. The Met is funded largely by private donations and gifts and also, for some of its operating costs by the city of New York, and a little bit by the state of New York, but not, except for an occasional grant, by the federal government. The great strength of an American museum is that you do not have one master to whom you are indebted: you have thousands. You have tremendous freedom. Travellers are critical for us. More than 40 per cent of our audience is from abroad. We make a considerable effort to make our presence known, attending conferences of travel writers, putting material in airports and hotels. When you come, there are details in six or seven languages, a foreign information desk where people speak a dozen different languages. I travel a lot with my work, always very short trips, but I always make a point of visiting museums both out of a professional conscience and also simply for pleasure – I enjoy museums. It is very hard to pick out favourites; there are so many. I like small museums because very often the large museums, through their encyclopaedic nature, on a certain level resemble each other whereas a lot of the smaller museums have pretty much remained as they were when they were founded and tend to have trem endous character. The Frick Collection in New York is one of those. Dulwich Picture Gallery in south London is another. It has a wonderful collection. It doesn’t change much and they don’t do much in terms of acquisition but it has wonderful pictures and they are beautifully shown. It has its own character, and nice light. The Museo Poldi Pezzoli in Milan, the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris – these are wonderful museums with their own character. I seek out museums in smaller communities, smaller cities. Most of the important cities in America are fortunate enough to have good museums. Fort Worth, for example, has several museums, including the Kimbell Art Museum, which, because it has a very rich endowment has been able to build a remarkable collection of individual masterpieces. I do not have a favourite work. Every day, one’s favourite work is a different one – it depends on mood. There are far too many individual masterpieces that at one point or another can be one’s favourite. My favourite place in my own museum changes too. Right now I spend a lot of time in the New Greek and Roman Galleries. I suspect I will over time too, not just because they are new but because they are spectacular. But my preference varies from one day to the next. It is hard to imagine a serious city without culture. One of the primary reasons that people visit New York, in addition to its being a vibrant city is its great art institutions – not just the Met but the Museum of Modern Art and many others. The theatres, the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall – this culture prolongs your stay in New York and makes it rich and rewarding. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in on Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street in Manhattan (001 800 965 4827; http://www.metmuseum.org/). For more information about New York City contact NYC&Co (http://www.nycvisit.com/) My top small gallery The Frick Collection (001 212 288 0700; frick.org/ information) is one of my favourite small museums and I visit often. Like many small museums it has tremendous character and is completely digestible in one visit. It is devoted exclusively to one culture – Western art – and has a great collection of paintings. There is something magical each time I go there because of individual works of art, including the greatest Bellini in America, the St Francis. My top new collections The New Greek and Roman Galleries are a museum within The Metropolitan Museum of Art. These are entirely new, a grand architectural statement with a soaring, two-storey atrium. The light-filled, airy spaces are installed with thousands of works of art from the Met’s superb classical collection that were not previously on view, and in such a way that they can be seen clearly, cleanly, and beautifully for the first time. So, our visitors can now take an exhilarating journey through the art of the classical world. VN:F [1.9.22_1171]please wait...Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast) Possibly related articlesA new era of great museums? : May 20, 2006 British Museum visitor figures now available online : October 8, 2004 Its time to return what was stolen from Africa : June 27, 2007 Behind the scenes at the Met : September 19, 2008 A talk with Philippe de Montebello : November 28, 2007 A Conversation with Zahi Hawass : June 27, 2007 The Met & the chariot from Monteleone Di Spoleto : April 28, 2007 An interview with the Metropolitan Museum’s director : February 20, 2006 Comments Print RSS feed for comments on this post · TrackBack URL

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/25659

L.A. ART MACHINE Index ABOUT US CALENDAR DIRECTORY PREVIEWS REVIEWS VIDEO SUBSCRIBE CONTACT ADVERTISING TICKETS presented in partnership with 2011 BRITWEEK ART PROGRAM - APRIL & MAY 2011 BritWeek is the largest cross-cultural event between the U.S. and Britain in America today and takes place annually during the months of April and May across the city of Los Angeles and its surrounding environs. Founded by British television director and producer of "American Idol" Nigel Lythgoe and Bob Peirce, Britain's former Consul General in L.A., BritWeek is a celebrity-driven, high profile series of events. The programming focuses on British excellence in theatre, film, food, design, sports, music, fashion and art, and is followed by audiences around the world. Managed by Kamilla Blanche and curated by Bryson Strauss, BritWeek's Art Program showcases exceptional talent from the UK in the areas of historical art, contemporary art, and design. Featured artists include D*FACE, Christopher Farr, Tobias Keene, Marcos Lutyens, Matt Small, Pete Stern, and William Turnbull. In partnership with the British Council Sponsored by: City of Los Angeles office of Councilman Tom LaBonge, District 4, The Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Wilshire Grand Hotel, Ben Sherman, The Royal Claytons, L.A. MART, 33Third.com, Normandie Bakery, Nika, Streetlight Films, The Ratkovich Company,Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Maxim Restaurant, Bunker Hill Magazine, Dama Tequila, Groundfloor Gallery, Chaucer Freight, United Bakery, Comandon Cognac, Variety and ClearChannel. Historical Art Program William Turnbull Documentary "Beyond Time" The VIP reception held across the street from LACMA at: 5900 Wilshire Blvd, Variety Building Gallery Saturday, April 30, 2011, 6:00-7:15 PM rsvp@laartmachine.com Saturday, April 30, 2011, 7:30 PM Bing Theatre William Turnbull has been recently described as "the most important living British artist." A celebrated sculptor and painter, over the past sixty years his artwork has helped define Modern and Contemporary art. As part of an on-going series of events celebrating the important contributions of this influential artist, BritWeek will premier the film "Beyond Time: William Turnbull" at LACMA as part of the BritWeek celebration. The film, a collaboration between the artist's son Alex Turnbull and Pete Stern, features narration by Jude Law. View the trailer at: www.williamturnbullart.com Bing Theater l Ticketed: $7 LACMA members; $10 general admission. Call 323 857-6010 or visit lacma.org. Contemporary Art Program Matt Small Friday, April 29, 2011, 7:30 PM 170 South La Brea Avenue Matt Small is an artist whose painting is best understood as an extension of his beliefs and worldview. Matt is a passionate believer in social inclusion and that, given the opportunities to be heard and respected, all individuals have something of value to contribute to society. The subject matter of Matt’s portraits tends to be the marginalized and voiceless in society, those who are socially excluded and often viewed as statistics or pawns in a wider political game as opposed to individuals with the latent potential to contribute and enrich society if only given the opportunity to be heard. By painting portraits of individuals on the outskirts of society, often young black men, Matt encourages us to spend time with people who we may chose to overlook in our daily lives and in doing so forces us to challenge our prejudices and recognize our shared humanity. Pete Stern Pete Stern is a multi-media artist born in London England. Encouraged by the freedom of thought of the 1960s, energised by the anarchic attitudes of the punk movements of the 1970s and a constant aversion to mediocrity, Stern has a natural inclination for searching beyond the surface, beyond the standard rhetoric, beyond the other side of something else, beyond a particular state of mind or emotion and into an area that lies outside of what is known, both physically and in the abstract. Marcos Lutyens SPEED DREAMING Schedule of Happenings April 30, 2011 - 6:00 pm - 7:15 PM "Beyond Time : William Turnbull" VIP Reception held at the Marcos Lutyens exhibition. Gallery Open: May 3rd - May 21st May 10th – 7.30pm - 10pm Public Performance SPEED DREAMING is a project that explores automatist behaviors at the convergence of machines and the body-mind system. The exhibit is divided into 4 main bodies of work: Attacca explores the mind machine interface of the segway and how space and time relationships are blurred when an activity takes place, perhaps leaving a residue at that location Bestiary: Raëlians is part of a multi year project that traces thought forms in the unconscious mind of various groups of people. In this case a group of Raëlian bishops and guides As you listen An Excerpt of Erik Niedling and Ingo Niermann’s documentary. This excerpt is centered around a Lutyens induction in New York’s Time Square Automata Automatica A series of drawings that are based on automatic patterns and behaviours. Christopher Farr: Weather Report Wednesday, May 11 - 7 PM - 10 PM L.A. MART SOURCE LA 1933 S. Broadway, Suite 1240 Los Angeles, CA 90007 Open to the public - Free parking Download PDF Catalog here: "WEATHER REPORT" CURATED BY RENOWNED DESIGNER, CHRISTOPHER FARR FEATURING THE PREMIERE OF NEW WORKS BY JORGE PARDO AND OTHERS AT SOURCE LA, L.A. MART DESIGN CENTER. Los Angeles, CA --The BritWeek Art Program, in partnership with The British Council and in collaboration with the L.A. ART MACHINE present, world-renowned rug and textile designer Christopher Farr, who will curate a special exhibition “Weather Report” as part of BritWeek Art Program 2011, to be held at SOURCE LA, L.A. MART DESIGN CENTER, May 11 – June 11. The concept is a dialogue/conversation of work done by artists and designers selected by Christopher Farr. On the surface the work may seem contradictory, without apparent connection other than the choices made by one man whose career has straddled fine art, textiles, rugs, and modern furniture. This exhibition, headlined by a Jorge Pardo rug designed exclusively for Christopher Farr, is the centerpiece of “Weather Report” and served as inspiration for Farr to ignore the traditional conventions of curating this installation for the BritWeek Art Program. Jorge’s ability and desire to see no barriers between so-called fine art, and applied art is amply demonstrated in the intensity of his vision and sublime sense of color. Included in this exhibition are works by: Claire Joseph, Tierney Gearon, Michael Boyd, Bill Barminsky, Patrick Bolton, Randall Harrington, Jorge Pardo, and Christopher Farr himself. Tobias Keene: Pomp and Ceremony May 13, 2011 7:00 to 10:00 PM Groundfloor Gallery Tobias Keene is a third generation British painter who currently lives and works in Los Angeles. His artwork explores, through the immediacy of color, texture and form, a quality of lost innocence. His paintings exemplify the resplendence of children, animals and static objects. "My work is the subconscious portrayal of childhood memories that are running into an unknown ambiguous future". He has had several one-man exhibits in Los Angeles and New York, with Earl McGrath Gallery as well as group shows including "Fresh" at MOCA Los Angeles and "Dirty Little Secret" at Indica Gallery, New York on November 11t, 2010. Keene's work is also held in several prominent private and public collections and currently hangs in the permanent collection of The Trout Museum of Art, alongside his Father and Grandfather. RANKIN'S RUBBISH Love in the hand is worth two in the bush 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM Rankin Gallery 8070 Melrose Avenue www.rankin.co.uk British photographer, Rankin, in conjuction with Fahey/Klein Gallery, launches his first exhibition at his new gallery on Melrose Avenue, - entitled 'Rankin's Rubbish'. Best known for his celebrity portraiture and fashion photography, with 'Rankin's Rubbish', Rankin instead turns his lens to rendering more beautiful the detritus of everyday life. 'I have always wanted to call an exhibition 'Rankin's Rubbish'. I love the humour in the title - its not what people expect, especially as the opening show to a new venture. I always approach my work with a sense of fun. I want to amuse people with my photographs, and I try never to take myself too seriously. Thats a very British character trait and, in this sense, this is a very British show! I was inspired by Irving Penn's still life images of cigarette butts and other discarded items. His images are beautiful, and he elevates the mundane to almost become objects to admire. I've always been obsessed by minute detail, and the patterns that emerge when you look at something so closely. I see faces in everything. ' - Rankin The private view of Rankin's Rubbish will be held on 3rd May at Rankin's gallery, 8070 Melrose Avenue. The event is a special preview of the new gallery, in honour of Britweek. The gallery officially opens on 26th May. About Rankin: Photographer and director, Rankin, lives and works in North London. Over the last 22 years he has earned a reputation for his exceptional portraiture and is repeatedly commissioned for global advertising campaigns, editorial features and is exhibited in galleries around the world. As a director, he frequently shoots music videos, commercials and documentaries as well as directing an award-winning feature film, The Lives of the Saints. LAAM NEWLETTER

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/25757

Our Price: $26.95 Members Price: $24.26 Author: Badiner & Alex Grey Buddhism and psychedelic exploration share a common concern: the liberation of the mind. This new edition of Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics has substantially evolved from the landmark anthology that launched the first serious inquiry into the moral, ethical, doctrinal, and transcendental considerations of the intersection of Buddhism and psychedelics. A provocative and thoughtful exploration of inner states and personal transformation, Zig Zag Zen now includes an expanded display of stunning artwork from Android Jones, Sukhi Barber, Randal Roberts, Luke Brown and Ang Tsherin Sherpa, and more work by the pioneering visionary artist Alex Grey. Complementing these new images are original essays by such luminaries as Ralph Metzner and Brad Warner; exciting interviews with James Fadiman, Kokyo Henkel, and Rick Doblin; and a discussion of ayahuasca's unique influence on Zen Buddhism by David Coyote (six new text contributions in total); all of which have been carefully curated to extend the original inquiry of authors Joan Halifax Roshi, Peter Matthiesen, Jack Kornfield, Terence McKenna, Rick Fields and many others. Contemporary seekers of spiritual truth know that both Buddhism and psychedelics are inevitably subjects encountered along the journey. By examining them together, the reader can discover truth about the essence of each.2nd Edition.The only book of its kind that offers a conversation about Buddhist practice and the psychedelic spiritual experience.This new edition contains expanded material with new art by additional artists, new essays, and interviews.Edited by ALLAN BADINER. Art Editor ALEX GREY.Readers, be aware: the newly updated edition of the classic work Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics does not advocate psychedelics as a key component of spiritual practice.This new edition of the classic work on Buddhism and psychedelics includes a discussion and new essays on ayahuasca’s unique influence on Zen Buddhism, a recent interview with Rick Doblin, founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), Ralph Metzner’s new look at the “Psychedelic Tibetan Book of the Dead,” and a public dialogue on mixing dharma and psychedelics with James Fadiman and Zen monk, Kokyo Henkel. The new edition of Zig Zag Zen is packed with enlightening entries offering eye-opening insights into alternate methods of inner exploration.Zig Zag Zen also contains an expanded display of stunning visionary artwork including new pieces from Alex Grey (who curated all of the art for the book), Android Jones, Sukhi Barber, Ang Tsherin Sherpa, and Amanda Sage, as well as the work renowned modernists Robert Venosa, Mark Rothko,Robert Beer, Francesco Clemente, and others.Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics, Allan Hunt Badiner Alex Grey, Synergetic Press, Paperback, 2015, 340 Pages, $26.95 Allan Badiner served as the editor in the first edition of Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics (Chronicle Books, 2002), as well as two other books of collected essays, Dharma Gaia: A Harvest in Buddhism and Ecology (Parallax Press, 1990) and Mindfulness in the Marketplace: Compassionate Responses to Consumerism (Parallax, 2002). Allan is a contributing editor of Tricycle magazine, and serves on the board of directors of Rainforest Action Network, Threshold Foundation and Project CBD. He has been a student of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh for more than 25 years.Alex Grey is a renowned American visionary artist specializing in spiritual and psychedelic art. His work spans a variety of forms including performance art, sculpture and painting. He is a member of the Integral Institute, on the board of advisors for the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics and is Chair of Wisdom University’s Sacred Art Department. He and his wife Allyson Grey are co-founders of the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, CoSM, a non-profit church supporting Visionary Culture in Wappinger, New York. Books & Publications > Books > Books by Title A-Z Books & Publications > Books

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/25817

Bad Kitty Live Sketches! OCT invited several illustrators and comic artists to sketch the show live from the audience. Check out their interpretations below! Roberta GregoryRoberta is an award-winning author and illustrator who began professionally writing comics in the early 1970s at CSU Long Beach for their college humor paper. She continues to write her own comics from her current home in Seattle.www.robertagregory.com Kate BerubeKate is the author and illustrator for her children’s zine Tater Totter, as well as for her debut children’s book, Hannah and Sugar. She received her BFA from the School of Art Institute of Chicago and currently lives in Portland.www.kateberube.com Chad EssleyChad is an independent animation director and cartoonist with close to 20 years experience working as a professional animator in the field of commercials, multimedia, and television. He runs an animation studio in NW Portland.www.cartoonmonkey.net Graham AnnableGraham has created works for television, film, and video games for such entities as LucasFilm, Chuck Jones, Nickelodeon and Walt Disney Productions. Currently working at Laika, he co-directed The Boxtrolls, which was nominated for an Oscar in 2015.www.grickle.com Jeremy C. JosephJeremy is the founder and director of Headache Films, a 2D animation studio in Portland. Examples of their clients include Cartoon Network, Nike, Disney, ESPN, and more. Jeremy received his MA in Animation in the Netherlands.www.headachefilms.com S.W. ConserS.W. Conser creates animated content for Portland-area studios and oversees contract work through his firm, Conch Communications. He has also created storyboards for commercial and feature productions and animation studios.www.conch.com

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/25869

‘Good' and ‘bad' Salvador Dali finally meet A woman looks at the painting 'La memoire de la femme enfant, 1929', second left, by Spanish artist Salvador Dali (1904-1989) during the presentation to the press of the exhibition "Dali" at the Centre Pompidou modern art museum, in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) By Thomas Adamson, Associated Press PARIS — Was Salvador Dali — who proclaimed himself a genius and “divine” — one of the world’s greatest artists or one of the world’s biggest showoffs? For years art critics wrestling with this problem were forced to carve up his 70-year career into the “good” Surrealist years and the embarrassing “bad” decades — when the mustachioed eccentric was accused of megalomania, catering to dictators and selling out through his numerous TV stints. In France in the late 1960s, Dali was more known as the face of a chocolate ad than as a painter. But a landmark exhibit at Paris’ Pompidou Center — featuring more than 120 paintings including the melted clocks of his famed 1931 work “The Persistence of Memory” alongside film work and TV appearances — aims to rewrite the art history books. It shows how his mass-media period, shunned by critics, was in fact extremely influential and must be reconciled with his early work to fully understand the scope of his genius. “The surrealists said that we shouldn’t like his `bad’ years... But we can no longer ignore their influence on art in the 50s, 60s and 70s,” said curator Jean-Michel Bouhours. “We are not babies,” said contemporary artist Orlan, who viewed some of Dali’s later work for the first time at a preview of the exhibit. “We must see Dali warts-and-all for ourselves, and make up our own minds independently. Yes he was a show-off, but so are many artists. Why have we censored him?” Organizers of the exhibit use reels of Dali’s theatrical TV appearances to show the influence of his obsession with mass media, which began when he moved to the U.S. at the outbreak of World War II. One famed appearance, for Lanvin chocolate in 1968, shows an exuberant Dali biting into a large chocolate bar, and proclaiming “I am mad” before his moustache curls up. “Dali evolved with TV and cinema, and was the first to embrace mass media,” said Bouhours, calling the artist “the initiator of the pop-art (movement).” Works featured in the exhibit invoke the celebrity-obsessed themes of pop art. One piece from 1934, the sprawling exhibit’s best, features a huge construction of Hollywood siren Mae West’s face, with bright yellow hair, and bright red lips transformed into a couch. Its similarity to Andy Warhol’s printed image of Marilyn Monroe, made some 30 years later, is striking. So if Dali was the precursor to something as major as pop art, which catapulted Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein into the spotlight, why has it been swept under the carpet for so long? One of the reasons, the exhibit organizers suggest, is political. In 1948, Dali moved back to his homeland, Spain, which was still under the iron fist of dictator Francisco Franco. Dali, a former Communist, was criticized for courting Franco, painting a picture of his niece to win the fascist’s favor to get permission to found a museum dedicated to Dali’s work in Spain. “Dali always had an obsession with dictators. But in Spain it got dangerous,” said co-curator Thierry Dufrene. “In 1975, when the old Franco was already very frail, he ordered the execution of Basque activists. Dali responded on the radio, saying `It’s very good — we should kill even more of them.’ This is part of the reason his reputation was tarnished in his later years.” The exhibit is the first to seek to show how Dali — who died in 1989 aged 84 — was a genius because of, not despite, his contradictions. Why has this not been possible before? “A lot has changed. It’s 2012 and Dali is dead. In the last retrospective in 1979, he was still alive, it was too soon,” said Pompidou Center Director Alfred Pacquement. “We are for the first time in the realm of history. The first time we can clearly see beginning to end.” Dali once said: “At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven, I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since.” The true scope of his bombastic ambition — both famed artist and annoying showoff — can be seen until March 25. Thomas Adamson can be followed at http://Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/25978

Large Floating Objects Halvard Johnson Without solemnity, Halvard Johnson conjures up a mysterious, disturbing world in his poetry, a world in which fantasies and meditations are interchanged with actions and concrete details. One constantly feels in his work the sense of the known and the knowable slipping away, and in this respect, and in its refusal to be pinned down, Hal's work has some similarities to John Ashbery's. Halvard Johnson was born in Newburgh, New York, and grew up in New York City and the Hudson Valley. He has received grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maryland State Arts Council, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, Baltimore City Arts, the Ragdale Foundation, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. For many years he taught overseas in the European and Far East divisions of the University of Maryland, mostly in Germany and Japan. For several years, he was poetry editor at Hamilton Stone Review, and, for three years, curated anthologies of war poetry at Big Bridge. He edited the online journal On Barcelona and supervises the online site Truck, which features a new editor every month. He has lived and taught in Chicago, Illinois; El Paso, Texas; Cayey, Puerto Rico; Washington, D.C.; Baltimore, Maryland; and New York City. Currently, he lives with his wife, the prize-winning writer and visual artist Lynda Schor, in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/25998

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZQuotes by Rodney AtkinsEvery song you're trying to find something that going to connect in different ways but for me the songs that I'm really drawn to are inspirational, songs that lift you and that everybody can relate to no matter where you're from. I am so excited this year getting to play the 85th Anniversary Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Everyone knows on Thanksgiving morning to get up, turn on the TV and watch the parade, so to be an actual participant is going to be fun and I'm looking forward to it. I am gonna have to put on my deer hunting gear, though, to stay warm! I could be on 52nd and Third in Manhattan up and ask a strange for directions and they will help you, that's a rural heart. Your car breaks down in the middle of Iowa or somewhere, or Tennessee where I'm from, people want to help each other. Given each opportunity, you see how people come together. I grew up playing music and enjoying good food, friends and family in my own backyard. I was a sickly baby, and after two sets of adoptive parents took me home, they returned me to the orphanage because of a serious respiratory infection. But as they say, the third time's a charm, because my mom and dad adopted me and took me into their home where I was raised in a family full of love. There's a book called 'The Shack' - it had a lot to do with me coming full circle, meeting my birth mother. Awhile back, my birth mom and my adopted mom came to my show together, and it was pretty surreal. When you're adopted, no matter what, you've got issues with unconditional love. And you find out you're the product of the worst situation for a young girl to be in and start her life, and I'm so grateful that my birth mom made the decision she made. She came from a rough situation.

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/26026

More from Ian Rankin on Possible J.K. Rowling Mystery Novel Aug 20, 2007Posted by: SueTLC | CommentsUncategorizedA follow up for you today on the rumor that author J.K. Rowling is currently writing a mystery novel. While reps for Jo are quoted in a new article in The Times as saying “we do not have a definite plan of what her next project is yet’ there is more from author Ian Rankin and now noted mystery author P.D.James has weighed in on this matter. UPDATE: The Guardian is now reporting that Mr. Rankin is calling this “a joke that got out of hand,” said Rankin, describing how the remark was made on stage during the course of a festival event. There were 600 people in the audience, and only one person didn’t laugh,” he added.. Emma Schlesinger, speaking for Rowling’s literary agent, Christopher Little, was keen to stress that the crime novel rumours were “unfounded”.”JK Rowling is taking a well-earned break following the English language publication of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows and there are no firm plans as yet as to what her next book may be,” she said. Readers will remember that it was comments first from Ian Rankin, who is a long time neighbor of JKR in Edinburgh, Scotland, which spurred this latest flurry of rumors on the prospect of a forthcoming mystery novel. Over the weekend Ian Rankin said “My wife spotted her writing her Edinburgh criminal detective novel’ he said. He declined to elaborate on how he knew about Rowling’s new direction, but conceded he had not discussed it personally with her. He added: “It is great that she has not abandoned writing or Edinburgh cafes.” Today Mr. Rankin is cited in the Times article as saying more about Jo’s writing style, noting “Her process is classic crime writing – the set-up, the red herrings, the characters who change as they are revealed, the twists and turns, and finally the big lineup at the end.” Author P.D. James is also very complimentary about Jo, saying her skills as a writer would work well in the mystery genre. PD James, 87, creator of the Adam Dalgleish mysteries, said she saw no reason why Rowling should not become a successful crime writer. “She certainly has all the skills’ James said. “She is immensely popular with adults and children. She has done a great service to literature by encouraging children to read on that scale. It is a huge achievement to get children queuing for books in the numbers they do.” While this is all very exciting, please keep this very much in the rumor category for now.

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/26129

The Midsummer Marriage (BBC Proms) Keith McDonnell The musical world is celebrating the ‘big three' this year – Wagner, Verdi and Britten, and although none of Verdi's full-length operas have been given at this year's Proms, seven of Wagner's operas have (or will have been given after next Sunday's Parsifal), whilst Glyndebourne bring their epoch-making production of Billy Budd on 27 August. © Chris Christodoulou The programming therefore of a complete performance of Tippett's first opera The Midsummer Marriage initially seemed incongruous, but given that his operas have fallen out of favour since his death in 1998, here was a rare chance to hear this fascinating work. Although it contains much ebullient, joyous music it's saddled with a libretto (by the composer) which dramatically makes little sense and contains such poetic turns of phrase as, "Sirius rising as the sun's wheel rolls over at the utter zenith. So the dog leaps to the bull whose blood and sperm are all fertility."There are elements of The Magic Flute weaved into its structure about self-discovery, but much of it remains mystifying and I must confess that we'd be here all night if I tried to describe the plot, so I won't bother. True, the work made a far greater impact when I saw The Royal Opera's revival in 1995 – a new production by Graham Vick to celebrate the composer's 90th birthday – than it did here, stripped of the visual trappings of a full staging and therefore focussing the attention solely on the words and music, and in so doing highlighting Tippett's overblown dramaturgy. It didn't help that Glyndebourne's sensational Billy Budd was still ringing in my ears from the week before, but given that the two works were premiered at Covent Garden only four years' apart (Billy Budd in 1951, and The Midsummer Marriage in 1995), it's hard not to compare the two, and despite the latter containing many flashes of musical inspiration, as a dramatic piece of music theatre, The Midsummer Marriage falls flat on its face.Having said that, it's hard to imagine the piece receiving a better performance than it did here. Andrew Davis has been a major champion and exponent of Tippett's works for many years and he led a coruscating account of the score, quite superbly played by the BBCSO. The casting was as good as you'll get these days, although it's hard to empathise with the main characters Jennifer and Mark, as they disappear for most of the evening.Canadian soprano Erin Wall was making her Proms debut as Jennifer and displayed a wonderfully secure and thrilling voice. As her partner Mark, Paul Groves sounded stretched in the upper reaches of the role, but the secondary characters were all superbly voiced, with notable contributions from Ailish Tynan and Allan Clayton (Bella and Jack), Madeleine Shaw and David Soar as the Ancients, and Catherine Wyn-Rogers as an Erda-like Sosostris. David Wilson-Johnson was a late replacement as King Fisher, but you would never have known as he sang with remarkable authority – his tone as full and resplendent as I remember from years' ago. The choral singing (BBC Singers and BBC Symphony Chorus) was exceptional. OperaBBC PromsRoyal Albert Hall

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/26210

One understands only in proportion to becoming himself that which he understands. ~ Søren Kierkegaard Words plainly force and overrule the understanding, and throw all into confusion, and lead men away into numberless empty controversies and idle fancies. ~ Francis Bacon Understanding refers to mental states or processes (in that sense also called intellection) whereby individuals are able to conceptualize abstract ideas or definable entities, such as situations, objects, persons, or messages adequately in relation to general ideas or given measures of awareness or comprehension. A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z · See also · External links A[edit] All schizophrenia patients are mad, and none are sane. Their behaviour is incomprehensible. It tells us nothing about what they do in the rest of their lives, gives no insight into the human condition and has no lesson for sane people except how sane they are. There's nothing profound about it. Schizophrenics aren't clever or wise or witty — they may make some very odd remarks but that's because they're mad, and there's nothing to be got out of what they say. When they laugh at things the rest of us don't think are funny, like the death of a parent, they're not being penetrating, and on other occasions they're not wryly amused at at the simplicity and stupidity of the psychiatrist, however well justified that might be in many cases. They're laughing because they're mad, too mad to be able to tell what's funny any more. The rewards for being sane may not be very many but knowing what's funny is one of them. And that's an end of the matter. Kingsley Amis, Stanley and the Women, p. 147. B[edit] The human understanding is like a false mirror, which, receiving rays irregularly, distorts and discolors the nature of things by mingling its own nature with it. Francis Bacon, Novum Organum (1620), Aphorism 41 Words plainly force and overrule the understanding, and throw all into confusion, and lead men away into numberless empty controversies and idle fancies. The human understanding is moved by those things most which strike and enter the mind simultaneously and suddenly, and so fill the imagination; and then it feigns and supposes all other things to be somehow, though it cannot see how, similar to those few things by which it is surrounded. The human understanding is unquiet; it cannot stop or rest, and still presses onward, but in vain. Therefore it is that we cannot conceive of any end or limit to the world, but always as of necessity it occurs to us that there is something beyond. Let men but think over their infinite expenditure of understanding, time, and means on matters and pursuits of far less use and value; whereof, if but a small part were directed to sound and solid studies, there is no difficulty that might not be overcome. Francis Bacon, Novum Organum(1620), Aphorism 111 Every man should be capable of all ideas and I understand that in the future this will be the case. Jorge Luis Borges, in "Pierre Menard, Author of The Quixote" in El jardín de senderos que se bifurcate [The Garden of Forking Paths] (1942) C[edit] You know, we have little bits of understanding, glimpses, a little bit of light here and there, but there's a tremendous amount of darkness, which is a challenge. I think life would be pretty boring if we understood everything. It's better if we don't understand anything... and know that we don't, that's the important part. Noam Chomsky, in interview in Cardiff, Wales, UK (11 March 2011) Science studies what's at the edge of understanding, and what's at the edge of understanding is usually fairly simple. And it rarely reaches human affairs. Human affairs are way too complicated. In fact even understanding insects is an extremely complicated problem in the sciences. So the actual sciences tell us virtually nothing about human affairs. Noam Chomsky, in Science in the Dock, Discussion with Noam Chomsky, Lawrence Krauss & Sean M. Carroll (2011) The more thorough the understanding needed, the further back in time one must go. Gordon Clark A Christian View of Men and Things (1951), p. 58. D[edit] E[edit] Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding. You cannot subjugate a nation forcibly unless you wipe out every man, woman, and child. Unless you wish to use such drastic measures, you must find a way of settling your disputes without resort to arms. Albert Einstein, in a speech to the New History Society (14 December 1930), reprinted in "Militant Pacifism" in Cosmic Religion (1931) Both churches and universities — insofar as they live up to their true function — serve the ennoblement of the individual. They seek to fulfill this great task by spreading moral and cultural understanding, renouncing the use of brute force. Albert Einstein, in "Moral Decay" (1937); Later published in Out of My Later Years (1950) Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly. Albert Einstein, in a letter to Morris Raphael Cohen, professor emeritus of philosophy at the College of the City of New York, defending the appointment of Bertrand Russell to a teaching position (19 March 1940) You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being. Albert Einstein, in a letter to Guy H. Raner Jr. (28 September 1949), from article by Michael R. Gilmore in Skeptic magazine, Vol. 5, No. 2 (1997) F[edit] The Lord ... said: Unless a man shall eat my flesh, he shall not have in himself eternal life. Certain of his disciples, the seventy to wit, were scandalised, and said: This is a hard saying; who can understand it? And they departed from him, and walked with him no more. His saying ... seemed to them a hard one. They received it foolishly: they thought of it carnally. For they fancied, that the Lord was going to cut from his own body certain morsels and to give those morsels to them. Hence they said: This is a hard saying. But they themselves were hard: not the saying. For, if, instead of being hard, they had been mild, they would have ... learned from him what those learned, who remained while they departed. For, when the twelve disciples had remained with him after the others had departed, ... he instructed them, and said unto them: It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing. The words, which I speak unto you, are spirit and life. As if he had said: Understand spiritually what I have spoken. You are Not about to eat this identical body, which you see; and you are Not about to drink this identical blood, which they who crucify me will pour out. I have commended unto you a certain sacrament. This, if spiritually understood, will quicken you. Though it must be celebrated visibly, it must be understood invisibly. George Stanley Faber pp. 144-147 G[edit] But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” Do not confuse understanding with a larger vocabulary, sacred writings are beneficial in stimulating desire for inward realization, if one stanza at a time is slowly assimilated. Continual intellectual study results in vanity and the false satisfaction of an undigested knowledge. Yukteswar Giri Autobiography of a Yogi (1946) H[edit] We may change the name of things; but their nature and their operation on the understanding never change. David Hume, in An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, (1748), Ch. VIII: Of Liberty and Necessity, Part I Eloquence, when at its highest pitch, leaves little room for reason or reflection; but addressing itself entirely to the fancy or the affections, captivates the willing hearers, and subdues their understanding. David Hume, in An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, (1748), Ch. X: Of Miracles, Part II Could... dogmatical reasoners become sensible of the strange infirmities of human understanding, even in its most perfect state, and when most accurate and cautious in its determinations; such a reflection would naturally inspire them with more modesty and reserve, and diminish their fond opinion of themselves, and their prejudice against antagonists. David Hume, in An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, (1748), Ch. XII: Of the Academical or Sceptical Philosophy, Part I Morals and criticism are not so properly objects of the understanding as of taste and sentiment. David Hume, in An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, (1748), Ch. XII: Of the Academical or Sceptical Philosophy, Part III I[edit] J[edit] He shewed me a little thing, the quantity of an hazel-nut, in the palm of my hand; and it was as round as a ball. I looked thereupon with eye of my understanding, and thought: What may this be? And it was answered generally thus: It is all that is made. I marvelled how it might last, for methought it might suddenly have fallen to naught for little. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasteth, and ever shall for that God loveth it. And so All-thing hath the Being by the love of God. Julian of Norwich, in Revelations of Divine Love (c.1393), Ch. 5 Here saw I a great oneing betwixt Christ and us, to mine understanding: for when He was in pain, we were in pain. And all creatures that might suffer pain, suffered with Him: that is to say, all creatures that God hath made to our service. Julian of Norwich, in Revelations of Divine Love (c.1393), Ch. 18 My understanding was lifted up into Heaven, and there I saw three heavens: of which sight I marvelled greatly. And though I see three heavens — and all in the blessed manhood of Christ — none is more, none is less, none is higher, none is lower, but even-like in bliss. In the sight of God all man is one man, and one man is all man. This man was hurt in his might and made full feeble; and he was stunned in his understanding so that he turned from the beholding of his Lord. But his will was kept whole in God’s sight; — for his will I saw our Lord commend and approve. In our intent we abide in God, and faithfully trust to have mercy and grace; and this is His own working in us. And of His goodness He openeth the eye of our understanding, by which we have sight, sometime more and sometime less, according as God giveth ability to receive. And now we are raised into the one, and now we are suffered to fall into the other. High understanding it is, inwardly to see and know that God, which is our Maker, dwelleth in our soul; and an higher understanding it is, inwardly to see and to know that our soul, that is made, dwelleth in God’s Substance: of which Substance, God, we are that we are. And I saw no difference between God and our Substance: but as it were all God; and yet mine understanding took that our Substance is in God: that is to say, that God is God, and our Substance is a creature in God. It is nought else but a right understanding, with true belief, and sure trust, of our Being: that we are in God, and God in us, Whom we see not. K[edit] One must learn to know oneself before knowing anything else (gnocchi seauton). Not until a person has inwardly understood himself and then sees the course he is to take does his life gain peace and meaning. Søren Kierkegaard, in Journals (1 August 1835) The thing is to understand myself, to see what God really wishes me to do: the thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the idea for which I can live and die. … I certainly do not deny that I still recognize an imperative of knowledge and that through it one can work upon men, but it must be taken up into my life, and that is what I now recognize as the most important thing. Søren Kierkegaard, in a letter to Peter Wilhelm Lund (31 August 1835) As soon as I am outside my religious understanding, I feel as an insect with which children are playing must feel, because life seems to have dealt with me so unmercifully; as soon as I am inside my religious understanding, I understand that precisely this has absolute meaning for me. Hence, that which in one case is a dreadful jest is in another sense the most profound earnestness. Earnestness is basically not something simple, a simplex, but is a compositum [compound], for true earnestness is the unity of jest and earnestness. Søren Kierkegaard, in Stages on Life's Way (1845), p. 365 To be a teacher in the right sense is to be a learner. Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner, put yourself in his place so that you may understand what he understands and the way he understands it. Søren Kierkegaard, in The Point of View for My Work as an Author (1848) One understands only in proportion to becoming himself that which he understands. Søren Kierkegaard, in Papers, V B 40, cited in The Logic of Subjectivity (2010) by Louis Pojman,, p. 61 It is the duty of the human understanding to understand that there are things which it cannot understand, and what those things are. Human understanding has vulgarly occupied itself with nothing but understanding, but if it would only take the trouble to understand itself at the same time it would simply have to posit the paradox. Søren Kierkegaard, in Journals (1847) The understanding, reflection, is also a gift of God. What shall one do with it, how dispose of it if one is not to use it? And if one then uses it in fear and trembling not for one’s own advantage but to serve the truth, if one uses it that way in fear and trembling and furthermore believing that it still is God who determines the issue in its eternal significance, venturing to trust in him, and with unconditional obedience yielding to what he makes use of it: is this not fear of God and serving God the way a person of reflection can, in the somewhat different way than the spontaneously immediate person, but perhaps more ardently. Søren Kierkegaard, in JP VI 6234 (Pap. IX A 222 1848) When rashness lives in the heart, a person is quick to discover the multiplicity of sin, then he understands splendidly a fragmentary utterance, hastily comprehends at a distance something scarcely enunciated. When love lives in the heart, a person understands slowly and does not hear at all words said in haste and does not understand them when repeated because he assigns them good position and a good meaning. He does not understand a long angry and insulting verbal assault, because he is waiting for one more word that will give it meaning. Søren Kierkegaard, in Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses, Soren Kierkegaard 1843-1844 (1990) by Howard V. Hong, p. 60-61 Experience certainly has long known how to think of some cheer for the troubled, but, as is natural, it does not know a joy that passes all understanding. Experience knows all the many inventions of the human heart, but a rapture that did not arise in any man’s heart it does not know. Søren Kierkegaard, in Three Upbuilding Discourses (8 June 1844), p. 263 The expectancy of an eternal salvation will reconcile everyone with his neighbor, with his friend, and with his enemy in an understanding of the essential. What feelings, understanding and will a person has depends in the last resort upon what imagination he has — how he represents himself to himself, that is, upon imagination. Søren Kierkegaard, in The Sickness unto Death (1849), as translated by Alastair Hannay (1989), Part One: The Sickness unto Death is Despair Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all men. It is the refusal to defeat any individual. When you rise to the level of love, of its great beauty and power, you seek only to defeat evil systems. Individuals who happen to be caught up in that system, you love, but you seek to defeat the system. Martin Luther King, Jr., in "Loving Your Enemies" Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, (17 November 1957) Agape is something of the understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. It is a love that seeks nothing in return. It is an overflowing love; it’s what theologians would call the love of God working in the lives of men. And when you rise to love on this level, you begin to love men, not because they are likeable, but because God loves them. Love is understanding, redemptive goodwill for all men, so that you love everybody, because God loves them. You refuse to do anything that will defeat an individual, because you have agape in your soul. And here you come to the point that you love the individual who does the evil deed, while hating the deed that the person does. This is what Jesus means when he says, "Love your enemy." This is the way to do it. When the opportunity presents itself when you can defeat your enemy, you must not do it. What brings understanding is love. When your heart is full, then you will listen to the teacher, to the beggar, to the laughter of children, to the rainbow, and to the sorrow of man. Under every stone and leaf, that which is eternal exists. But we do not know how to look for it. Our minds and hearts are filled with other things than understanding of "what is". Love and mercy, kindliness and generosity do not cause enmity. When you love, you are very near truth. For, love makes for sensitivity, for vulnerability. That which is sensitive is capable of renewal. Then truth will come into being. It cannot come if your mind and heart are burdened, heavy with ignorance and animosity. Jiddu Krishnamurti, in "Ninth Talk in Bombay, (14 March 1948), J.Krishnamurti Online, JKO Serial No. BO48Q1, published in The Collected Works, Vol. IV, p. 200 To understand fear you must also understand pleasure — they are interrelated; without understanding one you cannot understand the other. This means that one cannot say ‘I must only have pleasure and no fear’; fear is the other side of the coin which is called pleasure. Jiddu Krishnamurti, in Beyond Violence (1973), p. 66 If I draw a conclusion, I act on an idea, on an image, on a symbol, which is the structure of thought, and so I am constantly preventing myself from having insight, from understanding things as they are. Jiddu Krishnamurti, in On Mind and Thought (1993), p. 34 When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence. So a man who is seeking to understand violence does not belong to any country, to any religion, to any political party or partial system; he is concerned with the total understanding of mankind. Jiddu Krishnamurti, in Freedom From The Known (1969) L[edit] M[edit] N[edit] There is a difference between the ordinary person who may discuss these things occasionally over a pint of beer at the local pub, or worry about them for a while before dropping off to sleep, and the person who makes a serious lifelong commitment to struggling with them and turns that commitment into a part of his or her very self-definition. For one cannot say, I’ve finished theology; now I’ll move on to another subject. There is a sense in which one might say something similar of Akkadian grammar or the family tree of the Hapsburg dynasty, but one cannot reasonably assert it of exploration into God’s revelation, which is, by definition infinite in its implications for human understanding. To be a theological student in the full sense of those words cannot be a temporary state or a preamble to something else, such as the ministerial priesthood or an all-round education. Rather, it is a solemn engagement to developing over a lifetime the gift of Christian wonder or curiosity, which is the specifically theological mode of faith. As theologians, then, we commit ourselves to the lifelong study and reflection which the satisfaction of such curiosity will need. Our faith is from now on, in St. Anselm’s words, fides quaerens intellectum, “a faith that quests for understanding.” John Christopher "Aidan" Nichols The Shape of Catholic Theology (1991), pp. 18-19. But understand them, people say. And one does. But sometimes understanding is not comforting or flattering to the understood. Jay Nordlinger, in "Change and Determination: After 9/11, a shaking up" (September 11, 2002), speech at a conference in Salonika, Greece, on media and terrorism O[edit] P[edit] Are you not ashamed that you give your attention to acquiring as much money as possible, and similarly with reputation and honor, and give no attention or thought to truth and understanding and the perfection of your soul? Plato, Apology, 29e R[edit] S[edit] The mind understands something only insofar as it absorbs it like a seed into itself, nurtures it, and lets it grow into blossom and fruit. Therefore scatter holy seeds into the soil of the spirit, without any affectation of added superfluities. Friedrich Schlegel, “Ideas,” Lucinde and the Fragments, P. Firchow, trans. (1991), § 5 The insight of a man certainly slows down his anger, and it is beauty on his part to pass over transgression. Solomon, Proverbs 19:11, New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures We cannot exert our understanding without from time to time understanding something of importance; and this act of understanding may be accompanied by the awareness of our understanding, by the understanding of understanding, by noesis noesos, and this is so high, so pure, so noble an experience that Aristotle could ascribe it to his God. Leo Strauss, “What is liberal education?” Liberalism, Ancient and Modern (1968), p. 8 T[edit] U[edit] V[edit] W[edit] It is the aim of public life to arrange that all forms of power are entrusted, so far as possible, to men who effectively consent to be bound by the obligation towards all human beings which lies upon everyone, and who understand the obligation. Simone Weil, in Draft for a Statement of Human Obligation (1943), as translated by Richard Rees In the history that Franklin writes, knowledge and understanding are complementary: One without the other is incomplete. His contribution has been to make history a field of wisdom, devoid of the cult of fictitious glorification of a whole society or the cant of quantitative reductionism that analyzes parts out of context. Charles Vert Willie, Five Black Scholars: An Analysis of Family Life, Education, and Career, Abt Books, 1986, p. 13 X[edit] Y[edit] Z[edit] 知止乎其所不能知，至矣。若有不即是者，天鈞敗之。 To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high attainment. Those who cannot do it will be destroyed on the lathe of heaven. Zhuangzi Book XXIII, ¶ 7,as rendered in the epigraph to Ch. 3 of The Lathe of Heaven (1971) by Ursula K. Le Guin, based upon the 1891 translation by James Legge, Le Guin was subsequently informed that this was a very poor translation, as there were no lathes in China in the time of Zhuangzi. The full passage as translated by Legge reads: He whose mind is thus grandly fixed emits a Heavenly light. In him who emits this heavenly light men see the (True) man. When a man has cultivated himself (up to this point), thenceforth he remains constant in himself. When he is thus constant in himself, (what is merely) the human element will leave him, but Heaven will help him. Those whom their human element has left we call the people of Heaven. Those whom Heaven helps we call the Sons of Heaven. Those who would by learning attain to this seek for what they cannot learn. Those who would by effort attain to this, attempt what effort can never effect. Those who aim by reasoning to reach it reason where reasoning has no place. To know to stop where they cannot arrive by means of knowledge is the highest attainment. Those who cannot do this will be destroyed on the lathe of Heaven. Intelligibility Look up understanding in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Retrieved from "https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Understanding&oldid=2149659" Category: Themes Navigation menu DeutschEspañolעבריתItalianoSlovenčina Edit links This page was last modified on 21 July 2016, at 16:21.

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/26245

Kansas City Lightning by Stanley Crouch Narrated by Kevin Kenerly Kansas City Lightning: The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker is the first installment in the long-awaited portrait of one of the most talented and influential musicians of the twentieth century, from Stanley Crouch, one of the foremost authorities on jazz and culture in America. Throughout his life, Charlie Parker personified the tortured American artist: A revolutionary performer who used his alto saxophone to create a new music known as bebop even as he wrestled with a drug addiction that would lead to his death at the age of thirty-four. Drawing on interviews with peers, collaborators, and family members, Kansas City Lightning re-creates Parker's Depression-era childhood; his early days navigating the Kansas City nightlife, inspired by lions like Lester Young and Count Basie; and on to New York, where he began to transcend the music he had mastered. Crouch reveals an ambitious young man torn between music and drugs, between his domineering mother and his impressionable young wife, whose teenage romance with Charlie lies at the bittersweet heart of this story. With the wisdom of a jazz scholar, the cultural insights of an acclaimed social critic, and the narrative skill of a literary novelist, Stanley Crouch illuminates this American master as never before. More Less Thank you for your purchase. More by Stanley Crouch More Narrated by Kevin Kenerly A Multifaceted Gem This book is excellent on so many levels: an erudite but very accessible history of pre-war America; a feels-like-you-are-there view of jazz bands battling for supremacy at the Savoy; a phenomenal account of what its like to hop a train in Kansas City and ride to New York City (and how that train ride is a metaphorical change...not just a geographical one)...and so much more. This is volume 1 of what will be a 2 volume biography of jazz great Charlie Parker. Author Stanley Crouch does an amazing job of describing the social, political and musical context that influenced Parker. He makes the reader (or, as the case may be, listener) feel like they are there. The only other author I encountered who has done as good a job of providing absolutely fascinating context to help drive a biography is Robert Caro, author of the multi-volume biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson.The performance by Kevin Kenerly is superb and he is up to the task of performing a wide variety of material--whether it be describing the love story between Charlie Parker and his first wife Rebecca, the evolution of jazz, the sociopolitical condition of African Americans in the 20s and 30s, or dialog between a drug addict and an hobo. This is much more than a niche book for jazz fans; it's highly recommended for all Audible members who enjoy engaging biographies supported by outstanding narration. Read full review Less - Dave BeBop Prose; great book! I actually had to wait a while after finishing Kansas City Lightning before I could sit down to write a review of it. This is not one of those name and date kind of history books.Stanley Crouch's approach to his biography of Charlie Parker is much the same as Parker's approach to playing a jazz tune. He will begin a chapter with some general info about Parker's early life or career and then make a radical departure to something else. These could be anything from info about certain musicians, history of jazz, or the social mores of the time. These departures were all intelligent, articulate, informative and usually seemed to have nothing to do with Charlie Parker. Crouch then tied them up really nicely and got back to the subject; it is very much like a well crafted BeBop solo.This book only covers the early years of Parker's life. I hope Mr. Crouch has a part two in the works. Read full review Less - Arthur

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/26257

Seduce Your Way to the Top? Meet the Anne Boleyns of Washington, D.C. Becky Graebner Infamous seductress, Anne Boleyn, and her ticket to power--King Henry VIIIThis week’s House of Cards essay will expand on last week’s piece, "The House of Cards Vision of Infidelity: More Fact than Fiction." Yes, unfortunately we remain stuck with this slimy theme of infidelity. This week let's talk about the women.Men have had a leg up in the world, especially in the workplace. Females are still trying to catch up. Salary comparisons and lack of women in certain fields will underline this fact. Unfortunately, some women feel like they are faced with two options: be ruthless and work really hard to achieve their goals at the risk of the “ice queen” label, or take an easier route and use other means. Some women do decide to use medieval methods (think Anne Boleyn in the Tudor days) in order to succeed in the workplace -- and this is all too evident in big cities like Washington, D.C.Women have employed method #2 for centuries (men have as well). But dabbling in this kind of currency can lead to two very different ends: career destruction or the attainment of dreams. Last week, we talked about how scandals tend to be both concentrated and magnified in D.C. The cutthroat culture here seems to breed an underground marketplace of give-and-gets, with scandal as the most likely outcome. Ultimately, Washingtonians must decide if they are going to enter that market — or try to forge their own way up the ambition ladder.* ...Spoilers on coming pages...* Marilyn and her man, JFKAs you may have noticed, in all of my “salacious examples” from last week, the female actors were all the “underdogs.” They were not in positions of power as General Petraeus or Presidents Kennedy and Clinton were. Monica was an intern, Paula a biographer, Rielle a videographer. Although smart and accomplished themselves, compared to their public-office-holding men, they had less to lose and more to gain from their affairs: a better job, book deals, and the affections of the president. The heart of a woman is a very wild place — we cannot count out feelings of love -- but this also isn’t a Disney movie; this is D.C. I cannot guarantee that all used their "womanly wiles" to get ahead (Marilyn Monroe was famous in her own right), but many did profit from their relationships with their famous liaisons and, decades later, remain famous due to their association with the scandal.House of Cards gives us a glimpse into the world of Monica and/or Paula pre-affair… and the dilemma between hard work and easy street. HoC’s two leading ladies, Claire and Zoe, are both very ambitious. They both feel that they can achieve more if they push just a bit harder. Claire wants power, to be the wife of the president or secretary of State, and some money for her struggling charity. Zoe wants to be noticed and promoted at work. Everyone wants to “be somebody” in D.C. Zoe Barnes: the newest Anne Boleyn.Zoe starts out as a likeable character -- occasionally annoying, but not morally corrupted ... yet. However, the hunger for a newsworthy story becomes too great and she engages in an affair with Frank Underwood, a married congressman. I think this is when I started to really dislike her. She gets creepy towards the end of season one, while wearing Claire’s clothes and examining which side of the bed Claire sleeps on. She tries to turn the tables on Frank and exert some of her own power.I had the biggest problem with the Frank-Zoe storyline because of the big jump from “symbiotic relationship between ladder climbers” to “symbiotic relationship” with a side of “extramarital affair.” Zoe could have written Frank’s stories without engaging in “other activities” and would have gotten the same fame and attention that she craved. Frank needed Zoe just as much as she needed him — thus the affair was a sort of "extra" in their little arrangement. Zoe used Frank knowing that he was her ticket to the big time and that, eventually, she could blackmail him. Does Claire love Frank or is he just her ticket to the "big time" ?Claire’s path to power via the sheets is a little more “traditional” compared to Zoe’s. Claire hitched her wagon to Frank because he was going to be somebody big. She married him to guarantee that she would be second in command no matter how far up the ladder he climbed. Episode one showed Claire’s utter disbelief when she found out that Frank was not nominated as secretary of State. I think she took the news that she was NOT to be Miss Secretary of State worse than Frank did. Frank and Claire have some love for each other — but not enough to stay true to their wedding vows. While she does engage in an affair, Claire’s extramarital relationship doesn’t seem to lead to any gains for herself. Are we seeing the soft, vulnerable side of Claire?!Nonetheless, while Frank is off with Zoe, Claire uses Frank’s influence and name to wheel and deal behind his back (with Remy, the powerful corporate lobbyist) for the benefit of her charity. Although Claire doesn’t use her affair for gain (that we know of), her own marriage of convenience is just as wrong because she uses it as a means to advance herself. Still famous...In the end, I bet most of the women named last week and this week regret their decisions to have relationships with their political lovers. True, they all got their book deals, but their own credibility and all of their hard work? Evaporated. (They should be thankful they didn't lose their head like Anne Boleyn!) Zoe stopped her affair and attempted to continue her professional relationship with Frank — but it was too late. You can’t simply pretend that such perfect blackmail material just “didn’t happen.”Like Zoe, Claire also ended her affair with her long-time photographer friend and came home to Frank. However, unlike Zoe, Claire’s ongoing immoral actions happen within her marriage — not in the space outside of it. Therefore, she is not really redeemed.In real life, Monica has tried to overcome her tarnished image through a line of handbags -- but I’m not sure it is working. She is a household name — one half of the largest scandal in White House history. Although time has passed, the others have not escaped the public either. Rielle ran for cover with her baby after Edwards went public, Marilyn died tragically — adding to the mythology of the Kennedy White House. One of the Gingrich women ended up married to him; the other ended up divorced and bitter. These women could have been great political powerhouses and respected in their own right but they decided to risk it all when faced with an influential man who could put them on the fast-track to their dreams. They used their bodies to up the ante in hopes of advancing themselves… and ended up disgraced.The moral of the story: work hard and be ruthless. Never sell out—even if he commands the fiercest fighting force on the planet—because you can’t recapture time or innocence. Once the public judges you, the sentence always stands. https://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2013/5/22/seduce-your-way-to-the-top-meet-the-anne-boleyns-of-washington-d-c/

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/26266

Malboro Country and Wit: The Human Condition By Kate Bishop, Candice Brissenden & Tafadzwa Mlambo Pic by Michael Dexter Emma de Wet and Robert Haxton, two up-and-coming directors, recently showcased their plays in this year’s Young Director’s Season which ran from August 28- to 30. ‘Malboro Country’, directed by de Wet, and ‘Wit’, directed by Haxton, appeared in a double bill which dealt with people’s use of language and our inability to express ourselves sincerely. De Wet wrote the script for ‘Malboro Country’ herself. The play is set in a Rhodes digs and deals with desire and what happens when it is not fulfilled. The lead character, Jenny, struggles to deal with her vulnerability and feels the need to inflict pain on others in order to come to terms with her own heartache. While reflecting on Jenny’s character, de Wet said, “The role is very personal to me and has a lot of myself in it,” although she maintains that it is not autobiographical. Despite the play dealing with controversial issues such as closet homosexuality and the obsessive desire to be loved, the audience remained immersed in the action. De Wet says it was challenging directing a self-written script and was grateful to have had such a talented and hardworking cast. ‘Wit’ dealt with the same underlying issue of using language to protect oneself from human emotion. Set in a hospital, the play deals with a literature professor’s struggle with ovarian cancer. It illustrates a superficial doctor-patient relationship, focusing on the professor’s attempt to use language to hide her anguish and the doctors’ use of a classic bedside manner in order to distance themselves from the situation. Haxton knows that the play touched many audience members as he was approached by someone who had lost a loved one to cancer and, after seeing the play, had gained a better understanding of the personal process they had experienced. Haxton and de Wet plan on working together on a collective project in the future. De Wet hopes to go in a different direction as a playwright, perhaps in exploration of a more surrealist approach. Haxton plans to complete his Masters in contemporary performance. Based on these plays, the two appear to be very promising directors and we suggest you look out for them. This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 2:28 pm and is filed under Arts / Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

文学

2017-09/0319/en_head.json.gz/26464

Tappy in the Times UkeGap At 96, a Uke Legend Still Has Plenty of PluckBill Tapia rides a wave of new interest in the instrument. He also plays to ease sadness.By Steve ChawkinsTimes Staff WriterApril 1, 2004Bill Tapia is so intense about his gigs that he once played with a newly broken wrist. Over his manager's protests, he ripped off his cast, strode to the front of the hall, hunched over his ukulele and, in exquisite pain, made beautiful music. But he was younger then, a mere 94.Today, at 96, his ukulele passion is unabated. His first CD was just released and another is due out in May. He still performs in music store back rooms and Hawaiian restaurant jam sessions, at ukulele conventions and in concert halls. Each week, he gives lessons to 20 or so rapt students at his Westminster home. This month, he will be inducted into the Ukulele Hall of Fame."He was one of the first to play jazz standards and improvise on the ukulele, and he was doing it when both jazz and the ukulele were new," said Byron Yasui, a jazz bassist and director of graduate studies in music at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. "Bill's a ukulele virtuoso."A trim man with a white beard and a fondness for pinstripes, Tapia has been a musician all his life. As a kid in Honolulu, he entertained sailors riding out World War I at Pearl Harbor. During his long musical career on the mainland, he sat in with the likes of Louis Armstrong and taught ukulele to such stars as Clark Gable and Jimmy Durante. Now he is surfing a wave of interest in the ukulele as he resists an undertow of lingering sadness from the deaths, in the last few years, of his wife and daughter. "Thank God I can still play," he said recently, sitting in the sunshine on the patio of the house he shares with a woman who assists him. "It helps me forget a little."But he doesn't forget much.As a kid, he strummed for tips on the streets of Oahu, wowing the tourists by holding his ukulele behind his neck and offering up his trademark, fast-paced "Stars and Stripes Forever."When he was 12, his mother reluctantly let him leave school to make money for the family on the Honolulu vaudeville circuit. "I was hanging out with musicians twice my age and didn't need school," Tapia recalled. "I thought I was pretty hot stuff."At 16, he was offered a job with a dance band on a steamship bound for California. His family threatened him with reform school if he accepted, but he did. "In the middle of the ocean, I sent my mother a telegram," he said. " 'Don't worry,' I told her. 'I'll be OK.' "That trip was just his first. Over the next couple of decades, he hopped between the islands and the mainland, falling ever more in love with jazz. His popularity rose.Tapia played ukulele and guitar with top bands and had his own group, Tappy's Island Swingers. During World War II, he led a 14-piece band in a "blackout ballroom," where couples danced in the dark as a precaution against enemy bombing raids. For all that, Hawaii was no place for an ambitious jazzman. When the war ended, Tapia settled on the mainland for good. But big bands didn't want ukuleles, so he played the guitar, working for such swing luminaries as Charlie Barnet. Eventually settling near San Francisco, he carved out a niche teaching, doing studio sessions, playing in TV orchestras and working as a sideman in band after band.For more than 50 years, he barely touched a ukulele on the job. At home, he broke it out from time to time. Even now, he mists up a little at the memory of playing the sweet, simple "To You Sweetheart, Aloha" for his wife and daughter. "My daughter danced her first hula to it," he said. "They treasured that song."In the world of bands and bookings, though, the ukulele was seen as a novelty, and Tapia had become known mostly as a guitarist. But nobody knows fast changes better than a musician. A few years ago, Tapia and his wife, Barbie, moved to Orange County. They wanted to be near their daughter Cleo, a legal secretary who, Tapia said, "sang like Billie Holiday." Then Cleo died of cancer at 60. Soon she was followed by Barbie, Tapia's wife of 64 years. "I lost everybody I loved," he said. "I still cry almost every day." Depressed, he wandered into a music store one day in 2001. He figured he would get his old guitar fixed and maybe teach his great-grandchildren a few chords. But he started fooling around with a ukulele, throwing elegant jazz riffs into tunes like "Little Grass Shack." The crew at the store was transfixed."They said, 'Who are you?' " he recalled. The ukulele was surging back into favor. Ukulele clubs had taken root, and students started treating it as a folk instrument instead of a gag. "We have much more serious players now," Yasui, of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said. "It's not guys in raccoon coats strumming and singing silly songs."Urged by friends, Tapia started attending ukulele sessions at a senior center and teaching again. At a Fullerton museum show about Hawaii, he ran into Buck Giles, leader of a Hawaiian band called the Essential Resophonics. "Ever hear of Bill Tapia?" Tapia asked slyly."I think he's already passed away," Giles responded.Tapia let him know otherwise. He took Giles up on his invitation to sit in for a song or two and quickly became the star attraction."We just gave him the stage," Giles said. The two hit it off so well that the group backed up Tapia on his current CD, "Tropical Swing," a production of a small Hawaiian label called Moon Room Records.In 2002, Tapia's friend and former manager, Alyssa Archambault, arranged for him to play at the 75th anniversary of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the grande dame of Waikiki hostelries. "He's amazing," said Archambault, 27, who got to know Tapia while tracing her family's Hawaiian roots. "He'll tell you he's not the best singer, but he'll look at some lady in the audience and just melt her heart."At the hotel celebration, Tapia was the only musician who had played at the Royal Hawaiian's grand opening in 1927. Reporters flocked to him for reminiscences of the Jazz Age crowd in their tuxes and gowns. "We didn't get dinner in 1927," he told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. "This time, we got fed!" Tapia had been one of the Royal Hawaiian's half a dozen "musical drivers," uniformed chauffeurs who convoyed wealthy guests around the island in gleaming Packards. With Diamond Head as a backdrop, the drivers would break out their instruments and croon Hawaiian songs to their delighted passengers. Back at the hotel, Tapia made extra money giving lessons to stars like Gable, Durante and Buster Crabbe. "They just wanted to learn a few chords so they could clown around at parties," he said. Tapia said he even gave a few lessons to Arthur Godfrey. Later, Godfrey became a popular TV talk-show host whose trademark was his ukulele. This month, Tapia will be admitted to the Ukulele Hall of Fame at a convention in Santa Cruz."He just seemed a natural," said Sue Abbotson, a college English teacher in Rhode Island and a director of the Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum.Seeking a permanent site, the museum is a collection of instruments, sheet music, aging photos and ukulele whatnots scattered among its directors' homes.A portrait of Tapia has been commissioned; one day it will hang next to those of Godfrey and other ukulele celebrities, such as Manuel Nunes. Nunes was a Portuguese craftsman who brought the forerunner of the ukulele to Hawaii in 1872. When he was a boy, Tapia said, he lived across a dirt lane from Nunes and bought his first ukulele from him for 75 cents. Connections like that make Tapia yearn for the islands."When I lived there, I couldn't wait to go live on the mainland," he said. "But I was a fool. I'd love to go back and look out at the beach, and rest under the coconut trees and watch the pretty girls pass by."

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/77

Percy Bysshe Shelley FactsPercy Bysshe Shelley Quotes The English romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) ranks as one of the greatest lyric poets in the history of English literature. Percy Bysshe Shelley was born at Field Place near Horsham, Sussex, on Aug. 4, 1792. He was the first son of a wealthy country squire. Shelley as a boy felt persecuted by his hardheaded and practical-minded father, and this abuse may have first sparked the flame of protest which, during his Eton years (1804-1810), earned him the name of "Mad Shelley." In the course of his first and only year at Oxford (1810-1811), Shelley and his friend Thomas Jefferson Hogg issued a pamphlet provocatively entitled The Necessity of Atheism. Their "atheism" was little more than a hieroglyph connoting their general revulsion against establishment authoritarianism. However, both students were expelled from the university. This event—soon combined with the influence of Political Justice by anarchist reformer William Godwin— merely intensified Shelley's rebelliousness against accepted notions of law and order, both in his private life and in the body politic. In the summer of 1811 Shelley met and married Harriet Westbrook, and he tried to set up, with her and Hogg, one of those triangular relationships that were to become characteristic of his love life, presumably because he saw in them a way to materialize his noble ideal of freedom in love and togetherness in human relationships. In the early months of 1812 Shelley evinced more than theoretical interest in the Irish cause, another manifestation of his desire for political reform. Shelley's First Poems Shelley attempted to convey his views on these and sundry other topics in Queen Mab (1813), a juvenile allegorical romance that, nevertheless, contained the germ of his mature philosophy: the ontological notion that throughout the cosmos there is "widely diffused/A spirit of activity and life," an omnipresent nonpersonal energy that, unless perverted by man's lust for power, can lead mankind to utopia. By the summer of 1814 Shelley had become closely involved with Godwin, his debts, and his daughter Mary. For a brief while, the poet contemplated settling down with both Mary (as his "sister") and Harriet (as his wife); but the latter did not agree, and in late July Shelley eloped to the Continent with Mary, taking along her half sister, Claire Clairmont. Shelley's Alastor Back in England, Shelley was increasingly driven to the realization that utopia was not just around the corner, and this may have prompted the writing of Alastor, or the Spirit of Solitude in December 1815. This ambiguous poem is a dialectical analysis of the tragic irony in the poet's fate as he is caught between the allurements of extreme idealism and his awareness that the very nature of man and the world precludes the achievement of his highest purpose. Alastor represents a transient but necessary phase in Shelley's evolution. He was hence-forth to return with unrelenting determination to his dual poetic task of defining the romantic ideal of universal harmony and of striving to bring about the reign of love and freedom in human society. The first fruits of this ripening were the Hymn to Intellectual Beauty and Mont Blanc, which were planned in 1816, during a stay in Geneva. Both poems constitute an impressive statement of Shelley's fundamental belief in an everlasting, benevolent "Spirit," the hidden source of splendor and harmony in nature and of moral activity in man. The winter of 1816/1817 was a period of great emotional disturbance for Shelley. Harriet died, presumably by suicide, in December, and the courts refused to grant Shelley the custody of the two children she had borne him. In addition, he was beginning to worry about his health. However, there were encouragements as well. Partly thanks to Leigh Hunt (to whom he gave financial help with his customary generosity), Shelley was gaining some recognition as an original and powerful poet. During the spring and summer of 1817, Shelley composed his most ambitious poem to date, The Revolt of Islam. In this work the crude allegorical didacticism of Queen Mab gave way to genuine, although at times still turgid, symbolism. The theme of love between man and woman was adroitly woven into the wider pattern of mankind's love-inspired struggle for brotherhood. Like the French Revolution, the failure of which had preoccupied Shelley for a long time, The Revolt of Islam ends in disaster. But the poet had now come to a mature insight, absent from Alastor, into the complex interplay of good and evil. Man's recognition of his boundaries is the first step to wisdom and inner liberty; martyrdom does not put an end to hope, for it is a victory of the spirit and a vital source of inspiration. The Revolt of Islam illustrates a discovery that often signaled the romantic poet's accession to wisdom and that John Keats described, in April 1819, as the recognition of "how necessary a World of Pains and troubles is to school an Intelligence and make it a Soul." Exile and Prometheus Unbound In March 1818 the Shelleys (still accompanied by Claire Clairmont) left England, never to return. The bulk of the poet's output was produced in Italy in the course of the last 4 years of his short life. Though life in Italy had its obvious rewards, this period was by no means one of undiluted happiness for Shelley. He was increasingly anxious about his health; he was beginning to resent the social ostracism that had made him an exile; exile itself was at times hard to bear, even though the political and social situation in England was most unattractive; and his son William died in June 1819. However, although a note of despondency can be perceived in some of his minor poems, such as the Stanzas Written in Dejection near Naples, the major ventures of Shelley's later years testify to the relentless energy of an imaginative mind steadily concerned with fundamentals and ever eager to diversify its modes of expression. In Prometheus Unbound (1818-1819), Shelley turned to mythical drama to convey, in a more sensitive and complex way, the basic truth that had been expressed through the narrative technique of The Revolt of Islam. Moreover, the same dialectical reconciliation of the puzzling dualities of life received more purely lyrical shape in the Ode to the West Wind of October 1819. Dramas and Social Tracts Like the other romantic poets, Shelley was aware of the limitations of lyrical poetry as a medium of mass communication. He, too, endeavored to convey his message to a larger audience, and he experimented with stage drama in The Cenci (1819), a lurid but carefully constructed tragedy which illustrates the havoc wrought by man's Jupiterian lust for power, both physical and mental, in the sphere of domestic life. Shelley's interest, however, lay in wider issues, which he now began to tackle in unexpectedly robust satires and with scathing polemical aggressiveness, venting his social indignation in the stirring oratory of The Masque of Anarchy (1819); in Peter Bell the Third (1819), a parody of William Wordsworth and an ironic comment on the elder poet's political and artistic disintegration; in Oedipus Tyrannus, or Swell-foot the Tyrant (1820), a mock tragedy on the royal family; and in Hellas (1821). The last of his major political poems, Hellas celebrates the Greek war of liberation, in which Lord Byron was involved in more active ways; it crowns a large series of minor poems in which Shelley, throughout his writing career, had hailed the resurgent spirit of liberty, not only among the oppressed classes of England but also among the oppressed nations of the world. Final Poems and Prose Works Shelley's concern with promoting the cause of freedom was genuine, but his personality found a more congenial outlet in his "visionary rhymes," in which the peculiar, dematerialized, yet highly sensuous quality of his imagery embodied his almost mystical concepts of oneness and love, of poetry and brotherhood, without destroying their ethereal ideality. Such themes remained the fountainhead of his inspiration to the last, but—as he was nearing 30— with a more urgent, yet less strident sense of the unbridgeable gap between the ideal and the real. He conveyed this sense with poignantly subdued elegiac tones in The Sensitive Plant (1820) and in the poem that he composed on the death of John Keats, Adonais (1821). Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Wordsworth had been about the same age, some 20 years earlier, when they had expressed, in Dejection and the Immortality Ode, their disenchanted consciousness and stoical acceptance of the decay that life and experience had brought to their visionary powers. Shelley too, it seems, came to be affected with a similar dismaying sense of fading imagination; his response, however, was significantly different from theirs. Far from submitting to the desiccating consequences of growth, he wrote the Defence of Poetry (1821), one of the most eloquent prose assessments of the poet's unique relation to the eternal. And, in 1822, he focused on the poet's relation to earthly experience in The Triumph of Life, which T. S. Eliot considered his "greatest though unfinished poem." This work contains an impassioned denunciation of the corruption wrought by worldly life, whose "icy-cold stare" irresistibly obliterates the "living flame" of imagination. Shelley's death by drowning in the Gulf of Spezia near Lerici, Italy, on July 8, 1822, spared him—perhaps mercifully—the hardening of the spirit that, in his view, had destroyed Wordsworth. Further Reading on Percy Bysshe Shelley Newman Ivey White, Shelley (2 vols., 1940), is still the standard biography. Other biographical studies include Edward Dowden, The Life of Percy Bysshe Shelley (1909); Edmund Charles Blunden, Shelley: A Life Story (1947); A. B. C. Whipple, The Fatal Gift of Beauty: The Final Years of Byron and Shelley (1964); Jean Overton Fuller, Shelley: A Biography (1968); and George Bornstein, Yeats and Shelley (1970). A convenient introduction for the general reader is Desmond King-Hele, Shelley: His Thought and Work (1960). For general critical studies of the poetry see Carlos H. Baker, Shelley's Major Poetry: The Fabric of a Vision (1948); Peter Butter, Shelley's Idols of the Cave (1954); Neville Rogers, Shelley at Work: A Critical Inquiry (1956; 2d ed. 1967); Milton T. Wilson, Shelley's Later Poetry: A Study of His Prophetic Imagination (1957); Harold Bloom, Shelley's Mythmaking (1959); Ross Greig Woodman, The Apocalyptic Vision in the Poetry of Shelley (1964); and George M. Ridenour, ed., Shelley: A Collection of Critical Essays (1965). Other aspects of Shelley's thought are studied in Ellsworth Barnard, Shelley's Religion (1936); Kenneth Neill Cameron, The Young Shelley: Genesis of a Radical (1950); Earl J. Schulze, Shelley's Theory of Poetry: A Reappraisal (1966); and John Pollard Guinn, Shelley's Political Thought (1969). More specifically concerned with Shelley's philosophy are A. M. D. Hughes, The Nascent Mind of Shelley (1947); J. A. Notopoulos, The Platonism of Shelley (1951); and C. E. Pulos, The Deep Truth: A Study of Shelley's Scepticism (1954). Since Harold Leroy Hoffman wrote An Odyssey of the Soul:Shelley's "Alastor" (1933), several studies have been devoted to single works: Bennett Weaver, Prometheus Unbound (1957); Donald H. Reiman, Shelley's "The Triumph of Life" (1965); and Earl R. Wasserman, Shelley's "Prometheus Unbound": A Critical Reading (1965). For assessments of Shelley's influence and reputation see Sylva Norman, Flight of the Skylark: The Development of Shelley's Reputation (1954), and Roland A. Duerksen, Shelleyan Ideas in Victorian Literature (1966). Link/Cite Percy Bysshe Shelley Images ReferenceBiographyPercy Bysshe Shelley Add a comment. shelleyanShelley Mary Wollstonecraft GodwinheavenesCenci BeatriceShelley Percy Bysshe raylessMary Wollstonecraft ShelleyThomas Love PeacockShelley’s Case, rule inscleroptila-shelleyi Words near Percy Bysshe Shelley in the dictionary percutaneouslypercutientPercyPercy BysshePercy Bysshe ShelleyPercy HenryPercy Lavon JulianPercy WalkerPercy Williams Bridgmanperdeuterate Follow YourDictionary

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/273

David Belbin By wimxo on March 17, 2013 in B, blog, fiction David Belbin has published numerous short stories in literary magazines and anthologies. He works part time as programme leader of the MA in Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University and is an experienced speaker in public, on radio and TV. He edited a crime short stories anthology, ‘City Of Crime’ (Five Leaves), wrote a best selling guide to eBay.co.uk (’The eBay Book’, Harriman House) and now edits the Crime Express series of novellas for Five Leaves. He is best known for his many novels and short stories for Young Adults, including ‘Denial’, ‘Festival’ and ‘Love Lessons’. In the 90’s, he wrote a string of twenty crime novels, from ‘Shoot The Teacher’ to ‘Dead Guilty’ including a twelve novel sequence about young police officers, The Beat, for Scholastic, making him the company’s best selling UK author. He has a lively blog (and bibliography) at http://www.davidbelbin.com See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Belbin for full biographical details. Books by David Belbin Bone And Cane British crime has a new and unlikely pair of heroes: one of ‘Blair’s babes’ and a former dope-dealer. BONE AND CANE is a fast-paced crime novel set in Nottingham on the eve of New Labour’s landslide victory in 1997, when Sarah Bone, a female MP and her ex-boyfriend, Nick Cane, uncover a miscarriage of justice. After highlighting inconsistencies in the evidence against convicted double-murderer and cop killer, Ed Clark, Sarah successfully campaigns to get him released from prison. But it quickly becomes clear that she may have made a terrible mistake. Nick, meanwhile, finds himself working alongside Ed at Cane Cabs, his brother’s taxi company. As Nick and Sarah’s lives become increasingly tangled, they start to fall in love with each other all over again, despite the obstacles presented by her political career and his recent conviction. Not to mention the biggest obstacle of all, of course: Ed Clark. This is the first in a series of smart crime fiction with a social agenda that fans of David Peace, Richard Price and David Simon (THE WIRE) will love. UK/Commonwealth (excl Canada): Tindal Street Press Pub date: early 2011 A gripping writerly thriller … pacy and smart—Jackie Kay From an early age, Mark Trace shows a remarkable talent for literary forgery. A gap year in Paris sees his skill exploited by an unscrupulous manuscript dealer. Hurrying home, Mark fetches up in London, working at one of the UK’s oldest literary magazines. That’s when the trouble really starts. Hemingway and Graham Greene are only the beginning. What starts as a prank soon becomes deadly serious. In this literary thriller David Belbin writes about originality, desire and literary ambition in the voice of a character with the capacity to deceive everyone, including himself. UK/Commonwealth: Five Leaves Italy: Il Saggiatore Germany: Rowohlt Israel: Achuzat Pub date: Nov 2008 David Belbin is represented at Jenny Brown Associates by Allan –allan@jennybrownassociates.com fiction David Barnes David Sharp Latest

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/304

Reading L.A.: Esther McCoy McCoy’s 1960 book “Five California Architects,” the fourth installment in our Reading L.A. series, is in reality a somewhat different book than its title would seem to advertise. Two of the five architects in the book are the brothers Charles and Henry Greene, which means it is really about four architectural practices, not five. On top of that, the detailed but rather workmanlike section on the Greenes is written not by McCoy but by a writer and architect named Randell L. Makinson. And the book’s first chapter is on Bernard Maybeck, who was based not in Los Angeles but in the Bay Area. As a result, for the purposes of Reading L.A., the book -- whose central goal was to rescue the reputations of architects McCoy felt were by midcentury at risk of being forgotten -- exists essentially as complementary chapters by McCoy on a pair of pioneering L.A. modernists, Irving Gill and Rudolph Schindler. Still, two chapters by McCoy are worth a full book by most architecture writers; and the section on Schindler is filled with particular insight because McCoy knew Schindler and his work remarkably well, having worked in his office, doing drafting work, from 1944 to 1947. Schindler, the Austrian émigré modernist who oversaw Frank Lloyd Wright’s office in Los Angeles before striking out on his own, was for McCoy as much artist -- and visionary, experimental artist at that –- as architect. “Schindler brought a particular vision to architecture,” she writes, “one in which materials -- and even the structural systems he developed -– were always incidental.” She describes him as driven, private, a man who nursed grudges; as opposed to the rationalist designs and business savvy of his fellow Austrian Richard Neutra (who does not get his own chapter in this book), Schindler’s work emerges as deeply felt -- modern and forward-looking, to be sure, but also touched by a kind of poeticism, even romanticism. Still, McCoy makes a point of noting that Schindler “had an enormous ease with structure” and was a builder at heart, one who “designed directly with building materials as much as on paper. He took the hammer from the carpenter’s hand, and the trowel from the mason’s.” “In 32 years of professional life,” McCoy adds, “almost all his buildings … were executed under his direction by subcontractors. Thus, only a limited number of jobs went through his office –- no more than he could supervise personally. The financial rewards were small, the daily travel from job to job was long and tedious, but only in this way could he maintain complete control over every detail.” In describing Schindler’s own 1922 house in what is now West Hollywood (and just down the street from Gill’s sadly demolished Dodge House), McCoy veers close to psychoanalysis. “Schindler,” she writes, “had made an uncannily correct autobiographical statement in the design of his Kings Road combined residence and office—with its guarding masonry front and its charming intimate views of gardens. His explosive laughter and his charm could not quite hide the recluse who reserved himself almost wholly for himself.” If Carey McWilliams, meanwhile, and other famed observers of L.A. history had already given Irving Gill credit for bringing a strikingly pure and potent kind of architectural modernism to Southern California, it wasn’t until McCoy came along that the architect got the full, sympathetic treatment he deserved. McCoy makes clear that Gill was among the first architects anywhere in the world to build in a fully modern style, stripping his early houses of ornament and decoration even before Adolf Loos began famously doing the same in Vienna. In praising his “forthright” architecture in San Diego and Los Angeles, with its “austere simplicity” and experimental use of concrete and other materials, McCoy notes that “Gill performed an enormous service to his profession at a time when, in the West, the contractor was considered the proper person to design everything except public buildings and large residences, which were almost invariably done in revival styles.” His buildings, she adds, were “touching in their simplicity, but the simplicity was of a kind that came from a lifetime of architectural concern.” In a certain way, my interest in putting "Five California Architects" on the Reading L.A. list had as much to do with a desire to write and think about McCoy as it did in exploring McCoy’s particular takes on Gill or Schindler, as smart as those takes are. For it was McCoy, as much as anyone, who first explained the experimental wing of Southern California architecture to a large audience, and in so doing helped the region get a firmer sense of itself. (For more on the remarkable life and career of McCoy, who was an accomplished short-story writer as well as a journalist, see this essay by Susan Morgan, who is editing a collection of essays by McCoy that is due out later this year.) Indeed, what McCoy said about Schindler’s smaller houses in and around Los Angeles –- that with their “informal dignity” they “did much to lift Los Angeles out of a prolonged provincialism” –- could easily be said about McCoy’s work as well, so naturally did it seem to match the emerging personality of her adopted hometown and its most significant pieces of architecture. “It is not true that there was no California architecture before Esther McCoy,” architecture critic Paul Goldberger wrote in 1990. “But there was no one writing about it, and that made all the difference.” We’ll meet up again with McCoy in August, when we read "Blueprints for Modern Living," a history of the Case Study program that includes the final significant essay of her career. --Christopher Hawthorne Above: Schindler's house on Kings Road in what is now West Hollywood. Credit: Grant Mudford

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/431

You are here: Home / About Paris / Bridges Of ParisBridges Of Paris If the bridges on either side of the Cité and the one which connects that island with the Ile St Louis are counted, there are thirty-three bridges within the city limits of Paris. Their first building would make a connected story of Paris if they were taken chronologically. The Petit Pont and that one called the Grand Pont, until it was renamed Pont-au-Change, come into Roman history; their foundations were solid. In the 12th century Louis the Fat established the gold-smiths and money-changers upon the Grand Pont, in their own houses. It may have been to guard them until such time as he should need their financial help. But that bridge went down ten times in the 13th century, houses, money-lenders, and all. In 1304 they were allowed to move, but many of them stayed on, and the history of Paris, as told in certain archives, gives the account of the fire on the night of October 21st, 1621, when the servant of Monsieur Goslard let her lighted candle fall into some shavings. Within three hours, the bridge and its one hundred and forty perfectly good houses were consumed. The gable of the Clock Tower on the Left Bank, together with a smaller foot-bridge and other houses, were also burned. The bell in that tower had called all the able-bodied men of Paris to the aid of the fire-fighters. And they, together with the bridge-dwellers, pulled and hauled all that they could to shore and stored the most valuable objects in the nearest church, St Germain-l’Auxerrois. Two days later a law was passed by the City Fathers that all the lean-tos and shacks which might endanger, another time, the Châtelet on the one bank and the Palace on the other, must be torn down. For a year divers were kept at work trying to salvage what was at the bottom of the river. All that they brought up was taken to the Hôtel Commun, as they called the City Hall, to be inventoried and await their claimants. Money was appropriated from the town funds for the sup-port of the fire victims, who were allowed to live in the Hôpital St Louis. The bridge was not rebuilt until 1639. And the one you see, still called “Exchange Bridge,” was last rebuilt in 1859. It was then that they discovered the foundations of the Roman bridge. The “N” stands for Napoleon III who rebuilt it. There is not a bridge, old or new, about which a volume could not be written. The Pont Notre-Dame, as I have said, was the first part of Paris to have its houses numbered (1436) ; it was built in 1412. At times its houses went up in flames, too, and it lived an adventurous life over a river given to floods. The Petit Pont was built in 1185 by Philip Augustus; and the last time it was rebuilt was in 1853; while the Pont Neuf is the oldest Paris bridge in its present form, having been finished in 1603. It crosses the Seine at its widest point within city limits : eight hundred and sixty-three feet. It was close by on the quay that the first book-stalls were started, some of them even on the bridge itself. Pont Royal, with its five stone arches and its sturdy strength, was built by Louis XIV and is the quaintest of all. And one of the most used. The Pont du Carrousel is threatened. Yet it is still strong and full of interest as the first cast-iron bridge in Paris, a daring exploit of engineering in 1835. For five years the builder, Polonceau, watched it to see if it were going to stand the strain. When he was quite reassured he wrote a book for other bridge builders, giving his solutions of the problems involved; that book is interesting reading even for the layman. The Concorde bridge is one hundred and five feet wide (the sidewalks twenty-one feet, and the roadway sixty-three feet). The work of rebuilding that recently cost over twelve million francs, the expense being shared by the city, the Department of the Seine, and the State. It leads directly to the Chamber of Deputies, from the Place de la Concorde; it holds a strategic position. Perhaps it is be-cause the stones in its parapets are those which were taken from the Bastille by the people of Paris that it continues to play its rôle in civil disturbances, as on Feb. 6, 1934. Yet it was not built until 1790. Its builder was Perronet, who has his statue in Neuilly, where he built an even handsomer bridge over the Seine. The names of the bridges bristle with associations: the Pont de l’Alma was built to honor the victory in the Crimean war. The Pont Alexandre III had its first stone laid by the Czar of all the Russias in 1896. The Pont d’Iéna cost two million, six hundred thousand pre-war francs and commemorates a victory of Napoleon in 1806; it was being enlarged when the last war broke, just as the Pont des Invalides was being rebuilt before the war of 1870. And the Concorde has just been rebuilt how long before the next war? The Pont de Grenelle was built in 1825, and for forty-seven years tolls were taken on it to pay for it. The Pont de Mirabeau honors a man too often disregarded; Mira-beau, one of the great statesmen of the world. The City limits are marked by two viaducts, the Pont National and the Pont d’Auteuil. The Pont de Passy, another viaduct, carries the Métro over the river. And these are not all. Oh, London is a man’s town, there’s power in the air; And Paris is a woman’s town, with flowers in her hair; And it’s sweet to dream in Venice, and it’s great to study Rome; But when it comes to living, there is no place like home. Paris Facts Since 508 A.D, Paris is the capital of France, the largest country of Western Europe with 550 000 km2 (the second in population with 65 millions inhabitants). Copyright © 2013 YodelOut · Log in

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/463

The Sage talks about the past The Sage is such an enthusiast. He has been reminiscing, rather beyond my capacity, I must confess. I don't have a bad memory, but to remember when something happened, it's best if there's something to hang it on, as it were. For example, I know exactly when Miss Fitt died, because it was the year that Ro was born (she was thrilled to be able to hold and cuddle him, she loved children) and she lived to 101 years and 6 months, to the day. Since I remember her birthday and how old Ro is, I can work it out. But then he was asking me other dates and I have only a vague idea. He started to talk about Mrs Dare, Miss Fitt's blind sister. He spoke of her with such warmth that I was puzzled. "Did you meet her?' "Oh yes," he said, "I remember her well." Since I don't, not very well, and he could only possibly know the family through us, I was more puzzled, and pondered for a while. I finally pointed out that she died well before he moved to Lowestoft, when I was still a child. He tried to argue for a bit, but I had my facts marshalled by then, and so he had to agree that he never actually knew her at all. He and I met when I was 16, in early February 1970 (I'm afraid I cannot give you the exact date in this instance). "I heard all about her," he protested. "I feel as if I knew her." He does that, you know, and I've so often seen the look of bewilderment on someone's face when he talks about someone as though about a friend, and it turns out to be someone who lived at least 80 years ago. Most people are far too polite to challenge him, even when he starts to ask if they knew him or her too? It's very amusing to watch, though it drives me nuts when he does it to me. I am boringly precise about verifiable details and uninterested in speculating on ones that cannot be checked, and he is rather the opposite. Weeza can hardly bear to watch us when we have that sort of conversation, though the boys find it quite entertaining. I must admit I can talk rather more authoritatively about historical events than I can speak of modern popular culture. Deliciously funny, thank you! Rejoice that he can remember anything - even if he misremembers:) It's not so much that he misremembers, just that he enters over-keenly into the spirit of things. He isn't actually getting worse - well, possibly - I think it's just that now he's not busy with Alex's shop but he still has as much energy as ever. It's over-enthusiasm, is all.The Sage is also very interesting when speaking with authority, Dave. However, on this occasion it was supposed to be a conversation.It's a laugh a minute, being married to the Sage, Chris. We all know a few endearing Miss Fitts. Why do I know Lowestoft? Uggeshall...crikey, I'm getting old. Don't read if you're feeling sad already Brooding and ruminating Bid for Fivedom Z and the Sage dance Pulling teeth and drawing blood Sweeping clean An old broom Socially whirling FHB Dove dive Rambling Zos Pictures of Z!!(!) Z paces the floor and worries To London, and home again Z doesn't look an idiot (or at much else) Z totters Z gets out the recipe books Common did or mean SchoolgaZing Let them eat lettuce Last night,,, Bookworming Hoofloose

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/476

The World Of Poets and Muses So much of what we do as songwriters is driven by love and the intense feelings it brings. Love can turn any of us into a muse-inspired poet. Even when I’m pulling apart songs to see what makes them tick, I never lose touch with the feelings that drove the writer in the beginning. That’s why I believe that all of us can write songs and poetry…and we should! I use the word “poet” in a wider sense, meaning someone who has the soul of a poet. You have a poet’s soul… if you look for the truth behind reality. if you are never satisfied with easy explanations. if you recognize that your path is yours to walk alone. You have a poet’s soul… if you notice things that others do not. if you understand the meaning of dreams. if you seek the real sounds behind words. if you fall deeply in love… so deep that you need to find new ways to express it. If you have a poet’s soul, you know it. What is a muse? Many songs (including my own) are about the relationship between the poet and the muse, those luminous, unobtainable beings that inspire unquenchable yearning. In a society obsessed with acquiring material goods, with having the latest, owning the largest, we don’t give much thought to muses. After all, you can never possess the muse. Of what use, then, could it possibly be in our society? Most people think of the muse as an elegant figure in flowing robes frozen on some Grecian urn, the exclusive property of painters and writers of long ago. Robert Graves, the British poet and novelist, equates the muse with the White Goddess or Triple Goddess of the ancient Celts: she who wields the power of life and death, inspiring awe and fear, love and lust in everyone with eyes to see her. But most people, I think, have seen her without realizing who she was. In his book The White Goddess, Robert Graves is very specific in his description of the muse: “The muse is a lovely, slender woman with a deathly pale face, lips red as rowan-berries, startlingly blue eyes and long fair hair…” But this portrait is far too limited. Every poet finds his or her own muse – the irresistible figure that draws the artist toward the light of creativity. The Pre-Raphaelite painters sought out this idealized representation of the muse in realwomen and painted them again and again. Keats described a fatal encounter with her in his poem “La Belle Dame Sans Merci.” The legend of King Arthur celebrates her multiple faces in the figures of Guinevere and Morgan Le Fey. The experience of the muse is universal; you will find references to her in the poetry and songs of all languages. In India her hair is black, in Africa her skin is dark. The muse is not always female, either. There are poems, paintings, songs, and novels inspired by male muses, too. The beloved “other” Perhaps the best way to describe an encounter with the muse is this: somewhere in your past there is a person who comes back to you in dreams. Maybe you barely knew them, perhaps it was only a brief encounter but you have never forgotten the face, the moment, the sudden sense of recognition. The image of this person is surrounded with a special quality of light – a luminous glow that is not present in other memories. There is something magical and transformative about it. This is the face of the muse. The image lives on in your memory, evoking a sense of yearning and the desire to be worthy of this luminous being. The statement that truly reveals the presence of a muse is: “Everything I did, I did for you.” Many people keep a memory like this but don’t recognize its importance. It usually happens when we are young, eighteen or nineteen, and we try to dismiss it as “just a crush.” Maybe it makes us feel safer if we can turn it into something trivial and mundane, but the dreamlike image that remains imprinted in the mind and heart is anything but trivial. Poets, songwriters, painters, artists of all kinds recognize it for what it is: a way in, a doorway into the deep underground of the psyche. It may happen more than once – Picasso had several muses – but for many it is a unique and singularly memorable experience, one that can transform a life. Why is this meeting so profound? Why does it leave such a lasting and vivid impression? What’s going on here? Well, if you were paying attention at the moment you met your muse, you might have felt something fly out of you and into them – I can’t describe it any other way – it’s that piece of you that Jung calls the ‘anima’ in a man, ‘animus’ in a woman. In an instant, you projected an essential, core part of your psyche onto another. What you are seeing when you look at them is the reflection of your own poet-soul. It is frighteningly beautiful, awesome and silent. You want desperately to speak to it but ordinary speech seems inadequate. The only language you can think of to use is poetry which is the true language of the soul. This is what makes muses so extraordinarily desirable, the urge to unite with them so irresistible. The muse is a part of your Self, your own soul you are seeing reflected in the Other. That which has been separated yearns to be reunited… but there’s a catch. Like a mirage, the image of the muse dissolves as you approach. This is the terrible paradox of the muse: the poet can look, yearn, reach for, worship but never actually possess it. Why? Because nothing destroys the elusive beauty of a muse faster than the harsh light of day-to-day familiarity. The poet who actually lives with the person who is his muse will soon discover he has a companion, a friend, a lover, but he has lost his radiant source of inspiration. The muse has become a real person and is no longer a shimmering reflection of a soul. The theme of the muse has haunted me for many years. It’s something I’ve experienced and watched others I’m close to go through. Expressing that in a song, a poem, or a painting, is what artists do. Here’s one of mine. Feel free to listen as you read on. Back in the 12th century, the troubadours found a way around this problem; they simply fell in love with someone who was unobtainable. Their muses were married women of high birth, far beyond the reach of a mere jongleur. Because she was always seen from afar, the lady could embody all the goddess-like qualities the troubadour imagined her to have. They even had a name for it: l’amor de lonh or “distant love.” The troubadours wrote exquisite songs extolling the virtues of their remote muses, begging for their favors, vowing to die if love went unrequited. But, of course, they knew the lady never could and never would fulfill their desires. She would remain eternally out of reach. The ghostly muse Perhaps the most famous unobtainable muse was Dante’s Beatrice. She made her debut as the personification of pure love and keeper of the Gates of Heaven in Dante’s epic poem, The Divine Comedy. What many people don’t realize is that Dante never met Beatrice or, if he did, they exchanged no more than a few words. He claims to have first seen her when they were both nine years old and knew immediately that he was destined to love her always. Beatrice was married off at eighteen to a man chosen for her by her parents; she probably died at about the age of twenty. But Dante preserved an image of her in his mind long after she was gone, an image that inspired him to create one of the greatest poems ever written. Dante’s idealized Beatrice was a magnificent reflection of his own poet-soul, a shimmering, angelic beacon. (I do sometimes wonder what Dante’s wife might have thought of all this.) The ancient Celts of Britain, as Robert Graves points out in The White Goddess, seem to have had an especially powerful affinity for this unearthly, dream-like muse. Many haunting celtic ballads describe a lover who appears in the night, surrounded by a halo of light, and departs with the dawn. A beautiful example is the traditional folk song, “Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair.” Its mournful melody and yearning lyrics describe a lover who is both real and unreal, someone with whom the singer longs to be united but never will be, someone shining with an radiant beauty. I recorded this song for my album Blue Flame and tried to capture a little of the power this figure wields – a true folk image of a muse. The muse survives Lately there has been speculation that the muse is dead. “The concept of the muse is part of the Romantic tradition and this is just not a romantic age,” says UCLA professor David Halle in an article in the Los Angeles Times, “Evolution Of The Muse.” Supposedly it all has to do with the equality of the sexes and the frankness of lovers nowadays. But the muse will never die as long as there are people who see the best and most beautiful part of themselves reflected in the face of another. Romantic (and unromantic) ages come and go but the muse has been with us since long before the Greeks were painting vases. Ever since the first human fell madly in love, we’ve been chasing our muses and offering up our best achievements in an effort to entice the elusive dream to come a little closer. ‘Everything I did, I did for you.’ The muse inspires not just artists, but scientists, philosophers, teachers, anyone who aspires to achieve something that is beyond their reach. And because of our longing for the muse, we become more, better… deeper, wider. Whatever you do in life, if you have a poet’s soul, embrace your muse. Reach for it, reach beyond yourself, write with the knowledge that the beauty you see is not separate from you but a part of you, maybe the best part. Robin Frederick P.S. Here’s one last lesson I learned from my muse. Be sure you share with others what you have learned from yours. May your songs and stories and paintings and dances flow on. ©2002 Robin Frederick Request permission to reprint. Robin Frederick is a professional songwriter, music producer and recording artist. She is a former Director of A&R for Rhino Records , Executive Producer of 60 albums, and the author of “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting” and Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV.” Share the love:FacebookTwitterGoogle SONGWRITING BOOKS GET FREE SONGWRITING TIPS. JOIN MY EMAIL LIST!(Email addresses are private.)

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/495

Dworkin, Kant and Humbug [Previous entries: Dworkin's nonsense on stilts; Letter to the Guardian; Dworkin nonsense; Not Dworkin to me] [His name is a boon for headline writers] Two months ago, I started trying to wring a correction out of the Guardian, after one of their occasional columnists, Ronald Dworkin, claimed that Jeremy Bentham had viewed the 'whole idea of human rights' as "nonsense upon stilts". (Dworkin is the Bentham professor of jurisprudence at UCL.) For weeks, the Corrections office blanked me. Last week I tried again, this time threatening Ian Mayes that, if I still got no reply, I'd write to the editor, the external ombudsman, the Scott trustees and UCL. Two days later, Mayes' assistant wrote back to me with Dworkin's reply. Dworkin wrote thus:I said that Bentham condemned human rights as nonsense on stilts because I was criticizing Simon Jenkins in the Sunday Times who said, "Bentham was correct. There are no fundamental human rights. The concept, said the great utilitarian, is 'nonsense on stilts'." Your reader objects, to me and therefore to Jenkins, that Bentham spoke of natural rights not human rights. But your reader is making the mistake of conflating words and ideas. Both phrases refer to the same idea. He is guilty of another confusion in saying that human rights did not exist when Bentham wrote. He must mean that the term "human rights" was not in general use then, which is a different matter. If human rights exist now, they have existed for as long as there have been human beings, or at least human beings in political society. He makes a different claim about utilitarianism. Whether human rights exist or not is a matter of the ontology of value not value-free ontology. If Bentham's utilitarianism is correct then there cannot be rights and, as he said, particularly not natural or human rights. If Bentham's utilitarianism is wrong, his "nonsense" claim must be wrong, for reasons Kant pointed out. Under the fold, I've included the full text of my reply to Dworkin. It was a poor reply, which missed the mark. I tried to answer each of the points he raised, but It was the wrong strategy, and the Guardian found in his favour. But this was my response to his last sentence, in which he had cited Kant.If Bentham's utilitarianism is wrong, his "nonsense" claim must be wrong, for reasons Kant pointed out. Would Professor Dworkin please provide a citation for this? When I first read this sentence, it seemed decisively impressive. But then I remembered that Bentham's Anarchical Fallacies, wherein he wrote of inalienable rights as 'nonsense upon stilts', was not, to my limited knowledge, published until around the year of his death, 1832. And Immanuel Kant died in 1804. So, how could Kant have pointed out the falsity of Bentham's 'nonsense' claim? This would therefore appear to be another of RD's anachronistic attributions, but I'd appreciate a citation if one exists. (And if RD is in touch with a medium who's in contact with dead philosophers who will share their thoughts on things post their mortem, could you ask him to ask the medium to ask Thomas Hobbes what he thinks of the United States, especially from its civil war to the present day - thanks.) I doubt I'll hear back from Dworkin, so if anyone reading this knows their Kant or Bentham, could you please tell me where Kant addressed Bentham's utilitarianism and natural rights? Is Dworkin right, or is he making it up as he goes along, trying to sound impressive but, like the rest of us, full of **it? Mayes' assistant wrote back the next day.Your questions and comments deal with matters of opinion and interpretation which are outside the remit of the Readers' editor. We have passed Professor Dworkin's reply to you, and although we cannot speak for him, he is unlikely to want to continue the debate. May I suggest you send a short, and as succinct as possible (300 words), letter for publication for consideration by the Letters editor (letters@guardian.co.uk). Otherwise, there is nothing to stop you writing to Professor Dworkin at University College London. I'm sorry we cannot help further best wishes Helen That reply left me livid, partly because it signalled my failure. I've lost much confidence in the Guardian reader's editor as a neutral arbiter. I might try emailing Dworkin to see if I can get the Kant citation off him. Whatever, this episode has left me unsatisfied. Continue reading "Dworkin, Kant and Humbug" » 2006.07.31 at 10:53 | Permalink Not Dworkin to me I'm disappointed to report that I've heard nothing back from Ian Mayes, the readers' editor of the Guardian. I have to assume that Professor Ronald Dworkin is unhappy about my complaint. Fair enough, though I'm not impressed by his lack of willingness to either correct me or correct himself; that doesn't seem scholarly to me. But I also suspect there's resistance within the Guardian itself to having the eminent professor eat his words. I wouldn't be surprised if there weren't a couple of his ex-Oxford students among the paper's senior staff - perhaps they interpret my complaint as an attack on Dworkin's philosophy and reputation and, by extension, on their own beliefs about the world, so that it becomes an attack on them as well. On that, they may have me bang to rights. Here again are the offending sentences:Simon Jenkins, in the Sunday Times, recently declared his enthusiasm for the 18th-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham who said that all that matters is the greatest happiness of the greatest number, and that the whole idea of human rights is therefore "nonsense upon stilts". But Europe, led by Britain, rejected Bentham's utilitarianism after the second world war when it established the European human rights convention.It was the first sentence I complained about (see previous posts). But the second one wasn't much better. For instance, did Britain reject utilitarianisn after WW2? No, I'd say, on the contrary; the NHS and welfare state owe some of their DNA to Bentham. And consider David Cameron's recent speech on increasing society's happiness-quotient by replacing GDP with GWB (general well-being). Or Polly Toynbee's article today on the LSE academic Richard Layard, whom she calls "a great man and a serious economic thinker", about the politics of happiness. (It's amazing that Bentham isn't mentioned once in it, nor in Cameron's happiness-speech.) Back to Dworkin's second sentence. He's implying that, as Britain rejected utilitarianism long ago, Bentham's critique of rights isn't worth considering. He's saying, in effect, move along, folks, nothing to see here. Some years ago I bought a secondhand copy of Dworkin's Taking Rights Seriously. (I'm not a student of legal philosophy but it had good reviews on the back and I have a critical interest in Americanist ideology.) It seemed to me that, in order to take rights seriously, one must first examine their foundations, to find out how sound they are. To do that, one has to take seriously critiques of inalienable rights, including Bentham's. And, to me, Dworkin failed to do that. So I didn't take his book seriously. And I've since discovered that other, better qualified than I, people have noticed that Dworkin does not fairly present the views of his philosphical opponents. For example, Brian Leiter, of the Leiter Reports group blog, has written critically of Dworkin for some years [here]. He writes of "the exasperation so many of us feel at [Dworkin's] inability to engage honestly with his opponents." What Professor Dworkin didn't understand when he agreed to write for the Guardian was that the paper's editorial policy demanded a higher standard of accuracy than he was used to in the academic world. Dworkin nonsense I'm not sure why but I'm still trying to get the Guardian to publish a correction about Jeremy Bentham. (For previous entries, see here and here.) Soon after sending the last email, I got a reply from Ian Mayes to say he'd been away, didn't know why it hadn't been dealt with, and he'd chase it up. I wrote back:On reflection, while I still stand by the second point, conventional wisdom has it that everything Bentham thought, wrote and said was predicated on the 'greatest happiness principle' (even when the evidence, such as the 'nonsense on stilts' essay, suggests otherwise). So Dworkin will reject that criticism, and I am willing to let it go. The first point, however, is more clear-cut, and I'd be surprised if he disputed it. If he does, please allow me a reponse. Then, I'd leave it up to you, or to whomever, to adjudicate.That was ten days ago. Since then, nothing. So this morning I gave it another go.I'm still waiting for Ronald Dworkin's misstatement about Jeremy Bentham to be corrected. Why the delay? Bentham did not say that the whole idea of 'human rights' was nonsense upon stilts. 'Natural rights' and 'human rights' are related but the terms refer to different ideas. The latter is normally understood to mean the regime of rights codified in the Universal Declaration of HR and its successors, including the European Convention. Throughout his column, Dworkin was using 'human rights' in this modern sense. As Bentham died in 1832, it's not right to say he had a view on 'human rights'. I'd appreciate a reply before too long.The plaintive 'before too long' indicates that I'm losing the will to live over this. Letter to the Guardian II In lieu of having anything interesting to say, here's the latest installment of my attempt to get a correction (of Dworkin on Bentham on rights) printed in the Guardian. I got no reply to my original email, so re-sent it today with the following message:Dear Readers' Editor I sent the email below eight days ago, and am re-sending it, in case it was not seen, as I've heard nothing back nor seen any correction published. I still think the two issues I raised are valid. Assuming that my email was read: had the writer been one of your journalists, I'm thinking that a correction/clarification might have appeared by now. Which is to say, not having heard from you, I suspect that the writer being the Bentham professor at UCL might have complicated the matter. If so, that would be understandable, but surely it would make the need for a correction, of some sort, even greater (as readers might reasonably expect an accurate representation of Bentham's thought from someone writing in the Guardian as the Bentham professor of law)? I'm looking forward to a reply, to which I claim an inalienable right. (In it, please don't tell me I was the only one to raise this issue. Please tell me I was just one of many readers who contacted you.) Yours,I'm sort of enjoying this, except for the lack of a response. If I still get no reply, then it's on to the ombudsman! And I'm tempted to contact the Dean of Laws at UCL - because, by awarding Ronald Dworkin the Bentham professorship, its most prestigious Chair, UCL has betrayed its own "spiritual father". 2006.06.04 at 21:40 | Permalink Letter to the Guardian As anticipated yesterday, I emailed the Guardian today about Dworkin on Bentham on rights. Dear Guardian Ronald Dworkin's most recent column, on Wednesday, May 24, contained two errors that have not yet been corrected, but which should not be left to stand. He wrote: [T]he 18th-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham [..] said that all that matters is the greatest happiness of the greatest number, and that the whole idea of human rights is therefore "nonsense upon stilts". The final phrase contains both problems. First, Bentham's critique was of late-18th-century natural rights, not mid-20th-century human rights as set out in the UDHR in the 1940s. Although the two are conceptually and historically linked, they are nevertheless distinct. So Bentham did not criticise human rights as 'nonsense on stilts', as they did not yet exist. Second, Dworkin's use of the word 'therefore' is wrong. Bentham's Critique of the Doctrine of Inalienable, Natural Rights is not dependent upon his 'greatest happiness' principle. It's not a utilitarian argument against natural rights (whatever that might be); it's simply a rather entertaining and insightful philosophical rant against the ideology of natural rights. It stands (or falls) alone from utilitarianism. I am aware of the irony, if that's the word, of Dworkin being Bentham professor of jurisprudence, UCL. I am looking forward to seeing his errors being corrected in next week's Guardian. Yours sincerely, We'll see... Dworkin's nonsense on stilts Renowned legal theorist Ronald Dworkin (© Dan Brown) writes an occasional column for the Guardian. His renown in my household (ie with me and the cat) comes from his irrational hostility to Jeremy Bentham's body of work. That this man is now the Bentham professor of jurisprudence at University College, London, is an affront to British intellectual history. Bentham would be a-spinning in his grave, were it not that his corpse was preserved, and is mounted, in a glass case in the self-same college, UCL, where Dworkin now professes to teach. The issue here is Bentham's critique of natural rights as 'nonsense on stilts'. Bentham was spot on, of course, but such an insight can be existentially threatening to American minds, such as Dworkin's, whose republic was founded on the belief that human beings possess innate rights; it's a central tenet of the Americanist civil religion.We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.Self-evidently, Jefferson was delusional - all humans are created unequally and they possess no rights other than those their society gives them. But Americans are indoctrinated from birth to believe otherwise, and Americanist missionaries, such as Dworkin, are determined that the rest of us believe as they do. Dworkin's most recent missive was, predictably, a defence of the UK's human rights legislation. He ended with a dig at Simon Jenkins, who'd written a piece on human rights that had started promisingly but had ended in a confused heap. Dworkin wrote:Simon Jenkins, in the Sunday Times, recently declared his enthusiasm for the 18th-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham who said that all that matters is the greatest happiness of the greatest number, and that the whole idea of human rights is therefore "nonsense upon stilts". But Europe, led by Britain, rejected Bentham's utilitarianism after the second world war when it established the European human rights convention.This is dishonest, deceptive nonsense, especially the word 'therefore'. Jenkins was not, as Dworkin implies, extolling the 'greatest happiness' principle. Further, the 18th-century concept of natural rights, and the mid-20th-century notion of human rights, are different, so Bentham had no opinion on 'human rights', as they had not yet been formulated. (The two are linked, historically and conceptually, but they are distinct.) Also, Bentham's Critique of the Doctrine of Inalienable, Natural Rights is not dependent at all on his 'greatest happiness principle' - that Bentham was wrong about utilitarianism is irrelevant to the validity or otherwise of his polemic against the ideology of inalienable rights. A Bentham professor of jurisprudence who misrepresents Bentham for political purposes - what was UCL thinking? It's been three days since the Guardian published Dworkin's column, and each day I've read the Corrections and Clarifications column waiting for the correction to appear. If it doesn't appear tomorrow, I'll email them. But whom are they more likely to believe on Bentham, me or the eponymous professor?

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/547

A man’s written memories of being a father to two boys Carol Wright By A Contributor You have viewed 1 of 10 this month. Want uninterrupted access to TheMercury.com on your computer, smartphone and tablet? We have many subscription options to fit your needs. See my options Dave Meurer says he is “just a dad.” Now, people who haven’t had the chance to read his books might think he’s dismissing his role of fatherhood, waving his hand in the air as if it’s just routine, like another day at the office, mowing the lawn, taking out the trash and other manly duties. But doesn’t his description of himself remind some women of how they used to or still might casually introduce themselves to a group of strangers at a party: “Oh, silly me, I’m just a housewife and mother of five kids. That’s all.” Meurer turns the world of fatherhood upside-down in “Boys Will Be Joys,” with splendid true stories (mostly) and a wonderful sense of humor (well, he thinks he’s funny, and it turns out he really is one heck of a humorist) about raising his boys, Mark and Brad. From babyhood, the toddler and teen years, to college and manhood, Meurer spills the beans with much gusto. He even lets his wife, Dale, write a chapter. (His book contains 29 chapters.) Wow! What a guy! (Actually, it was blackmail from his publisher, that if Meurer didn’t feature a chapter from his wife his book would not be published.) “Boys Will Be Joys” is Meurer’s second book. His first, “The Hair-Raising Joys of Raising Boys,” received some general, outstandingreviews from men and women alike. Once readers check him out, they will likely discover that Meurer is a devoted husband, who tries his darnedest to be fair to his boys, although the boys often disagree with their dad’s definition of “fair,” but will often inform him that what he enforces is “not fair.” Then there will be much pouting, double-talk…you get the idea. Sometimes it’s dad’s turn to pout and be quick to anger. But, being the optimistic Christian that he is, he knows there is a time to apologize, a time to admit he had been wrong, a time to show his sons that they are special, a time to reprimand them, a time to forgive and ask for forgiveness, and a time to really listen and hear about their accomplishments, fears and hates. On a more serious note, Meurer offers an excellent piece on the hazards of hatred found in the chapter titled, “The Day Everything Changed,” in which he explored his personal feelings and the emotions from others during and after the 9/11 terrorist’s attacks. He had to face his own anger, and in doing so lost control temporarily by lashing out at those who shared a philosophy of “It was meant to be.” “It was the work of God.” “Why did God let this happen?” Meurer was and is to be commended for his honesty in telling friends and others that he was swept up in the 9/11 minutes and lost his temper. His sons learned a great deal about the heart of their father and hownoble it is to not judge others. The author gives other fathers a realistic representation of life in the Meurer household. To be in his sons’ lives meant and still means everything to him, from pretending to be “the mummy” and stalk his toddler boys at the playground, to accepting the fact that his boys have entered manhood. Being with his sons had been fun and crazy when they were little. He becomes sentimentally lost much later, seeing how his boys are no longer the kids he once chased at the playground, that they are grown men with their own lives to lead. Why is it hard or embarrassing to get down to the child’s level and play with them? Meurer noticed how the fathers who brought their children to the playground and sat on benches, as if they were in their own separate dimension or space, and not in the world of imagination. Some fathers were surprised to see how much fun Meurer and his boys were having. Even the other children came up to Meurer and wanted him to be “the mummy” and chase them, too. It seems so simple to understand, but who fully understands fatherhood in the first place? Here are just several things that Meurer has learned about himself and his role of friend, husband and father: 1. It is never easy, but it is so easy to love his wife and kids. 2. Bringing Mark and Brad home from the hospital after their birth was the best that life had to offer and also the worst. There’s nothing like having the babies spit up on daddy’s favorite shirt. There’s nothing like changing soiled diapers, preparing the little boys’ bottles and/or singing off-key to soothe the screaming tots at 10 p.m., midnight, 2 a.m., 4:30 a.m. and 6 a.m., when suddenly the sun bursts through the window and the alarm rings…it’s wakey-wakey! Time to get ready for work while daddy glances enviously at mommy sleeping…then he pouts: it’s just not fair. 3. Boys will be boys, and there are days and nights when he makes a wish for girls, but, thankfully, it’s only temporary. He’s stuck with the boys through thick and then, and that’s okay. 4.He adores watching his sons grow, learning “do unto others,” to be kind and respectful. He is proud of their progress in high school and college. He also says it’s okay to joke around and laugh. There’s just not enough laughter in many households. But, do not overdo the jokes. 5. He hates watching his sons enter manhood. He turns into a sniffling, sentimental ‘ole fool because his boys are men and will one day leave home. While he knows they can always come home on holidays or to visit—that they will always be welcome—he also knows the emptiness she will feel knowing they are gone. Meurer never claims to be an expert at fatherhood. There are “wwaaayyy” too many parenting guide books around for that, enough to make any father and mother spin in circles. Meurer is only stating a fact: “I am just a dad.” And that suits him just fine. Carol Wright is a freelance writer and resides in Winfield.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/682

BiographyI was born in South Haven, Michigan, grew up in Evanston, Illinois, and now live in Chicago with frequent visits to London. I am married to the artist and writer Eddie Campbell. I began making prints in 1978 under the tutelage of William Wimmer. I trained as a visual artist at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and received my MFA from Northwestern University’s Department of Art Theory and Practice in 1991. I have exhibited my artist’s books, prints, paintings, drawings and comics at Printworks Gallery in Chicago since 1987. In 2013, a major mid-career retrospective of my prints, paintings and artist’s bookworks opened at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC.My first books were printed and bound by hand in editions of ten. Two of these have since been commercially published by Harry N. Abrams: The Adventuress and The Three Incestuous Sisters.In 1997 I had an idea for a book about a time traveler and his wife. I originally imagined making it as a graphic novel, but eventually realized that it is very difficult to represent sudden time shifts with still images. I began to work on the project as a novel, and published The Time Traveler’s Wife in 2003 with the independent publisher MacAdam/Cage. It was an international best seller, and has been made into a movie.In 1994 a group of book artists, papermakers and designers came together to found a new book arts center, the Columbia College Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts. I was part of this group and taught book arts for many years as an Associate Professor in Columbia College’s MFA program in Interdisciplinary Book and Paper Arts. Until May, 2015 I was a Professor on the faculty of the Columbia College Creative Writing Department. I’ve also taught for the Newberry Library, Penland School of Craft, Haystack, the University of Illinois at Chicago and other institutions of higher learning. I am currently on hiatus from teaching in order to get my own work done.My second novel, Her Fearful Symmetry, was published in 2009 by Scribner (USA), Jonathan Cape (UK) and many other fine publishers around the world.In 2008 I made a serialized graphic novel for the London Guardian, The Night Bookmobile, which was published in book form in September, 2010. In 2013, the illustrated novella, Raven Girl, was published in conjunction with the Royal Opera House Ballet production of Raven Girl, which was choreographed by Wayne McGregor. Raven Girl returned to the main stage at Covent Garden in October 2015.Currently, I am working on a sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife. The working title is The Other Husband. I am also continuing to work on The Chinchilla Girl in Exile. Eddie Campbell and I are at work on a collection of comics adaptations of some of my short stories. Back to Top

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/733

Get Georgette Heyer from Amazon.com Georgette Heyer Biography This Biography consists of approximately 7 pages of information about the life of Georgette Heyer. Dictionary of Literary Biography on Georgette Heyer The author of nearly sixty volumes, Georgette Heyer is primarily known today as the originator and most prolific practitioner of the "Regency" historical romance. Ellen Pall, who writes Regency novels under the pseudonym Fiona Hill, defines the genre as consisting of novels that "take place in the better drawing rooms of England and are written in a dense, slang-ridden version of the diction of their period, the years from 1811 to 1820 when the Prince Regent, the future George IV, reigned in place of his mad father--the eponymous Regency." Heyer's Regency novels are notable for her extraordinary attention to historical detail, including the style of her characters' dress and their use of language--elements of her fiction that reveal her affinity for the works of Jane Austen. Heyer's concern for such issues of characterization and period is underscored by the voluminous notebooks she left behind at her death in 1974, which include... More summaries and resources for teaching or studying Georgette Heyer. Georgette Heyer from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/736

Bukowski's First Appearance In Print, 1944 A wonderful association copy of the scarce March-April 1944 issue of Story, featuring the first published work by Charles Bukowski - at the time only twenty-four years old - is being offered by PBA Galleries in its Beats, Counterculture & Avant Garde - Literature - Science Fiction. Collection of Richard Synchef sale, October 10, 2013. It is estimated to sell for $2,500-$3,500. Bukowski's contribution, Aftermath of a Lengthy Rejection Slip, was composed just two years after he had begun to write, and was inspired by a note from Story publisher-editor Whit Burnett regarding a recent submission: Dear Mr. Bukowski:Again, this is a conglomeration of extremely good stuff and other stuff so full of idolized prostitutes, morning-after vomiting scenes, misanthropy, praise for suicide etc. that it is not quite for a magazine of any circulation at all. This is, however, pretty much the saga of a certain type of person and in it I think you've done an honest job. Possibly we will print you sometime but I don't know exactly when. That depends on you.Sincerely yours,Whit Burnett In Factotum (1975), Bukowski described his experience with this first publication, calling Whit Burnett "Clay Gladmore": "Gladmore returned many of my things with personal rejections. True, most of them weren't very long but they did seem kind and they were very encouraging...So I kept him busy with four or five stories a week." Bukowski later recalled the circumstances of the short story's publication in an interview just shortly before he died: "I can remember my first major publication, a short story in Whit Burnett's and Martha Foley's Story magazine, 1944. I had been sending them a couple of short stories a week for maybe a year and a half. The story they finally accepted was mild in comparison to the others. I mean in terms of content and style and gamble and exploration and all that." But Bukowski was not happy when Burnett finally published him. Aftermath of a Lengthy Rejection Slip had been buried in the End Pages section of the magazine as, Bukowski felt, a curiosity rather than a serious piece of writing. The cover's tag line - "Author to editor with everybody discomfited" - didn't help. Bukowski felt discounted and humiliated; he never submitted anything to Story again. In that same interview, he noted that in the aftermath of Aftermath... "I didn't feel that the publishers were ready and that although I was ready, I could be readier and I was also disgusted with what I read as accepted front-line literature. So I drank and became one of the best drinkers anywhere, which takes some talent also." "Charles Bukowski was born in Andernach, Germany, 1920. His father was California-born of Polish parentage, and served with the American Army of Occupation in the Rhineland where he met the author's mother. He was brought to America at the age of two. He attended Los Angeles City College for a couple of years and in the two and one half years since then he has been a clerk in the postoffice, a stockroom boy for Sears Roebuck, a truck-loader nights in a bakery. He is now working as a package-wrapper and box-filler in the cellar of a ladies' sportswear shop" (Bio in Story). Laid in to this copy of Story is a postcard from Christa Malone, daughter of Wormword Review publisher Marvin Malone, stating that this copy belonged to her father. Bukowski was the most frequent contributor to the Wormwood Review, with works appearing in more than ninety issues. It's a strong association. Story was founded in 1931 by Whit Burnett and his first wife, Martha Foley, in Vienna, Austria. A showcase for short stories by new writers, two years later Story moved to New York City where Burnett and Foley created The Story Press in 1936. By the late 1930s, the magazine's circulation had climbed to a relatively astounding 21,000 copies. In addition to Bukowski, Burnett and Foley published early stories by Erskine Caldwell, John Cheever, Junot Diaz, James T. Farrell, Joseph Heller, J. D. Salinger, Tennessee Williams and Richard Wright. Other authors in the pages of Story included Ludwig Bemelmans, Carson McCullers and William Saroyan. In 1942, Burnett's second wife, Hallie Southgate Burnett, began collaborating with him and Story published the early work of Truman Capote, John Knowles and Norman Mailer. Story folded in 1967 secondary to lint in its bank account but its roster of authors established and has maintained its reputation as one of the great American literary journals. After finishing Bulowski's Aftermath of a Lengthy Rejection Slip, readers of Story could take advantage of a fabulous offer advertised by the Book-Of-The-Month-Club. New subscribers to the BOTMC were offered a free copy of My Friend Flicka (1941) and its sequel (1943). Those familiar with the novel will note its thematic similarities to the work of Bukowski. My Friend Flicka is the story of a horse and the boy that loved him, and "Flicka," as we all know, is Swedish for "little girl." Flicka was quite the filly, and Bukowski had a keen eye for fillies - at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park racetracks. And, yes, Roddy McDowall, who starred in the 1943 film adaptation (as the boy, not the horse), was a dead ringer for Charles Bukowski, though a bottle or three of whiskey may be necessary to appreciate their resemblance to each other. All images courtesy of PBA Galleries, with our thanks. __________ Bukowski: Lost Original Drawings Of A Dirty Old Man. Charles Bukowski, Artist. Charles Bukowski's Last, Unpublished Poem. Charles Bukowski Bonanza At Auction. Dirty Old Man Exposed At The Huntington Library. __________ __________ Auction News, Book Auction News, Marvin Malone, Modern Firsts, Will Burnett The Marquis De Sade Gripes To Mrs. Marquis De Sade... 19th C. Breast Cancer Lithograph Makes Surgery Loo... The Great White Endpapers $35K-$50K A Nation Of Political Fools, 1713 Edition Scarcer Than A Battleship In A Bathtub Mysterious Daguerreotype Of Brooklyn NYC c. 1850 E... Mark Twain On How To Announce Your Marriage Engage... Bad Afternoon of a Fawn: Bambi's Dark Secret Revea... Cleaning Up With William S. Burroughs And Mata Har... George Washington's Original Thanksgiving Proclama... William Faulkner, Screenwriter

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/924

Books > Art and Architecture > Contemporary Indian Architecture Contemporary Indian Architecture by Jagan ShahDescriptionFrom the Jacket The first book is its kind; Contemporary Indian Architecture showcases emerging and established talent in the field of Indian architecture during the last two decades. While the original masters of modern architecture in India do feature, this book devotes itself to the cutting-edge, unique and contemporary designs and monumental creations, ranging from residential and commercial to public spaces, which are putting Indian architects on the world map for architectural excellence. Jagan Shah is a professional architect and historian. He has been a visiting lecturer at the School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi, his alma mater, since 1998. he received formal training in History, Theory and Criticism at the University of Cincinnati and Columbia University. His writings have been published in leading journals in Indian and abroad and he is co-editor of Round, an annual journal of Asian writings on architecture. He is also chief executive of Urban Space Consultants, an urban planning think-tank based in New Delhi. Configuring The Present The present volume presents an affirmative answer to its originating question: is there a 'contemporary Indian architecture' that could claim some distinction in the busy world of styles and identities that clamour daily for our attention, that would warrant a place in the tomes of history that line our bookshelves? The book documents select works of twenty architects, most of whom are in their second decade of professional practice (only the beginning of the average architect's career) and have remained off the radar of world architecture, except for the few intermittent blips that are registered when someone happens to flip through an Indian architecture magazine. The contents are by no means definitive; rather, they present a snapshot of works that stand out from the panoply of contemporary architecture, suggesting new directions and reinforcing continuities that will inform the development of Indian architecture through the coming decades of the twenty-first century. The shortlist was fairly short to start with. Forty architects were invited in submit three personal favourites from their work and to suggest other architect who would merit inclusion. Finding the select twenty did indeed become a search for exceptions within exceptions. Relative to the overall size of the construction industry, there are shockingly few buildings in the country that are designed and supervised by a talented and skilled architectural practice and produced through due process. This situation is changing, but it seems fitting that 'the contemporary' should remain in conflict with the dominant order, for it is in this challenging conflict that we discern the sources of inspiration for the creative professional. We may all fancy the idea of walking out on the street one day and finding every building to be of enduring value, the Indian city transformed into a total work of art, but if such totalitarian visions were ever to come true, historians and critics would be forced to become spin doctors and purveyors of propaganda, and contemporary architects would be clones of a single master architect! It is fair to wonder if the contemporary in the title of this book refers to the proliferating multitude of drab utilitarian structures clad in glass and aluminium sheeting or the mediocre masquerades of world architecture, whose distinguishing feature is that they are prima donnas in a sea of ugliness. While it is of its time, there seems little in this architecture that could be described as Indian and connoisseurs might suggest that most of the specimens we see on our streets don't even qualify as architecture. Rather, 'contemporary architecture' seems to be distinguished only by the garish fantasies of consumer capitalism ousting the decaying functionalism of the socialist city; endless novelties with frills, features, accents devised to serve little more purpose than to maximize development, to evade compliance with regulations, to hide a flaw or satisfy whims. How, then, are the contents of this book different? It the 51 architectural works documented in this book-21 residences and 10 institutional, commercial, 4 housing, 3 recreation, 3 hospitality, 2 urban design, and 1 industrial-could speak for themselves, what would they say? Given that by use and by substance they are embedded in the vital matrix of civilization, all buildings reflect the places and times in which they are produced. We cherish the remains of ancient civilizations because they reveal how refined was the culture and profound the understanding of nature in times that did not enjoy the technologies and utilities of the present. This is as true of Mohenjo-daro and the Mayans as it is of nineteenth century London. We celebrate the Art Nouveau because it offered us ways of seeing what prefigured the photographic image that so dominates our worldview today. We marvel at the Italian renaissance because it laid may of the scientific and artistic foundation of the world we know; but if we had corresponding archives and artifacts, we might have said the same of the Chola kingdom in South India, except that the archetypal free-thinking individual, the very mainstay of our modernity, may appear to be more a legacy of Florence than Vijayanagar. The comparison would urge us to question our presumptions about modernity, about the veracity of history, and the inquiry would thereby vindicate the purpose of writing history, which is to understand ourselves better in the present. Thus, when we revel in the robustness and beauty of India's rural habitats because they still display, in vivid detail, continuity with lifestyles and philosophies that are fast disappearing, out pleasuring of history is all the sweeter because we are protected from the harsh realities that actually produced those small beauties. The original conditions of design and production impart to each work of architecture a unique character, an aura. But the aura of an older work is radically different from that of the contemporary. Whereas the former is illuminated by the accumulation of knowledge and insight that we command today, the latter carries the marks and impulses of the present, drawing greater attention to the architect's negotiation with current realities. On the past, we bring to bear the weight of history that has transpired since, whereas the present is judged by the traces of history that it carries into the future. Because the contemporary does not offer the luxury of perspective from the originating circumstances of the work, because the work and the person commenting on it are both embedded in the same present, the book conveys and author's predilection: to recover the primacy and relevance of modernism as a generating force in Indian architecture. It is fortunate that the collected material supports such a premise and it is amply evident that the best contemporary works maintain continuities with the rich traditions of theory and design that are collectively described as modern architecture. The First Moderns Through most of the twentieth century-in fact, until the reform of the Indian economy in 1991 and the liberalization of trade in materials, equipment and services-architects in India were forced to negotiate between he attractions of contemporary architectural theories from abroad and the limitations of the local building industry. In the 1950s the contrast between global standards and the state of the construction technology in India was so stark that it prompted the French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier (1887-1966), the most famous in a long tradition of foreign architects in India (who were imported by the Greeks, Emperor Ashoka, Turks, Mughals, Dutch, French and British rulers), to boast to his European friends that the construction of the grand monuments in Chandigarh has been executed using pack animals and… the joke was somewhat flat, given that British engineers half a century before him had built railways and settlements in the steepest Indian mountains using the same beasts of burden, laden with baskets or pulling wooden carts. Construction technology had seldom been a stumbling block for architects in India, who relied on inventive details and formal compositions to fashion a unique and appropriate aesthetic. Indeed, in addition to having sustained centuries of building activity on the Indian subcontinent, these seemingly primitive techniques were able to deliver both the reactionary neo-classical edifices of early nineteenth century, pre-colonial Calcutta, which were brick and stucco renditions of designs plagiarized from European models, as well as the refined neo-classicism of the end of Empire, most famously the Victoria Memorial (1921) in Calcutta and the monuments of New Delhi (1912-1929) by Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) and Herbert Baker (1862-1946). During the first half of the twentieth century, and quite apart from the artificial hiatus of New Delhi, two distinct continuities were visible in Indian architecture, distinguished by their tectonic qualities. One was the ornamented brick and stone masonry tradition that extended the principles of the Gothic Revival in European architecture and was best exemplified by the institutional works of Robert Fellowes Chisholm (1838-1915) in Travancore, Madras and Baroda. This tradition would also produce such singular marvels as the Garrison Church (1930) by Arthur Gordon Shoosmith (1888-1974) and St. Stephen's College (1941) by Walter George (1881-1962) , both located in Delhi. The second was the use of the reinforced concrete frame (invented in France in 1898) combined with masonry infill walls, a technique that enabled the compositional flourishes of Art Deco style apartment blocks, residences and cinema halls all over the country, and found a truly indigenized manifestation in the works of Claude Batley (1879-1956) in Bombay. The rich field of Indian architecture was drastically attenuated following the rhetoric and heroism of decolonization post-1947. Chandigarh became the icon of Indian modernism with the sanction it received from Jawaharlal Nehru, client par excellence and the scripter of India's post-colonial modernity. The capitol complex by Le Corbusier became a classic example of modernism because it demonstrated the plasticity of forms and liberating experience of space that can be achieved in reinforced concrete, and the 'honesty' of intent that was represented by Corbusier's unique contribution: beton brut (exposed concrete). But Chandigarh was not all concrete. The decorative brick masonry housing types designed by Le Corbusier's cousin Pierre Jeanneret (1896-1967) and the British architects, Maxwell Fry (1899-1987) and Jane Drew (1911-1996) are now considered classics of tropical architecture. Barring a few exceptions, the lessons of that 'first modern city of India' were lost on the cohorts of government-employed architects and engineers, who set about manufacturing modern India in other sites across the country. In Europe and America, mechanized mass production in authentic singularity of a work of architecture. The same loss of aura was delivered to India with the mimicry of the so called 'International Style', which too was mass produced, but only as visual, not in substance. Launched in New York in 1934, with an eponymous exhibition by Philip Johnson and Henry Russell Hitchcock, to celebrate the global spread of canonical modernism (white, unornamented forms and functional layouts), 'International Style' was lost in translation when it landed on Indian shores. With the expansion of the Indian state and its nation building behemoth, the public works department, the country suffered a proliferation of characterless blocks, their standardized architecture relieved by little more than formulaic symmetries, fanciful sunshades, lattices, textured plaster and paint. The excessive mediocrity of the national socialist building industry was broken only under exceptional circumstances during the 1950s. a variety of forces created a small but significant group of talented and dedicated architects. First, there were these who were sent to America by the Indian government to receive professional training, such as Habib Rahman (1915-1995), Chief Architect of the Central Public works Department (CPWD), builder of the first high-rise building in India, the New Secretariat (1954) in Calcutta, and the only architect to receive the Padma Bhushan, and Achyut Kanvinde (1916-2003), who designed the first laboratories for the Council of Scientific and industrial Research (1956) in Kanpur. Second, there were architects, who received their training at the JJ School of Art in Bombay, the only institution in the country imparting education in architecture at the time. Of these, the most noteworthy are Balkrishna Doshi (1927), who charted a unique trajectory as an apprentice to Le Corbusier, and J M Benjamin (1920), Rahman's successor in the CPWD and architect of the Delhi High Court (1966) and the Parliament House Annexe 1975. Finally, there were architects who were trained entirely in the west but returned to practice in India after 1947 – such as C.S.H. Jhabvala (1920), architect of the Kirorimal College (1956) in Delhi University, Shiv Nath Prasad (1922), architect of the Akbar Hotel (1969), and the Sri Ram Centre (1972) in Delhi, both remarkably original tributes to the spirit of beton brut, and Vanu Bhuta (1922), architect of the Gandhi Memorial in Delhi (1956). Charles Correa (1930) returned from America to set up practice in 1958, and designed the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya (1963) in Ahmedabad, while Raj Rewal (1934) returned to India from France and set up a practice in 1962, winning many prestigious competitions thereafter. There were architects like Joseph Allen Stein (1912-2001), who came from America to teach in Bengal in 1952 and then established one of the leading practices of the country, and British self-taught architect Laurie Baker (1917-2007), whose Gandhian philosophy and low-cost high-value architecture steeped in the authentic flavour of Kerala and its traditional building techniques, reinvented and playfully rendered, has an unparalleled status in the history of Indian architecture. Due to their education and experiences, the first generation of 'Indian' architects-the First Moderns-were exposed to the vibrant legacies of modern architecture and were alive to the possibilities these created for their practice. The most visible characteristic of their work was a sensitivity to labour and materials and their application, and dexterity in handling building and landscape. There was a clear thrust on the physical fact of the building and the potentials of space and form to meet the functional and economic needs of a newly democratized society, while ensuring studied absence of allusion, revival and nostalgia. Rather than the blind application of received traditions, the First Moderns innovated the traditions; their originality was visible, for example, in the way they incorporated the decorative arts in their works, a travesty for dogmatic modernism but an organic outcome of the persistence of craft in the labour-intensive building industry, with the play of textured surfaces a tribute to the beauty of the tropical sun. Their inventiveness was evident in the way they used minimalism in the application of formal typologies like courtyards and shaded corridors. The First Moderns presented continuities with a formidable bank of ideas that influenced equally, the modern architectural culture of India and abroad. Through them, students of Indian architecture have received an authentic, albeit filtered, version of canonical modernism: the works and philosophies of Buckminster Fuller (Correa), Le Corbusier (Doshi), Walter Gropius and Alison & Peter Smithson (Kanvinde), Richard Neutra (Stein), and structural functionalism and Metabolism (Rewal). Through the prodigious but separate efforts of these architects, and without an overt agenda, modernism found a firm footing in India, with a richness of expressions befitting a style whose antecedents were over a century old, having traversed the stylistic evolution of the nineteenth century-Gothic Revival, Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau-and the early twentieth century-Futurism, Constructivism, Bauhaus, Rationalism, to name the most prominent. The works of the Fist Moderns dot the Indian landscape today, an Indian architecture that is contemporary and rooted in its place. Anupama Kundoo22 Arjun Nambisan30 Bimal Patel40 Gurjit Singh Matharoo54 Jacob George64 Kamal Malik76 Kapil Gupta & Chris Lee94 Mallika Kumar & Narayan Moorthy104 Meena Mani & Anurag Chowfla116 Nisha Mathew Ghosh & Soumitro Ghosh128 Sonali Srivastava Rastogi, Manit Rastogi & Sanjay Bhardwaj144 Rahul Mehrotra 158 Rajesh Renganathan176 Rajiv Agarwal188 Rajiv Kathpalia200 Sandeep Khosla208 Sanjay Mohe224 Sanjay Puri232 S.K. Das244 Stephane Paumier252 IDK329 Roli Books ISBN: 271 (Illustrated Throughout In Full Color) $80.00 Shipping Free - 4 to 6 days Add to Wishlist Viewed 12548 times since 16th Oct, 2009 From the Jacket The Heroine in Her Wind Palace Water Color Painting On PaperArtist: Navneet Parikh10.5 inches X 13.5 inches Item Code: MJ02 $325.00 With Frame (Add $105.00) Deal 20% Off Maharaja Mansingh Worshipping Devi Watercolor on PaperArtist: Kailash Raj11.5 inches X 15.8 inches Item Code: HF37 $855.00$684.00You save: $171.00 (20%) With Frame (Add $105.00) Ladies at Bangles’ Shop Watercolor Painting On PaperArtist: Navneet Parikh10.3 inches X 13.3 inches Item Code: MJ18 Krishna Combing Radha’s Hair Water Color Painting on PaperArtist: Kailash Raj7.7 inch x 11.0 inch Item Code: HN54 $325.00 With Frame (Add $90.00) SAMANYA NAYIKA – COURTESAN (A folio from the Rasa-manjari by Bhanudatta) Watercolor on PaperArtist: Kailash Raj8.6 inches X 6.5 inches Item Code: HK17 Pair of Lions Brass Statue23 inch x 29 inch x 9 inch68.5 kg Item Code: ZAU99 $2595.00 Add to Cart Krishna Pursuing Heroine (A Folio from Nayika-Bheda ) Water Color Painting On PaperArtist: Kailash Raj8.0 inches X 5.8 inches Item Code: HK55 A Prince Painting His Beloved’s Feet with Customary Dye Water Color Painting On PaperArtist: Navneet Parikh12.5 inches X 16.5 inches Item Code: HK49 Building Beyond Borders (Story of Contemporary Indian Architecture) by Satish GroverPaperback (Edition: 1995)National Book Trust, India Item Code: IDL184 Unfolding Contemporary Indian Textiles by Maggie BaxterHardcover (Edition: 2015)Niyogi Books Item Code: NAK643 Myth, Reality and Beyond in the art of Sakti Burman (Contemporary Indian Art Series) by Arun GhosePaperback (Edition: 2006)Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi Item Code: IDK491 Nicholas Roerich (Contemporary Indian Art Series) Paperback (Edition: 1992)Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi Item Code: IDK493 J. Swaminathan (Contemporary Indian Art Series) Raza (Contemporary Indian Art Series) Amarnath Sehgal (Contemporary Indian Art Series) My Brush with Art: An Anthology of contemporary Indian Art by Lakshmi LalHardcover (Edition: 2004)Rupa Publication Pvt. Ltd. Item Code: IDE150

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/1002

HomeStudy GuidesParadiseEssay Questions About Paradise Paradise Summary "Ruby" "Mavis" "Grace" "Seneca" "Divine" "Patricia" "Consolata" "Lone" "Save-Marie" Eight-rock Paradise Essay Questions What does "Paradise" mean in the context of the novel? "Paradise" has many meanings in the context of the novel. One is the paradise that the citizens of Ruby attempt to create by founding the town. The town is supposed to be a self-sufficient haven away from the racism of the outside world. Ironically, however, in seeking paradise the citizens of Ruby ultimately come to wreak a kind of hell. Many of its citizens suffer as a consequence of its closed-mindedness (Menus Jury, Delia Best, and Billie Delia Cato among them) and the Convent is destroyed. Another meaning is the paradise that the women forge for themselves at the Convent towards the end of the novel. Though not perfect, the Convent is a comparatively idyllic refuge for the women from the traumas they have experienced in their past lives, often at the hands of men. The Convent is an open and non-judgmental space where the Convent women learn from and care for each other. What is the significance of the town's name, 'Ruby'? The town is named after Ruby Morgan Smith, the sister of Deek and Steward Morgan. She is the first person to die in (or near) the new town. In a medical emergency, her brothers, who always tried to protect her, are unable to get help for her because the hospitals are segregated and the doctors decline to treat her. At the time that she dies, adding insult to injury, the brothers learn that the nurse had been looking for a veterinarian to treat her: under the racist system of segregation, their sister was on the same level, if not below, an animal. The fact that the town is named Ruby could be considered coincidental; she died at a time when the town was searching for a new name. However, it actually communicates volumes about the way in which Ruby views itself, and the beliefs upon which the project of Ruby is founded. Over the course of the novel it becomes clear that a central reason why Ruby was founded was not just to provide a space away from the racist outside world, but specifically away from the racist outside world that degraded the status of black women and the ability of men to protect them. It rankled Steward and Deek that they were unable to protect their sister and ensure her dignity. However, simply because Ruby was founded in response to the degradations black women experience in the outside world does not mean that Ruby is not patriarchal. In fact, Steward in particular has a very strong idea of what women should be and how they should behave, leading to his hatred towards the women of the Convent. 3 What is the meaning of Dovey's "Friend"? Is he real or imagined? It is unclear who Dovey's "Friend" is. It is characteristic of Morrison's style - what can be termed ‘magical realism’ but which she prefers to call ‘enchantment’ - that it is neither confirmed nor denied that the Friend is a "real" person. The Friend does appear to have a corporeal presence, as Dovey on one occasion gives him food to eat. He is, however, associated with a kind of mysterious magic: a cloud of orange butterflies heralds his first appearance, and Dovey has only ever seen him in a single place. She has never seen him with other people, nor does she know him, suggesting that he cannot be a resident of Ruby since the town is so small. The Friend is a valuable and valued presence to Dovey because he allows her to unburden her interiority. When he appears, Dovey finds herself speaking without end of things she did not realize she had on her mind. Dovey appears to be happy in her marriage to Steward, and stands by him rather than aligning herself with her sister at the end of the novel. However, the presence of the Friend suggests that Ruby and its social structures (including her marriage) provide few outlets for her intellect, opinions, and emotions. Contrast the relationship that Connie has with Mary Magna with the relationship she has with Deek. What is the significance of each to her? Connie describes Mary Magna as the love of her life: the first as well as the last. Mary Magna picks Connie up from the streets of Brazil when she is nine years old and living as an orphan. Mary Magna provides Connie with her first experience of redeeming love. When Connie falls ill soon after Mary finds her, Mary Magna displays a concern for her that is new to Connie and that earns Connie's reciprocated loyalty forever. Mary Magna teaches Connie to be patient, gracious, and to place her spirit above her body. The relationship Connie has with Mary Magna, Connie believes, is one purely of the spirit. Connie is drawn to Deek because he taps into some forgotten element of her past. When Connie comes to the United States with Mary Magna, she quickly loses the language, culture, and memory of her childhood, but occasionally finds herself caught in a liminal space between the past and present. When she sees the citizens of Ruby for the first time, they are uncharacteristically festive, holding a horse race in commemoration of the founding of the town. The sight of the celebration and the sight of Deek remind her of her childhood and awaken a kind of natural sensuality inside of her. When Deek leaves her, she goes to the Convent's chapel and tells God: "Dear Lord, I didn't want to eat him. I just wanted to go home" (240). Connie struggles throughout her life with the division of the body and the spirit, and with the difference between her attraction to Mary Magna and her attraction to Deek. However, towards the end of her life, she realizes that body and spirit are inseparable. She was as attached to the body of Mary Magna after she died as she was to Deek's, even though Mary Magna had taught her that the body meant nothing. What is the significance of the Nativity play in "Patricia"? Though it is commonplace in Christian tradition to perform Nativity plays at Christmastime, it is clear that the Nativity play in this instance has a very special significance to the people of Ruby. It is a clear allegory for the Disallowing, an event that has shaped all of Haven and Ruby history. We can see that the play has been structured specifically to mirror this event because instead of one Holy Family - one Joseph and one Mary - there are many, in theory one family for each of the original founding families. That the citizens of Ruby would compare the Disallowing to the Nativity indicates a great deal about how they view their mission. The Nativity play as performed in Ruby places the act of founding the town on the same level of holiness as the act of Mary seeking a place in which to give birth to Jesus, the savior of mankind. The Nativity play also reflects Ruby in that it changes over time to reflect the consequences of the color hierarchy. Richard Misner notes that there are only seven couples in this year's Christmas play, when there were nine original families. Pat Best theorizes that every time an eight-rock individual breaks the unspoken color rule and marries outside of the eight-rock families, that family is then erased from the play. However, she is unable to determine which of the families has been most recently cut out. Test Yourself! - Quiz 1 How To Cite http://www.gradesaver.com/paradise/study-guide/essay-questions in MLA Format N/A. Suduiko, Aaron ed. "Paradise Essay Questions". GradeSaver, 29 June 2016 Web. Cite this page Toni Morrison Biography Paradise Questions and Answers The Question and Answer section for Paradise is a great Study Guide for Paradise Paradise is a novel by Toni Morrison. The Paradise study guide contains a biography of author Toni Morrison, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Read the Study Guide for Paradise… Essays for Paradise Paradise essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of literary work Paradise by Toni Morrison. The of Role of Myth in Morrison's Paradise Wikipedia Entries for Paradise View Wikipedia Entries for Paradise…

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/1177

About MTAC MTAC ARTISTS Avant Garden Party 2016 Art Auction Mike Peters' contributions to MTAC 2014. Mike Peters is recognized as one of our nation’s most honored cartoonists for his outstanding work as both a political cartoonist and comic artist.During his celebrated career, Mike has received a Pulitzer Prize as well as several other top journalism awards for his editorial cartoons. In addition, his Mother Goose and Grimm comic strip won the cartooning industry’s equivalent of the Oscar®, the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year, from the National Cartoonists Society. Today Mother Goose & Grimm appears in print and online, distributed by King Features to more than 500 newspapers, websites and mobile applications worldwide. The strip consistently places in the top 10 most popular ratings.Enjoy Mother Goose & Grimm every day in your local newspaper, at Grimmy.com and among the world’s most beloved comic strips at ComicsKingdom.com.grimmy.com © 2016 More Than A Cone

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/1245

New-York Historical Society | See Classic New York Through the Lens of Legendary Photographer Bill Cunningham at the New-York Historical Society Support the New-York Historical Society Press > Press Releases > See Classic New York Through the Lens of Legendary Photographer Bill Cunningham at the New-York Historical Society Press Back 2014-02-26 SEE CLASSIC NEW YORK THROUGH THE LENS OF LEGENDARY PHOTOGRAPHER BILL CUNNINGHAM AT THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY Bill Cunningham: Facades On View March 14 – June 15, 2014 NEW YORK, NY (February 26, 2014) – This spring, the New-York Historical Society will present a special exhibition celebrating the creative intersection of fashion and architecture through the lens of a visionary photographer. Bill Cunningham: Facades, on view from March 14 through June 15, 2014, will explore the legendary photographer’s project documenting the architectural riches and fashion history of New York City. Beginning in 1968, Bill Cunningham scoured the city’s thrift stores, auctions and street fairs for vintage clothing and scouted architectural sites on his bicycle. The result was a photographic essay entitled Facades (completed in 1976), which paired models—most particularly his muse, fellow photographer Editta Sherman—posed in period costumes at historic New York settings. Nearly four decades after Cunningham donated 88 gelatin silver prints from the series to the New-York Historical Society in 1976, approximately 80 original and enlarged images from this whimsical and bold work will be reconsidered in a special exhibition curated by Dr. Valerie Paley, New-York Historical Society Historian and Vice President for Scholarly Programs. The exhibition will offer a unique perspective on both the city’s distant past and the particular time in which the images were created, examining Cunningham’s project as part of the larger cultural zeitgeist in late 1960s-70s New York City, an era when historic preservation and urban issues loomed large. “We are thrilled to feature these important photographs by New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham, who captured an uncertain moment in our city’s history, when New York seemed on the brink of losing its place of privilege as a capital of the world. Cunningham’s vivid sense of New York’s illustrious past and his unfettered optimism about its future make the photographs among the most dramatic and important documentation of the city’s social history,” said Louise Mirrer, President and CEO of the New-York Historical Society. “The exhibition is especially timely, as Mrs. Editta Sherman, Bill Cunningham’s muse for his project and the famed ‘duchess of Carnegie Hall,’ passed away last November 2013 at the age of 101. Mrs. Sherman’s indomitable spirit, humor and creativity are powerfully felt through the photographic images. We are gratified that many of her family members will be with us for our opening exhibition event.” Over eight years, Bill Cunningham collected more than 500 outfits and photographed more than 1,800 locations for the Facades project, jotting down historical commentary on the versos of each print. The selection of 80 images on view will evoke the exuberance of Cunningham and Sherman’s treasure hunt and their pride for the city they called home. Cunningham’s images will be contextualized with reproductions of original architectural drawings from New-York Historical’s collection. During the years that Cunningham worked on Facades, New York City was in a municipal financial crisis that wreaked havoc on daily existence, with crime, drugs, and garbage seemingly taking over the city. However, the 1970s also was an era of immense creativity, when artists and musicians experimented with new forms of expression. While Cunningham’s photographs offer an unsullied version of the tough cityscape during this chaotic time, his vision was part of a larger movement towards preserving the historic heritage of the built environment to improve the quality of urban life. Most images in Facades feel timeless, such as Gothic Bridge (designed 1860), featuring Editta Sherman strolling through a windswept Central Park, framed by the wrought-iron curves of a classic bridge. However, at least one will offer a peek behind the scenes of the project. Cunningham and Sherman often traveled to locations by public transportation to avoid wrinkling the costumes, and Editta Sherman on the Train to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden (ca. 1972) captures the jarring juxtaposition of Sherman sitting primly in a graffiti-covered subway car. Other exhibition highlights will include Sherman dressed in a man’s Revolutionary War-era hat, powdered wig, overcoat and breeches at St. Paul’s Chapel and Churchyard (built ca. 1766-1796), the oldest surviving church in Manhattan, where George Washington worshipped. In Federal Hall (built ca. 1842), Cunningham paired the Parthenon-like architectural details of the building with a Grecian-style, 1910s pleated Fortuny gown. For Grand Central Terminal (built ca. 1903-1913), Cunningham drew on his millinery background to create a voluminous feathered hat that echoes the spirit of the “crown of the Terminal,” the ornate rooftop sculpture with monumental figures of Mercury, Minerva, and Hercules. About Bill Cunningham Bill Cunningham (born 1929) is a fashion photographer for the New York Times, known for his candid street photography. Cunningham moved to New York in 1948, initially working in advertising and soon striking out on his own to make hats under the name “William J.” After serving a tour in the U.S. Army, he returned to New York and began writing for the Chicago Tribune. While working at the Tribune and Women’s Wear Daily, he began taking photographs of fashion on the streets of New York. The Times first published a group of his impromptu pictures in December 1978, which soon became a regular series. In 2008 Cunningham was awarded the title chevalier dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. He is the subject of the award-winning documentary film Bill Cunningham New York (2010). Bill Cunningham and Editta Sherman were neighbors in the Carnegie Hall Studios, a legendary artists’ residence atop the concert hall, for 60 years. This exhibition is made possible through the generosity of Helen & Bob Appel, Norman Benzaquen, Julie & Jim Dale, Barbara Debs, Arlyn & Edward Gardner, Marjorie & Gurnee Hart, The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, Joanna & Daniel Rose, The Rudin Family, Pam & Scott Schafler, Bernard & Irene Schwartz, Michelle Smith, Laurie M. Tisch, Rosalind P. Walter, Sue Ann Weinberg, and Judy Zankel. On April 16 at 7 pm, the New-York Historical, in conjunction with the Victorian Society New York and Art Deco Society of New York, will offer a free screening of the award-winning documentary Bill Cunningham’s New York—a delicate, funny and often poignant portrait of the New York photographer and cultural anthropologist. About the New-York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society, one of America's pre-eminent cultural institutions, is dedicated to fostering research and presenting history and art exhibitions and public programs that reveal the dynamism of history and its influence on the world of today. Founded in 1804, New-York Historical has a mission to explore the richly layered history of New York City and State and the country, and to serve as a national forum for the discussion of issues surrounding the making and meaning of history. Laura Washington Julia Esposito New-York Historical Society Polskin Arts & Communications Counselors (212) 873-3400 x263 (212) 715-1643lwashington@nyhistory.org julia.esposito@finnpartners.com

文学

2014-35/4521/en_head.json.gz/29002

Angels at Christmas by Debbie Macomber Anne Fletcher pulled the last box of Christmas decorations from the closet in the spare bedroom. She loved Christmas—always had and always would, regardless of her circumstances. It was a bit early yet, a few days before Thanksgiving, but some Christmas cheer was exactly what she needed to get her mind off her problems. The grief that had been hounding her since the divorce five years ago… The financial uncertainty she now faced… The betrayal she still felt…"No," she said aloud, refusing to allow herself to step closer to that swamp of regrets. It often happened like this. She'd start thinking about everything she'd lost, and before she knew it, she'd collapse emotionally, drowning in pain.Carrying the plastic container down the hallway, she glanced inside her art room and let her gaze drift over to her easel and her latest project. The bold colors of the setting sun against the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean pleased her. Yes, she was divorced, but there'd been compensations, too. Her art had fulfilled her in ways she hadn't even realized were possible.How different her life was at fifty-nine than she would've imagined even five years ago—before the divorce. What Burton had done was unforgivable. He'd hurt her, and he'd cheated her out of funds that were rightfully hers.Once again she stopped herself, not wanting to indulge those bitter memories and regrets. She'd done plenty of that in the beginning, when she'd first learned he'd found someone else and wanted out of their thirty-year marriage. It was a fling, or so she'd managed to convince herself. A midlife crisis. Lots of men had them. Any day Burton would come to his senses and see what he was doing to her and to Roy, their son.Only he hadn't, and Anne walked out of divorce court numb with shock and disbelief. Not until the judge's gavel echoed through the room had she fully believed her husband was capable of such treachery. She should've known, should've been prepared. Burton was a top-notch divorce attorney, a persuasive man who knew all the ploys. But despite everything, she'd trusted him.…Her friends had been stunned, too—less by Burton's deception than by Anne's apparent acceptance of what he'd done to her. It wasn't in her to fight, to drag her marriage and her life through the courts. Burton had recommended an attorney, whom she'd obediently retained, never suspecting that the man who'd represented her in court would apply to Burton's law firm as soon as the divorce was final. Of course, he'd been hired.…Burton had promised to treat her fairly. Because she was convinced that he'd soon recognize what a terrible mistake he was making, she'd blindly followed his lead. Without a quibble and on her attorney's advice, she'd accepted the settlement offer—one that had turned out to be grossly unfair. Although she hadn't been aware of it at the time, Anne was cheated out of at least two hundred and fifty thousand dollars' worth of assets.Burton's ploy in this particular case had been simple: he'd strung her along. Twice he'd come to her in tears, begging her forgiveness, talking about reconciliation, and all the while he'd been shifting their assets to offshore accounts. All the while, he'd been lying, stealing and cheating. She'd loved him and she'd believed him, and so had taken her husband at his word. Never had she dreamed he could betray her like this. After thirty years, she'd walked away with only a pittance. And, needless to say, no alimony.Yes, Anne could fight him, could take him back to court and expose him for the thief he was, but to what end? It was best, she'd decided long ago, to preserve her dignity. She'd always felt that life had a symmetry to it, a way of righting wrongs, and that somehow, eventually, God would restore to her the things she'd lost. It was this belief that had gotten her past the bitterness and indignation.Admittedly she couldn't help lapsing sometimes, but Anne tried not to feel bitter. At this point, she couldn't see how anger, even righteous anger, could possibly benefit her. She'd adjusted. Taking the little she'd managed to salvage from her marriage, she'd purchased a small cottage on St. Gabriel, a tiny San Juan island in Puget Sound. In college all those years ago, when she'd met Burton, she'd been an art student. She had a flair for art and enjoyed it. Given the demands of being married to a prominent divorce lawyer, she'd put aside her own pursuits to assist Burton. Her husband's ambitions had become her own, and Anne was the perfect wife and hostess.It'd been a disappointment to her to have only one child, a son they'd named after Anne's father. Young Roy was the light of her life, her ray of sunshine through the years. When she wasn't hostessing social events on her husband's behalf, Anne spent her time with Roy, raising him with limitless love and motherly devotion.If she felt any bitterness about the way Burton had treated her, it was because of what he'd done to Roy. Unfortunately, Roy was the one who'd introduced Burton to Aimee. He'd never forgiven himself for that, despite Anne's reassurances. Still, Roy assumed responsibility for what had happened. He couldn't seem to forgive himself for his role in the divorce, no matter how innocent that role had been.To complicate the situation even more, he refused to forgive his father, not only for betraying Anne but for stealing Aimee, the woman he himself had loved and planned to marry. Roy's anger was constantly with him. The anger had become part of him, tainting his life, as though he wore smudged, dark glasses that revealed a bleak, drab world. All Roy cared about now was his business, his drive for more and more, and while he'd achieved greater success than most men twice his age, Roy wasn't happy.Her son's cynicism troubled Anne deeply—even more than the divorce itself. She'd put that behind her, as much as she was able, and built a comfortable life for herself, doing what she loved best—painting. Mainly through word of mouth, her work had begun to sell at the local farmers' market and then at a couple of galleries in the area; it now provided her with a small income.Anne would've given anything to help her son. Regardless of how much money he made or how many accolades he received, he remained lonely and embittered. She desperately wanted him to find happiness.In the five years since the divorce, Roy had not spoken to his father once, despite Burton's repeated efforts. Yet Roy was so like Burton. He shared his father's talents, his ambition. They shared another trait, too, the one that concerned Anne the most. He possessed his father's ability to be ruthless about marriage and relationships. He was thirty-three, and in Anne's view, he should get married. However, her son resolutely refused to discuss it. His attitude toward love and commitment had been completely warped. He no longer dated, no longer sought out relationships.The only thing that mattered to Roy was the bottom line. He'd grown cold and uncaring; little outside of Fletcher Industries seemed to affect him. Anne realized her son was in trouble. He was hurting badly, although he seemed incapable of recognizing his own pain. Roy needed someone to teach him the power of forgiveness and love. She'd wanted to be that person, to show him that forgiveness was possible, but in his zeal to succeed, Roy had started to block her out of his life. It was unintentional, she knew, but nonetheless, it hurt.Roy had established Fletcher Industries, his own computer security company, in Seattle, shortly after he graduated from college. His innovative, cutting-edge software led the competition in the field. Recent contracts with the government and several banks had given Fletcher Industries a solid position as one of the top companies of its type.Those first years after he'd formed his business, Roy spent far too many hours at work. It wasn't uncommon for him to stay in the office for two or three days at a time, living on fast food and catnaps. That all changed after he met Aimee. Her son had fallen in love and he'd fallen hard. Anne had been thrilled and Burton was, too. Then Roy had brought Aimee to his parents' home in Southern California to introduce her… and all their lives had exploded.Following his parents' divorce, Roy had quickly reverted to his old habit of working long hours. Only now a callousness had entered into his business dealings. Anne was aware of this, but she was helpless to change her son, and her heart ached with her inability to reach him. Time and again, she'd tried to tell him what he was doing to himself—that he was damaging his life and his future—but he couldn't or wouldn't hear.The kettle whistled, and leaving the Christmas box in the hall, Anne moved into the kitchen. She took the blue ceramic teapot from the cupboard and filled it with boiling water, then added a tea bag—Earl Grey, her favorite—and left it to steep. After a moment, she poured herself a cup and took a first sip of the aromatic tea. She frowned, berating herself for allowing her thoughts to follow the path they'd taken. Just when she assumed she was free of Burton, she'd wallow in the pain all over again and realize how far she had yet to go. There was only one cure for this bout of self-pity and for the worry that consumed her. Setting down the china cup, Anne bowed her head and prayed. Sometimes it was difficult to find the words to express what was in her heart, but not today. The prayer flew from her lips."Dear Lord, send my son a woman to love. One who'll help him heal, who'll teach him about forgiveness. A woman who'll open his heart and wake him up to the kind of man he's becoming."Slowly, as if weighed down by her doubts, Anne's prayer circled the room. Gradually it ascended, rising with the steam from the teapot, spiraling upward out of the simple cottage and toward the leaden sky. It rose higher and higher until it reached the clouds and then sped toward the heavens. There, it landed on the desk of the Archangel Gabriel, the same Archangel who'd delivered the good news of God's love to a humble Jewish maiden more than two thousand years ago.Gabriel, however, was away from his desk.Shirley, Goodness and Mercy, three Prayer Ambassadors who had a reputation for employing unorthodox means to achieve their ends, stood just inside the Archangel's quarters. Together the three of them watched as the prayer made its way onto his desk. Only the most difficult prayer requests went to the mighty Gabriel—the prayers that came from those who were most in need, from the desperate and discouraged."Don't read it," Shirley cried when Goodness, unable to resist, bent to pick up the wispy sheet."Why not?" Goodness had always had more curiosity than was good for her. She knew that peeking at a prayer request before Gabriel had a chance to view it was asking for trouble, but that didn't stop her. Mercy was the one most easily swayed by things on Earth, and Shirley, well, Shirley was nearly perfect. At one time she'd been a Guardian Angel but had transferred to the ranks of the Prayer Ambassadors. That had happened under suspicious circumstances, so Shirley's perfection was a little compromised. Shirley never mentioned the incident, though, and Goodness dared not inquire. She knew that some things were better left unknown—despite her desire to hear all the sordid details."Goodness," Shirley warned again."I'm just going to glance at the name," Goodness muttered, carefully lifting the edge of the folded sheet."Is it anyone we know?" Mercy demanded, drawing closer.Goodness eyed Shirley, who was trying not to reveal her own interest. "Well, is it?" Shirley finally asked."No," Goodness said. "I've never heard of Anne Fletcher, have you?""Anne Fletcher?" Shirley echoed, and then as if her knees had gone out from under her, she sank into the chair reserved for Gabriel. "Anne Fletcher from California," the former Guardian Angel repeated slowly.Goodness looked again, lifting the edge of the sheet just a bit higher this time. "Formerly of California," she said."Oh, no!" Shirley cried. "She moved. I wonder why. Tell me where she's gone.""The San Juan Islands," Mercy said, leaning over Goodness to take a look for herself."She's in the Caribbean?" Shirley said, sounding distraught."No, in Puget Sound—Washington State," Goodness told her."I remember it well," Mercy said with a dreamy smile. "Don't you remember the Bremerton Shipyard? We had so much fun there.""What I remember," Goodness informed her fellow angel, "was all the trouble we got in when you started shifting aircraft carriers and destroyers around.""I don't know how many times you want me to apologize for that," Mercy muttered, crossing her arms defiantly. "It was a fluke. Nothing like that's happened since, and frankly I think you're…"Her words faded as she saw Goodness studying Shirley. "How do you know Anne Fletcher?" Goodness asked softly."Poor, poor Anne," Shirley murmured, seemingly lost in thought. "I knew her mother—I was her Guardian Angel. I was with her mother, Beth, when she gave birth to Anne."So Shirley had a connection to Anne Fletcher. "I didn't read the request," Goodness said, more eager than ever to throw caution to the winds and take a second, longer look."Maybe there's something we can do," Mercy said. It sounded as if she was encouraging Goodness to flout protocol, and Goodness was happy to go along with the implied suggestion. She quickly scooped up the prayer request, then almost dropped it when a voice boomed behind them."Do for whom?" it asked.Gabriel. The Archangel Gabriel.Goodness spun around and backed against the side of the huge desk, crushing her wings in her attempt to hide. Oh, this wasn't good. Gabriel was their friend, but he wouldn't tolerate their snooping around his desk."Nothing." Mercy moved closer to Goodness until they stood shoulder to shoulder, wing to wing.Shirley was lost in her own thoughts, sitting in Gabriel's chair, apparently oblivious to their dire circumstances."Do?" Goodness choked out. "Are we supposed to be doing something for someone?""It's Anne Fletcher," Shirley whispered, peering up at Gabriel, apparently still in a stupor. "We've got to help her.""Anne Fletcher?" Gabriel's brow furrowed with concern."She's said a prayer for Roy," Goodness explained, and boldly handed Gabriel the request, as much as admitting it had been read. "She wants to believe. But she's worried about her son and has given up hope that anyone can reach him. We can't let her lose faith—we just can't!" She gazed up at Gabriel with large, pleading eyes. Her wings were folded back and she hung her head as though she felt the same sense of despair Anne Fletcher did.Goodness had never seen Shirley so upset. Clearly this Anne person was someone she cared about."

文学

2014-35/4521/en_head.json.gz/29116

Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > If You Go Down To The Woods Today... 4 Reviews Death by heat exhaustion or suffocation is a difficult choice - but what's really happening? Rating: PG-13 - Genres: Drama - Characters: Bob Bryar,Frank Iero,Gerard Way,Mikey Way,Ray Toro - Published: 2008/09/02 - Updated: 2008/09/02 - 1810 words - Complete Frank lay on the floor of the Smokehouse, now bound hand and foot with leather straps. The cloth pulled deep inside his mouth acted as an effective gag, not that it was even necessary so far from the main buildings. It was likely that this was it, he was going to die here and Mikey would be a step closer to getting everything he ever wanted. Frank stared up, silently willing the two men to let him go who merely smirked at him before heading for the door. “Shame, Iero,” Frey shrugged. “Wrong place, wrong time.” Frank was out of time. He lay, tightly bound and helpless, and all the while, Gerard was unknowingly in grave danger. Gerard opened his eyes and slowly took in his surroundings. Pushing himself to his knees, he remembered the encounter with Mikey and, sitting back on his heels, he hung his head miserably. Mikey had used him, taunted him, hurt him – again. He should know better than this by now. Mikey didn’t love him; he didn’t even like him. Of course Mikey was always going to use what he knew against him, what else did he expect? Gerard had always known that his brother had never been anything other than what he was now – selfish and arrogant. He had lost count of the number of times he had cursed himself for getting so drunk that Mikey had managed to discover his most private of secrets. Since then, Mikey had grown increasingly worse; taunting him, abusing him and worst of all, threatening to reveal all to the townspeople – they could never accept it. Even though now, in the latter half of the eighteenth century, it was no longer considered the result of demonic possession, it was still a heinous crime and Gerard could do nothing that might risk exposure. Mikey condemned Gerard in private, claiming he had no right to the Estate due to what he saw as his ‘unnatural interests’ and that, by rights, it should fall to him. He wasn’t at all certain how, but Gerard had managed to keep him at bay all this time – perhaps purely on the strength of his natural authority? But he realised that as Mikey got older he would grow more independent and less likely to allow Gerard to keep him under control. Despite his deep suspicions, Gerard had no real sense of just how malevolent Mikey had become, nor that his murder was being planned at that very moment. Pushing himself to his feet finally, Gerard turned and trudged back to the house. It was by now approaching mid-afternoon and he desperately needed a drink. Stepping into the welcoming warmth of the entrance hall, Gerard removed his coat as he closed the door. “Mister Gerard!” Angela cried as she saw his bleeding lip, bruised forehead and dirt-covered coat. “What happened? Are you all right?” “I’m fine,” he grumbled sourly. “Let me take your coat,” she replied gently, ignoring his brusqueness. Gerard looked up as Angela took the coat from his hands and headed to the laundry room to try to get it clean. At the end of the corridor, Mikey stood, leaning against the wall, one leg casually tipped behind the other and his arms folded. “Who put my horse away?” Gerard growled. “Frey did,” Mikey replied coldly. “And he just left me there! That’s it; I’ve had enough! He can collect his things and get out!” “You can’t fire a man for following orders,” Mikey corrected. “I told him to leave you.” “He doesn’t work for you!” Gerard snapped only to receive a knowing smirk from his brother. Racing forward Gerard placed an arm to Mikey’s throat and pushed him forcefully back against the wall. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t break your neck, right now!” Gerard screamed, furious at his brother’s callous behaviour. “Frank,” he whispered hoarsely. “Wh…what?” he replied losing enough strength and determination for Mikey to push him back. “Seen him today?” Mikey asked rubbing his neck. “What have you done?” Gerard asked, his anger stepping up once more. “Me?” Mikey raised his eyebrows innocently. “Nothing! I don’t want your playthings!” “I’m warning you, Mikey!” “You’re warning me! You?” he laughed. “Go ahead, warn me. Beat me to a pulp if you like, but I’m the only one who knows who’s got him and why. Your call, Gerard!” “What’s going on?” he asked, reluctant to trust Mikey, but left with no choice. Mikey merely signalled towards the sitting room and the pair entered, an uneasy truce between them. Frank’s pulse raced as he began to feel the heat from the fires beneath the smokehouse. Frank gritted his teeth in anger as he thought of Frey’s disloyalty towards Gerard. How long, he wondered, had the stableman been doubling as Mikey’s henchman – taking Gerard’s money whilst actively plotting to murder him? Did he honestly think that Mikey would allow him to live after he took control of the Estate? If he could murder his own brother, he was capable of anything and if Frey believed that his help in realising Mikey’s evil plan would gain him favour, then he was sure to be sorely mistaken. But now, everything became insignificant next to his need to escape. The heat of the fires forced the sweat from his body. Tiny rivers of perspiration ran down his neck and limbs, pooling behind his knees, in the small of his back and glistening on his brow. Near the ceiling, Frank could see the first wisps of white smoke filtering through the crude vents and knew it would only be a matter of time before the room filled and he suffocated. Sweat stung his eyes as it ran from his forehead, his hair already soaked and plastered against his head. Doubling his efforts, he struggled furiously against his bonds, gasping for breath as his exertions sapped his energy. Already the heat of the fires was making breathing difficult and he knew that even if he got free of the leather straps binding his hands and feet, he would still have to break out of the smokehouse; raising stinging and watering eyes, he gazed bleakly at the sturdy looking door that he knew was bolted from the outside. With a muffled scream of frustration, he renewed his efforts, refusing to give in without a fight. The hospital public address system crackled to life and, moments later, a bored female voice made an announcement. “Will the Woods family please return to room ten thirty-one? The Woods family to room ten thirty-one, please.” Gerard tapped Mikey’s arm. “That’s us; they want us back at Frank’s room.” “The Woods family?” his brother queried, his expression one of surprise. Gerard glanced between him and Bob; both appeared perplexed as they rose to follow him. “It was the first thing I could think of,” he explained. “Can you imagine the noise from fans and press the moment they announce ‘Can the Way brothers and Bob Bryar please go to Frank Iero’s room’?” Bob rolled his eyes. Gerard was right; it was simply unthinkable. The comparative quiet that Frank was experiencing at the moment would be shattered, the effect of which could be drastic. As they headed at speed down the stairs, Bob commented on the coded message. “Woods,” he nodded his approval, “I get that, but there is no room ten thirty-one.” “It’s his birthday, I wanted something relevant but that wouldn’t give it away. You know,” the singer glanced behind him at the drummer, “just in case there is actually a Woods family somewhere here.” Bob nodded. For a spur-of-the-moment coded message, it was pretty good. Arriving in the corridor housing Frank’s room only a minute or two after the announcement, the three musicians drifted to a halt as Doctor Wendel signalled to them to accompany him to an empty patient room. “What’s wrong?” Mikey asked quietly, his expression one of deep concern as he feared the worst. “Is he… he’s not…?” “His temperature has risen dramatically and there’s a very real risk of swelling in the brain. He’s also having difficulty breathing. We’ve given him medication to try to bring his temperature down and he’s on oxygen now, but if he doesn’t respond very soon, then… the damage could be irreparable.” “How soon is very soon?” Gerard asked, uncertain he truly wanted to hear the reply. Wendel took a deep breath and considered the question for a few moments. He was unwilling to appear to make any promises and he certainly didn’t want to scare them, but they needed to be told something. “I would say, he needs to respond within the next ten minutes.” “And if he doesn’t?” Gerard prompted. Wendel paused unsure how much bad news to give them. “Tell us,” Bob spoke gently but firmly. “Please, we need to know.” “Then, I’d have to say if he doesn’t respond to the treatment within the next ten minutes, I doubt he’ll wake up. I have to be honest, it doesn’t look good.” Wendel was, at first, met merely with stunned silence. They knew it was bad, but they had simply not realised how bad. The silence was broken by the ever-practical Bob. “Gee, does Ray know about the coded message to call us back here?” “No,” Gerard shook his head, his voice barely audible. “I arranged it, but forgot to tell you all.” “Okay,” the drummer began stiffly, “I know we said we’d tell him everything, but I think we should wait to see if Frank responds to the treatment.” “Why?” Gerard asked still dazed by the news. Bob allowed his tears to fall unashamedly. “Because, I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could go in there and say the words.” Gerard turned, Bob was distraught. He had fought to save the guitarist’s life back in the woods and couldn’t bear to think that it was for nothing. Wondering if he had done something wrong, that if he had acted sooner or differently, this could have been avoided. Bob Bryar wasn’t given to showing his feelings and hugging wasn’t something that generally he felt comfortable with. Gerard knew as he placed a comforting arm around his friend’s shoulders that he must be deeply distressed when he didn’t even flinch at the action. When Bob turned into the hug and reciprocated, Gerard’s eyes welled up; he had never seen Bob so obviously upset. Reaching out with his free arm, Gerard pulled Mikey in and they sought solace from each other against their fear and anguish. A Harmonian Way of Life by Seelvor Tilting the Potterverse onto the path it should have taken post-OotP. Some minor Ron!Bashing. H/Hr. ...

文学

2014-35/4521/en_head.json.gz/29142

Books we like. Jacci White The Amulet Series by Kazu Kibuishi was a series I started on a whim, the story told in graphic novel form starts with Book One: Stonekeeper and introduces you to the main characters Emily and Navin. After the death of their father, they find themselves uprooted from their home, and moved with their mother to her ancestral home. It is there that the kids discover that things are not always what they seem. Emily and Navin find a strange amulet hidden away in the library, and are awaken to find their mother being kidnapped through a mysterious door in the basement. The door leads them to an even more mysterious world. Is it a dream or reality? Will they be able to save their mom before it is too late? Why is that amulet glowing?For a book, I noticed on a whim, it was instant love. The artwork is amazing. Kibuishi is a talented artist and great storywriter. From the start to end, you find that he is setting you up for an epic battle and you are already so invested in the main characters’ journey that you can only hope it turns out good for them. The best part is with each installment he gives you a conclusion to one mystery while leaving you with more questions to a new mystery. Each installment in the series builds upon the story from the previous installment, making this series one you should read in sequence.Kibuishi has already published five installments in this series, Stonekeeper, Stonekeeper’s Curse, Cloud Searchers, The Last Council, and the Prince of the Elves. The intrigue and suspense found in this graphic novel series written for such a young crowd impresses me over and over again. I have yet to be disappointed in the level of detail in the artwork or the compelling story of Emily and Navin’s adventures in this seemingly magical world.I first discovered Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson in early 2009, but did not get around to reading it until later that year when I was fully immersed in school to become a Librarian. The irony of reading a book about a cult of evil Librarians was not lost on me as I pored over the book while sitting in the library on my school’s campus. The story sets up with Alcatraz Smedry inheriting a bag of sand on his 13th birthday, but Alcatraz is no ordinary boy. In and out of foster care homes, plagued with the unexplainable knack for destroying things, he is a unique boy destined for a unique adventure. When his paternal grandfather shows up unexpectedly Alcatraz is introduced into a war that has been happening for generations, and at the heart of it all are the librarians who rule all of the Hushlands (America). Sanderson has a quirky style of writing, with false trails of foreshadowing and a knack for cliffhangers. This series is not for everyone, the plot is seemingly lost chapter after chapter in silliness but I couldn’t help chuckle at Alcatraz’s adventure as he is unwillingly pulled into a war to fight against that cult of evil Librarians, that for the record do not exist. I promise. This series includes Alcatraz versus the Shattered Lens, Alcatraz versus the Knights of the Chrystallia, and Alcatraz versus the Scrivener’s Bones. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor is an excellent twist on a classic. Although who is to say which one is the true story of Alice in Wonderland? The premise of this book is that Lewis Carroll got it wrong, horribly wrong. The tale of Alyss (he even spelled her name wrong) is not a fairy tale meant to entertain children before bed. No, it is a story of familiar betrayal, love lost and an adventure to find oneself. The story begins on the day of Alyss’ seventh birthday, the exact day her estranged aunt, Redd, decides to take back the crown of Wonderland. Aunt Redd crashes the party and starts dealing out death sentences. By the end of it, Alyss has lost both parents and is ripped from all she knows to end up worlds away, cold, wet, and alone. Forced to deny her past she grows up in a world that lacks warmth and knowledge of White Imagination, the core of her family’s power. Meanwhile back in Wonderland Redd and Black Imagination suppress the inhabitants. However, there is a small group of Wonderlandians willing to fight in the name of the lost princess. By way of perfect timing, Alyss is brought back home, all grown up and unsure of herself or her abilities. The question soon becomes whether or not Alyss can become the Queen Wonderland needs.I am one of those girls who have a love for the Alice in Wonderland story. It was one of the first stories I read as a kid and it continues to be one of my favorite childhood classics. Frank Beddor is a talented writer, a good mix of adventure, action and emotion finds its way throughout the whole novel. This is a great read and the story draws you in and compels you further into a world that makes the classic Wonderland look so tame. The Cat is spooky and a great supporting character and Redd is by far the cruelest Red Queen to date. Where others have chosen to portray her in a comical way, Beddor creates an evil queen that would scare even the manliest of man.This trilogy includes Seeing Redd and ArchEnemy. Email this Story

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/1504

'The Home' — a fascinating look at how we came to live as we do 'By the middle of the nineteenth century, gargantuan portions had become institutionalized and routine. Mrs. Beeton gibes the following as a menu for a small dinner party: mock turtle soup; fillets of turbot cream; fried sole with anchovy sauce; rabbits; veal; stewed rump of beef; roasted fowls; boiled ham; a platter of roasted pigeons or larks; and, to finish, rhubarb tartlets, meringues, clear jelly, cream, rice pudding, and souffle. This was food for six people."The above, digestive-disturbing quote appears in Bill Bryson's amazing book, "At Home: A Short History of Private Life."Ostensibly, this book is about the Victorian parsonage where Bryson and his family lived. It was an unexceptional place of unexceptional happenings. But suddenly, Bryson found himself caught up in the history of his home — more to the point, the particulars of the place — the bedroom, kitchen, drawing room, nursery, etc. How had each of these rooms come to be? How had hundreds of years shaped the home as we know it today?"At Home" is one of the most delightful, incisive, exhaustively studied and truly humorous histories I have ever read. The book is not new. It was published three years ago. And why I never got around to writing about it I'll never know. (Maybe the Kardashians got in the way!)The masterful aspect of this work is how the author segues from where he lives now, to the historical creation of each aspect of domesticity, how every room was initially conceived, who lived in them, who served in them. And the times in which each generation gestated — their attitudes, prejudices and licenses.Author Bill Bryson accentuates, time and again, how long it took for what we today know as "modern life" and the home as we experience it, to evolve from the more or less civilized and clean ancient times of Crete, Greece and Rome. (The collapse of the Roman Empire, the onset of Christianity, which was not a smooth ride to heaven, as the Bible was rethought and rewritten, then the great plagues and their aftermaths. All this stunted the world for centuries.)This is Mr. Byson's last word: "Today it takes the average citizen of Tanzania almost a year to produce the same volume of carbon emissions as is effortlessly generated every two and a half days by a European, or every 28 hours by an American. We are, in short, able to live as we do because we use resources at hundreds of times the rate of most of the planet's other citizens. One day — and don't expect it to be a distant day — many of those 6 billion or so less well-off people are bound to demand what we have and to get it as effortlessly as we got it. And that will require more resources than this planet can easily or even conceivably yield."

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/1511

J.K. Rowling’s Next Novel Announced, Written for Adults Feb 23, 2012Posted by: Melissa Anelli | CommentsBooksUPDATE: jkrowling.com is being “refreshed and redesigned” and will be opened again later this spring. An e-mail list has been added to the Web site’s interface for readers to subscribe to updates. J.K. Rowling’s agency, the Blair Partnership, announced this morning that the Harry Potter author will be releasing a new novel for adults. The only other info on the page, besides a graphic, is a note from the author indicating that “While I have loved writing it just as much, my next book will be very different from the Harry Potter series.” A press release further notes: “Although I’ve enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series, which has been published so brilliantly by Bloomsbury and my other publishers around the world. The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry’s success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher. I am delighted to have a second publishing home in Little, Brown, and a publishing team that will be a great partner in this new phase of my writing life” Details will be announced “later in the year.” The as-yet unnamed book has been bought by Little, Brown and Company in the UK and US. The book will be the first of J.K. Rowling’s work to be available immediately in print and electronic versions. There was no auction for the rights to the book. As always through all these years, stay very close to Leaky for news and developments on J.K. Rowling’s writing: we will be covering it as closely as we do Harry Potter. Oh, and: leave a comment if you just screamed, did a dance, jumped for joy, or anything else. Related Books NewsKatherine Waterston: Narrates a Novel and Navigates the Dangers of SpaceHappy Birthday to Julie Walters!'Beauty and the Beast' Illustrated by MinaLima Harry Potter Archive

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/1590

The Adventure Company Signs Nintendo DS Adaptation of Feature Film Inkheart posted in Action Adventure, New Releases By: Tami | Print This Post Every Story Ever Written is Just Waiting to Become Reality Toronto – The Adventure Company, a leading publisher of interactive entertainment software, today announced it will publish Inkheart for Nintendo DS™. Based on the feature film adaptation of the best-selling Cornelia Funke novel, Inkheart brings high-quality, beautiful graphics to your DS in the fantastic and lovingly detailed world of Inkheart. “To launch an adventure game in conjunction with its feature film release is an exciting opportunity for us,” said Brian Gladman, Global Product Manager at The Adventure Company. “Adventure enthusiasts can see the movie and then become a part of the story themselves by playing the game. The story has all the components for a successful transition to a DS game, fantasy, intrigue, exploration, character development and puzzle solving. We can’t wait to put it out there!” Inkheart is the story of Meggie, a young girl whose father has a secret magical ability; he can bring book characters to life simply by reading the story aloud! It sounds like a wondrous gift, but evil lurks within the pages of a rare children’s fable… Players will embark on a compelling and exciting action adventure, all while solving tricky puzzles, playing challenging mini-games and facing difficult tasks. There are four playable characters to chose from, Meggie, Mo, Dustfinger or Farid, who will each take players on a dangerous adventure to save the world from the dark powers of evil characters, brought to life from the pages of a children’s novel. Inkheart is set to release worldwide January 2009 for a suggested retail price of $29.99 USD. Rating is pending at this time. on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 at 11:35 am and is filed under Action Adventure, New Releases. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Email check failed, please try again Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. » 2008 » 11 » 04 » The Adventure Company Signs Nintendo DS Adaptation of Feature Film Inkheart

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/1643

Rosalie Earle Lawrence Pierce Former Gov. Gaston Caperton is photographed on the patio of his house, which has a view of the Capitol. Modern sculpture punctuates the lawn below. Chip Ellis A mix of English and Colonial styles, the house was built in 1922. Eliza Spilman named it Ross Common, after the county in Ireland where her family had an ancestral castle. President Dwight Eisenhower was a lunch guest at the house during a 1958 visit to Charleston. Otis Laury is overseeing the remodeling, decorating and landscaping at Caperton's new house. Laury said he found the large wooden bowl in the gift shop at the Huntington Museum of Art; it has been used as a serving dish. There's a bullet in the center of the bowl, which presumably was shot into the tree from which it was made. The library is filled with family photographs as well as historic ones, such as the visits of President Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt to West Virginia. "I like the size of the rooms," Caperton says. "It's a very comfortable house." Caperton says he always wanted a house with a view. From his upstairs office, he can see the Capitol and his former office building. The dining room table and chairs were made by Gat Creek in Shepherdstown. The chandelier was designed by Otis Laury and made by Matt Wallace, of Charleston. In the background is a painting of Caperton's father by Charleston artist Dolly Hartman. The eclectic décor of Caperton's house is reflected in the living room by the abstract painting by Charleston artist Paula Clendenin hanging over the sofa and antique table and desk flanking the entry to the dining room. Opposite the sofa is a wall of windows to take advantage of the view. The Caperton house showcases West Virginia artists and craftsmen, such as the maple chairs made by John Wesley Williams and purchased at the Tamarack arts and crafts emporium, one of the legacies of the Caperton administration. The handmade furniture in all three bedrooms are from Gat Creek, the Shepherdstown furniture business owned by Caperton's son Gat Caperton. The stone foundation and walls needed extensive repair when Caperton bought the house. Laury has planted the garden beds with flowers (including 3,200 bulbs), hostas, grasses and other shrubs. Laury transplanted buttercups that originated in the garden of his childhood neighbor and friend, Gertie Coleman. Laury holds one of many photographs yet to be hung. The photograph was taken during a campaign visit to Weirton Steel and shows Weirton Steel President Herb Ellis (from left), Caperton, Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Jay Rockefeller. CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Sitting at a desk in his upstairs home office, Gaston Caperton looks out over the Kanawha River and two manifestations of his achievements.He can see the glittering gold dome of the Capitol, where he served eight years as governor of West Virginia, and the hilltop office building that was the headquarters of McDonough-Caperton Insurance Co., which he headed for more than a decade."I always wanted a house with a view," he remembered telling the real-estate agent showing him a house when he decided to return to Charleston.Margo Teeter told him to walk around the side of the house next door. He did. "The view is such a surprise," he said."I can see my old office building, the Capitol, the green trees. I thought, This would be perfect.'"And the 90-year-old English-Colonial house was for sale."It was in horrible shape," said Otis Laury, who has been overseeing the remodeling, decorating and landscaping at the South Hills house since Caperton bought it nearly two years ago.For the past 15 years, Caperton has been living mostly in New York City, where he was president of the College Board until he retired in December."I think Charleston is one of the prettiest cities in the world, with its mountains, the river and the beautiful trees. It's very nostalgic for me," he said earlier this month.To take advantage of the view, a wall of windows was installed in the living room. The view is the focal point of the adjacent dining room. Even an upstairs walk-in shower is all glass so the bather can look for miles upriver.Outside, there are brick patios and strategically placed benches to gaze at the view and lush gardens filled with flowers, shrubs, trees and contemporary sculpture. "Otis gets all the credit," Caperton said of his longtime friend. "He's amazing. He's a carpenter, a chef, a gardener, an artist."He showed off a walkway along one side of the house lined with flowers, ferns and hostas, where only weeds grew before. "Now, it's like a magical walk. Otis did all this."Inside the house, a visitor could spend hours studying the photographs, admiring the artwork and reading the framed quotations that inspire him. It seems as if Caperton has surrounded himself with family and friends through the furnishings. He confirmed that sensation."It's a very comfortable house. It's all about West Virginia, family and friends," he said.The handmade dining room table and chairs are by Gat Creek, the furniture manufacturing company owned by his son Gat, as are all the beds, dressers and his office desk. An antique desk and a marble-top shaving table in the living room belonged to his grandfathers.Throughout the house are black and white photographs taken by son Jeb, a teacher and writer living in California. Family photographs and portraits are grouped on tabletops and on walls alongside historic ones. Hanging in the library is a picture of President Franklin Roosevelt taken when he visited a West Virginia coal mine. There's a photo taken in China of Caperton and Ron Brown, the commerce secretary in the Clinton administration who died in a plane crash.There are several photographs of Caperton with President Bill Clinton. Sen. Robert C. Byrd inscribed gracious notes on several photographs of the two of them. Tipper Gore wrote a personal message on a photograph she took and sent him of a poverty-stricken child. "You know, she is a really great photographer," Caperton said. "The photograph reminds me of the poverty in this world."He likes photography and collects photos by former Life magazine photographer Ernst Haas, from whom he once took a class.Caperton's support of the arts, especially West Virginia artists, is evident everywhere.Three abstracts by Charleston artist Paula Clendenin hang in the living room. Keeping them company is an older abstract by the late Grace Martin Taylor.Diana Suttenfield, of Shepherdstown, painted the watercolor of the Greenbrier River in the dining room, where Dolly Hartman's portrait of Caperton's father hangs. A wrought-iron chandelier over the table was crafted by Matt Wallace, of Charleston, and designed by Laury.Laury bought a June Kilgore abstract in a burst of vivid reds and purples that hangs above the library fireplace.In making decorating decisions, Laury sometimes checked first with Caperton, emailing photographs or sending fabric samples. With other purchases, he didn't, as with the Kilgore painting.Caperton gave Laury general direction -- he wanted a red office, dark walls in the library, lots of white trim and cabinetry -- and let Laury take care of the details. He knows Caperton well and for a long time."My first catering job was for his parents," Laury recently recounted. He was chef at the Governor's Mansion during Caperton's two terms.Laury selected the rugs and fabric for the upholstered pieces. He bought a couple of chairs at an estate sale and had them reupholstered, as he did the library sofa he found at the Purple Moon.It was his idea to paint bright red a wall of cabinets in the Darin Fisher-designed kitchen. He found at Tamarack the tall chairs made of tiger maple by John Wesley Williams.Some of the old appliances that were replaced in the kitchen were moved to the basement, which is being converted to an apartment accessible from the driveway.The third floor of the house is reserved mostly for Caperton's five granddaughters, ages 8 to 14. When they are all in town, the air mattresses go down in one large bedroom and the "Kids Only" sign goes up on the door to their low-ceiling playroom nook."We had 15 here at Thanksgiving," Laury said.Laury came out of retirement at Caperton's request to manage the makeover, and he'll retreat to retirement when a few more projects are finished there."I wouldn't do this for anyone else," Laury said.Reach Rosalie Earle at earle@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5115. On the Town: May 19, 2013 Bulletin Board May 22, 2013

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/1731

> Uncategorized > All That All That Daryl L. L. Houston Leave a comment The New Yorker this week published online an excerpt from David Foster Wallace’s The Pale King that has stirred quite a bit of discussion on the wallace-l mailing list, most of it centering, as the fragment does, on religious feeling. As an atheist myself, I have a tendency to think/wish/hope that smart people I admire are also atheists. It’s strange, I know, but why not hope for an extension of affinities into that area of thought and feeling? Although I don’t feel as if I really need (as in emotionally need) external validation of my position, it’s still neat to share a viewpoint with people you admire. It’s not really clear what Wallace’s beliefs with respect to religion were, though. We know from various sources that he went to church but wasn’t raised religious. He certainly seemed, in Infinite Jest, to acknowledge that there was value in recognizing a higher power. Yet he wasn’t the evangelical sort by any stretch of the imagination, and it’s pretty easy, from where I sit, to imagine that he valued the cultural and communal bits of religion while relying more on secular thought for his personal ethics. We’ll probably never know exactly where he stood in real life. In the new fragment, entitled “All That,” he seems to be pretty open to religion and to a sort of spiritualism. Here I’ll begin to talk about the story, so if you haven’t read it yet and are anti-spoiler, you might want to mosey on along. The narrator gives accounts of two events in his life that were instrumental in helping him form a religious sensibility. The first, in which his parents convinced him that a toy truck was endowed with a sort of magic, speaks (I think) to the idea of faith and how the not knowing via evidence that what you have faith in is true is a part of what makes it special. How sad it would be, he suggests, to actually trap the tooth fairy. And, by extension, how disappointing it would be, I suppose, to finally find empirical evidence of God. A belief system constructed around the idea of faith becomes meaningless when faith is no longer a necessity. Magic tricks aren’t as fun to watch once you know how they’re done. Faith, which people like me see as a flaw of religion, may in fact be one of the points and joys of religion. The second formative event centers on the narrator’s recollection of a movie’s plot and how it differs from his father’s recollection. The difference has less to do with faith than with actions. I guess it has something of love thy neighbor in it. More on that in a moment. At the heart of both episodes is a sort of duality. The narrator says the following about differing perceptions: Possibly, though, another cause for the sadness was that I realized, on some level, that my parents, when they watched me trying to devise schemes for observing the drum’s rotation, were wholly wrong about what they were seeing—that the world they saw and suffered over was wholly different from the childhood world in which I existed. Later, we have the father and son’s vastly different recollections of the movie. And within the movie itself, we’re told of a prevailing sentiment and a sentiment (on the part of the narrator within the movie) at odds with it. In all cases, given the same objective inputs, opposite subjective conclusions are reached. There’s a failure to align perceptions. Interestingly, our narrator hears voices as a child whose speakers do inhabit the same space he does. Their perceptions agree with his in a way that, he figures, biological adults’ perceptions can’t, and the voices are a source of real fits of ecstasy (as in rolling on the floor, capital-E Ecstasy) on the boy’s part. Of that ecstasy, we learn the following: [M]y father (who clearly “enjoyed” me and my eccentricities) once laughingly told my mother that he thought I might suffer from a type of benign psychosis called “antiparanoia,” in which I seemed to believe that I was the object of an intricate universal conspiracy to make me so happy I could hardly stand it. I suppose there are certain resonances of this fragment with parts of Infinite Jest. There’s the infantilization of rolling around on the floor, being stroked lovingly by his mother, being more or less cradled in the father’s lap, and of course this idea of being the center of a happiness conspiracy. But the first of Wallace’s works that sprang to mind when I read the fragment was “Getting Away from Already Pretty Much Being Away from it All” (the state fair essay), in which Wallace writes the following: One of the few things I still miss from my Midwest childhood was this weird, deluded but unshakable conviction that everything around me existed all and only For Me. Am I the only one who had this queer deep sense as a kid? — that everything exterior to me existed only insofar as it affected me somehow? — that all things were somehow, via some occult adult activity, specially arranged for my benefit? Does anybody else identify with this memory? The child leaves a room, and now everything in that room, once he’s no longer there to see it, melts away into some void of potential or else (my personal childhood theory) is trundled away by occult adults and stored until the child’s reentry into the room recalls it all back into animate service. Was this nuts? It was radically self-centered, of course, this conviction, and more than a little paranoid. Plus the responsibility it conferred: if the whole of the world dissolved and resolved each time I blinked, what if my eyes didn’t open? Maybe what I really miss now is the fact that a child’s radical delusive self-centeredness doesn’t cause him conflict or pain. His is the sort of regally innocent solipsism of like Bishop Berkeley’s God: all things are nothing until his sight calls them forth from the void: his stimulation is the world’s very being. And this is maybe why a little kid so fears the dark: it’s not the possible presence of unseen fanged things in the dark, but rather the actual absence of everything his blindness has now erased. For me, at least, pace my folks’ indulgent smiles, this was my true reason for needing a nightlight: it kept the world turning. Back to the story at hand, we begin with the narrator making discoveries about faith and about his own agency. But there’s a sort of inversion from what Wallace writes about in the essay excerpted above: the world (or the cement mixer’s drum) revolves (he believes) only when the boy isn’t looking at it vs. the world existing only when Wallace, as a child, was looking at it. In the essay, Wallace writes specifically of solipsism, of being trapped more or less within yourself. I am in here. In the fragment, I think he’s writing about getting outside yourself. It’s not that the world stops when you close your eyes to it but that no matter how hard you try, you can’t really see or understand certain forces external to your direct experience. So a certain amount or sort of faith becomes useful. Wallace first gives us something of a thought experiment with the toy cement mixer, but in the movie scenario, he gives us a more complex situation to ponder. The conflict in that scenario is whether it’s nobler to protect your own or to protect others from your own. It’s a very complex question within context, for you have to consider the broader war itself, the particular roles of the participants in question within that context, the particular moods of and recent influences on all participants, and so on. But if we’re a little more reductive about it, I think we can boil the scenario down a bit and understand it as a consideration of the other vs. the self (another duality), with Wallace suggesting that reaching out to protect the other — getting outside your self — may sometimes be the nobler path. The narrator views the movie’s lieutenant’s last noble act (as the narrator remembers it, that is) with a sort of ecstasy that calls to mind the ecstasy he felt as a younger child when listening to the voices in his head. But this ecstasy is the result of external forces rather than of internal agreeable voices and so shows a sort of development outward from in here. There’s a lot I’m still trying to unpack about this fragment, and I’m not at all satisfied with what I’ve written above as an interpretive essay. There’s some big connection I feel like I’m missing. But it’s a start. A couple of other things have come up on the list. For example, why did the narrator’s parents screw with him with the whole magic thing, especially if they’re devout atheists who you wouldn’t think would want to promote superstition? I think the simple answer is that sometimes parents just say silly things because it’s fun to joke around. Every morning that I drive my daughter and a neighbor to kindergarten, I ask if I should speed up and jump the railroad tracks (it’s a big hump and would cause a lot of damage to my vehicle if I jumped it). When they scream gleefully that I should, I slap my thigh and lament that I thought of it too late, that there’s simply not enough runway to get adequate speed. Remind me tomorrow, I tell them. Ever since my children were old enough to understand and respond to language, I’ve presented them with goofy scenarios and waited for them to correct me. Parents just do this sort of thing. In the fragment, it does seem that the parents play an active role in perpetuating the magical thinking, but the germination of the thing doesn’t seem all that out of the ordinary. And sometimes you just want your kids to work things out for themselves. We do the whole Santa thing, but when my kids start thinking critically about it and questioning the stories, we’ll encourage it obliquely so that they arrive at appropriate conclusions without being force fed the truth.I can’t help thinking that Wallace is saying something else about faith here. There’s plenty of magical thinking involved in faith. You can never really know for sure that God’s there behind the scenes making stuff happen, and maybe the harder you look, the more likely you are to determine that God’s not really there — that the drum isn’t spinning after all. If we think of it this way, then the parents almost become God surrogates, providing information about the truck (or about reality) but requiring that the child work out on his own whatever his beliefs about the truck are. The narrator doesn’t understand why his parents have made a puzzle of this for him any more than people understand why God isn’t more obvious about his existence and plan, and yet the fact that it’s a puzzle has turned out to be valuable to the narrator. Faith, as I suggested above, may be one of the joys of religion. Another issue that came up on the list was the narrator’s statements that he wasn’t very articulate and the fact that he is actually pretty articulate. Whether it points to insecurity or to false modesty or to real modesty I’m not sure. It certainly seems like one of those framing or narrative tricks that Wallace has used before to remind us that what we’re reading is mediated. Not discussed as yet on wallace-l is the Catholicism present in the story. It’s minor, but the boy mentions going to Mass with neighbors. Given my last paragraph, I’m having trouble not saying something about the mediation inherent in that religion, though I don’t think Wallace is really doing anything with that here. But the ecstasy, in association with the presence of Catholicism, calls to mind the various references to The Ecstasy of St. Teresa in Infinite Jest, and I wonder if more couldn’t be mined out of this material. In the gruesome ecstasy scene in IJ, there’s actually quite a bit more Catholic subtext than is apparent to a recent or non-Catholic (do a little research on the titles of the magazines named in the scene, if you’re curious), and that makes me all the more curious about the reference to Catholicism in this fragment. Tags: dfw, Infinite Jest, parallel reading Alex December 11, 2009 at 4:35 pm Reply This is really a phenomenal interpretation. I’m beginning to see how, thematically, The Pale King seems to be an effort at offering a solution to the dangers and problems posed in Infinite Jest. Miker December 11, 2009 at 6:06 pm Reply It is often said that faith itself is a miracle, e.g.: http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Miracles/id/5611274 Tim December 11, 2009 at 9:16 pm Reply Daryl, Nice response to the new piece. I empathize with the atheist’s expectation for similar freedom from dogma in his/her intellectual peers and mentors that you invoke right up front. I have a lot more to say on the topic and I’ll send along some more developed thoughts in a later comment, but for now I’ll just point you to Zadie Smith’s essay on Wallace and Brief Interviews specifically in her newly released collection. She concludes with some notes on “Church Not Made with Hands”, a decidedly agnostic slice of the DFW oeuvre, and also calls Wallace’s tastes Catholic, citing Philip Larkin. Lastly, for now, I found it interesting to hear a list of Wallace favs (recorded in the D.T. Max New Yorker article as from an interview which I’ve been unable to locate elsewhere) include St. Paul and to see his affinity for Kierkegaard (it’d take me longer to cite where I got that one) and, finally, to note even the in-this-light slightly loaded set of sentences in a grammar quiz (http://htmlgiant.com/?p=19945) making its way around recently. Daryl L. L. Houston December 11, 2009 at 10:08 pm Reply Thanks, Alex and Miker. 🙂 Alex, I can’t help thinking your suspicions regarding the solution to IJ’s dangers may be right. Tim, I haven’t read Smith’s new book yet, but it’s on my wish list. “Church Not Made with Hands” is a weird one, and I’ll look forward to reading her take on it. The connection you’ve made to the grammar quiz (which I believe I scored 100% on, though I haven’t been contacted yet for the award 🙂 ) is interesting. Thanks for speaking up. desario71 December 12, 2009 at 11:53 am Reply My thought about the final reminiscence involving the war movie was that Wallace was giving an analogy for Jesus, for the dying for others’ sins. I don’t know if that helps, but if you buy that, it adds a tingle of depth to those final lines about the lieutenant’s act seeming intensely, unbearably beautiful as he lays across his father’s knees, which points to the Father and Son relationship. aengebretson December 14, 2009 at 3:55 pm Reply I really liked your interpretation. I just had two little comments. I think you have to be seriously careful when moving from Wallace’s fiction to speculating on his private beliefs. I think, as a culture, we hate not knowing someones private beliefs (because we should know everything–there’s no such thing as privacy anymore). We want to know where they “stand” as you put it. But why can’t we accept the idea that private belief is complex, contradictory, and based highly on contingency, and any attempt to reduce someone as complex as Wallace to a single position is probably too limiting? I also think you should be careful moving too easily from the fiction to the non-fiction. These are radically different rhetorical modes–two very different uses of language–and just because they might share a motif doesn’t mean we can easily compare them. Daryl December 14, 2009 at 9:11 pm Reply Aengebretson, I suppose that at the close of my first paragraph, I did say that this piece of fiction gestured toward a personal openness toward religion on Wallace’s part. It’s easy enough to form a similar opinion based on parts of Infinite Jest too. It’s dangerous ground, for sure, and not really ground I meant to tread on. I think I was trying to push back a little bit, almost out of a sense of fairness or honesty, against my tendency to want to think he’d believe what I do. Point well taken, in any case. Regarding comparison of the fiction to the nonfiction, I agree that they’re different modes, but the sort of nonfiction Wallace gives us in the essay I mentioned isn’t so far from fiction as I think you suggest. Wallace writes about the fuzzy line between the genres in his preface to the Best American Essays collection of a couple of years back. I don’t mean to say that the two sorts of work can be put right side by side, but I don’t think they’re necessarily quite so segregated, either. At any rate, what I’m trying to do here is not to come up with a tidy synthesis of his position re religion as explained by his cross-genre work. I’m just pointing out things I noticed and sort of thinking aloud. The essay did spring instantly to mind as I read the story. I’m happy enough to allow that that may (probably does) say more about what I bring to the table than about Wallace’s project. Thanks for chiming in. 🙂 matt December 24, 2009 at 6:02 pm Reply Daryl, This regards both Aengebretson’s comment and your response to it. You’re right to point out that in the ABE2008 forward, Wallace spoke of the blend of these genres. But beyond coming right out and saying it, Wallace seems to draw heavily from his own life in both his fiction and non-fiction. I think, at least for this author, we can begin to speculate on his private beliefs. In fact, one of the most endearing things about Wallace was how open he made himself in print, so that one could have a conversation with the author, albeit all further responses would be in the readers imagination. I believe you are missing some evidence though, in your essay. DFW spoke quite openly about spirituality and belief in his 2005 Kenyon commencement speech. He posits that there are no such things as atheists, and that worship is as human as language. So we are certain of his belief in that. He also mentions going to church in the essay The View from Mrs. Thompson’s. But thats not germane to what I think is somewhat bothersome about your post. It’s the fact that the whole magic and subsequent reverence of the truck comes from NOT observing it. I followed a link to this post thinking I may have found a discussion about adult faith vs. childlike credulity and how that’s relevant to our species (and country) as a whole. But instead you’ve spent most of your time responding to small textual tricks and remaining on the surface of things. I would love to see a deeper discussion of the ends and not the means. Daryl L. L. Houston December 27, 2009 at 11:29 pm I think the most we can say about what Wallace draws on is that he gives the impression of drawing much from his own life. I’m just not in a position to say whether or not he in fact does or what liberties he takes even in the essays (it seems pretty likely that he takes some liberties when writing about his stalking of Petra in the cruise essay, for example). Re the Kenyon piece, there’s actually been a lot of (often heated) discussion of that one on wallace-l lately. Even those of us among his most ardent devotees can’t seem to agree on where he stood exactly and what the speech says in relation to where he stood and in what register he was writing that speech. For example, he knew he was giving a speech to a school with some sort of religious tradition or background (someone asserted; I didn’t confirm), so it might have made sense to use words like worship and to say that there’s no such thing as atheism out of a sort of deference to the tradition the audience was steeped in. (He writes in the usage essay about using different language in different settings, one of my favorite contrasts ever being that between “that ursine juggernaut bethought himself to sup upon my person” in one context vs. “goddamn bear!” in another. Different audiences/circumstances are better suited to different types of speech, and Wallace was well aware of it. So I’m not convinced that it’s satisfactory to take a whole lot from the Kenyon speech about Wallace’s own particular beliefs, though the speech would seem to suggest, as I own up early in my blog post, that he’s at least open-minded about and probably even receptive to or in some way dependent upon some sort of religious feeling, as supported by pieces like IJ and the 911 essay. Regarding your closing point, I do harbor a completely unsubstantiated suspicion that there’s some sort of evolutionary benefit to belief in the supernatural (else why would so many people believe in it?). I don’t know that I can say I think there’s a similarity between childlike credulity and adult faith without coming off as a sneering jerk of an atheist, though maybe there’s something to it. In any case, in writing about a literary author, I guess I am more about the means than the ends; it’s what analysis is all about (or one sort of analysis, at least). I often care less about what somebody’s saying (surely, as an atheist, I can’t get behind Wallace’s statement that there’s no such thing as an atheist, for example) than about how he’s saying it and whether or not I think it’s well-said. Sincere thanks for your feedback. Sarah December 20, 2009 at 10:46 am Reply I’m not in a position to comment at this level, but I enjoyed your essay nonetheless. I particularly liked your example of parental goofiness contrasted with God-like behaviour. Which is, I suspect, quite pertinent to the origins of religion. December 10, 2009 at 4:10 pm The Taste of Thursday « Gerry Canavan Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here... Chi-Meh-ra

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/1820

Neil Cowley: A Rock and Roll Take on Jazz By BRUCE LINDSAY April 26, 2010 Sign in to view read count View All 12345Next » It's not an observation based on hard evidence, but the jazz world seems to be more awash with piano trios than it has been for many years. Whether it's a whim of fashion, a response to economic recession, a reaction to the over-digitization of music technology, or something else entirely, is far from clear. But there do seem to be a lot of them about, and many of them are extremely good. So how does a piano trio ensure that it has something new to say—and a new way of saying it? How does it stand out from the host of similar line-ups? What's the secret? The Neil Cowley Trio appears to have worked it out. The UK-based group has a genuinely distinctive sound and some of the most original tunes on the contemporary jazz scene. Pianist and composer Neil Cowley was happy to discuss the band in a phone interview from his home in the county of Surrey, in south-east England, shortly before the release of the Trio's third album, Radio Silence (Naim Jazz, 2010). Cowley began the interview fresh from playing with his four year-old son: "I'm a little out of breath" he explained, "but I'm invigorated." He was also, as he said, "good to go," and proved to be an enthusiastic and engaging interviewee with some fascinating insights into his own work and his place in contemporary British jazz. Cowley's emergence on the British jazz scene is surprisingly recent. His early professional career was spent in the rock, pop and dance scenes where music was becoming increasingly reliant on technological advances—and then, around 2005, he experienced an "epiphany" that was to bring him back to his acoustic roots. "I was in a band called Fragile State, which was my own creation with one other guy [Ben Mynott]. It was very much a production outfit. In 2001 I was playing with a pop, chillout, band called Zero 7—and during that year I started Fragile State along similar lines in my little bachelor pad in Putney. I invested in some computer equipment and software and produced an album that was surprisingly successful. Then I met my future wife and moved out here to Surrey near where she lived. I managed to set up a studio at home and did a second album, mostly in my spare bedroom. This album also went well but at that point the record company went bust and took all our royalties with them. "It had been really hard to make that album anyway; I found that trying to get music out of myself within four walls was really tough. When the record company went bust it gave me an excuse to reevaluate what I was doing. What I really loved was playing live for people, and I had all this technology between me and that performance, so I decided to strip everything down and go back to my roots." Cowley's musical roots were those of a classically-trained pianist, but rather than moving back to that genre he moved into jazz. "My confidence was right, the time was right and so the Neil Cowley Trio was born." The Trio was soon to make a major impact on the British jazz scene, but neither Cowley nor his fellow band members were established jazz players. As he explains, the Trio's members came to jazz from different traditions. Cowley himself has no formal jazz education: "As far as jazz is concerned, I'm self-taught. I was taught classically then aged 15 or 16 I found myself surrounded by musos and they started to introduce me to all these musicians from Steely Dan to Pat Metheny and Miles Davis—all these things I had to catch up with, really. I spent a lot of time at home, doing that classic thing of learning to play by ear, replaying and replaying pieces on an old tape player and transcribing them. But I never entered the world of jazz as such; I was always on the periphery. I felt that I was a rock and roll pianist with a jazz knowledge that I never came clean about." Cowley's "do-it-yourself" approach is in stark contrast to many of the leading jazz musicians of his generation. It's a position he is well aware of: "There's a whole generation of players who've benefitted from formal jazz education. When I could have gone to college the only place offering jazz was Leeds College of Music. In fact, they offered me a place when I was 16 years old—they'd got my age wrong somehow—but I'd just left the Royal Academy of Music in slightly horrible circumstances. I'd had enough and I walked out in mid-term. My local council [responsible at that time for providing grants to students] was extremely upset with me for walking out and so they offered me £100 to pay my fees and living costs for a year in Leeds and that was it—I had no choice and went straight to playing in pubs for a living." View All Shop About Neil Cowley Photos Spacebound Apes by Phil Barnes Touch and Flee by Vic Albani Extended Analysis Neil Cowley Trio: The Face of Mount Molehill by Glenn Astarita Radio Silence by Karl Ackermann Radio Silence Neil Cowley: A Rock and Roll Take on Jazz Read more articles Neil Cowley Trio:... Hide Inside Records Touch and Flee Naim Label Neil Cowley Trio: The... vocalist John Abercrombie guitar Jimmy McGriff organ, Hammond B3 Gwilym Simcock piano Charlie Hunter guitar, 8-string Eddie Henderson trumpet Bobby Previte drums Tom Arthurs trumpet Julian Siegel saxophone Portico Quartet band/orchestra Broun Fellinis Finn Peters Neil Cowley Events Date Mar5Sun Neil Cowley Trio Band On The Wall Manchester, UK 19:30 £17.50 Kind of Purple: Jazz Musicians On Prince by Kurt Gottschalk Samantha Boshnack: A Musical World Without Boundaries

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/1909

From the Dead A Tom Thorne Novel by: Billingham, Mark Format: PaperbackCopyright: 01/13/2015Publisher: Grove Press SummaryMark Billingham is one of England’s best known and top-selling crime writers. In this, the gripping ninth Tom Thorne novel, a man long thought killed by his suffering wife turns up alive. And then other people begin to turn up dead.A decade ago, Alan Langford’s charred remains were discovered in his burnt-out car. His wife, Donna, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder her husband and sentenced to ten years in prison. But before she is released, Donna receives a nasty shock: an anonymous letter containing a photo of her husband. The man she hates with every fiber of her being—the man she paid to have murdered—seems very much alive and well. But how is it possible that her husband is not dead? Where is he? Who sent the photo, and why?Author Biography Read moreMark Billingham has twice won the Theakston’s Old Peculier Award for Best Crime Novel and also won the Sherlock Award for the best detective created by a British writer. His books have been translated into twenty-five languages and have sold over four million copies. He lives in London.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/2190

in this section Essay heading: "The Incredibles" Review Dash, the enthusiastic middle child, possesses an ability to run with remarkable speed. Then there's Jack Jack, the adorable baby of the family. Jack Jack contains latent powers and will be discovered as he gets older. Violet and Dash have their own problems at school; they are still struggling to fit in...displayed 300 characters Violet's shyness and self-consciousness inhibit her among the young teenage crowd, while Dash's powers go towards pranks, since competing on the school's sports teams is out of the question, with their uncommon strengths and powers, in order for the Parrs to maintain an ordinary existence. It's a tough time to be a superhero, and the unease in the Parr family illustrates that clearly...displayed next 300 characters Jack Kerovac Jack London Jack London Jack Nicklaus Jack Wealch Jack the Ripper Jack The Ripper Jack Nelson Jack Welch jack landon jack london Jack Black My Brother Jack "The Incredibles" Review jack black Discussion: It is also made clear through the reaction of Ennis's wife and the two men's former employer that homosexuality is viewed as "repulsive" and "evil." Ennis's wife yells at him when she realizes what had been going one and calls Jack, "Jack Nasty... All Jack needed was the opportunity to kill Piggy, and he would have taken it just like when he punched him in the stomach. Jack's wicked behavior led to malicious treatment toward Piggy... The Secret Lives of Jack Wilson Jessie cares for jack for all of winter until he slowly regains his strength. He doesn't repay them for the care they provided even though he put their whole family at risk of catching tuberculosis... In a way, I felt delighted that Jack would want help from none of the other counselors. Jack had some cool things he could do and these things were ways I could calm him down... Keeping a car in good running condition is one of the responsibilities in having a car. Changing the oil in the car is a good way to tune it. A jack, jack stand, wrench, oil and an oil bowl are all needed to do an oil change... How to check to see if someone is plagiarising Therefore, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy...

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/2335

Witch Craze Thoughts for the Day: Paul's Loyal Criticism of Go... The Platinum Rule (III) The Platinum Rule (II) The Platinum Rule Wright on the Context Group Religion and Violence: The Biblical Heritage The Orthodox Gospel of Thomas The Mercy Seat of Rom 3:25 The DaVinci Crock Here's another superb review by Laura Miller of Salon, which I mentioned recently on the Crosstalk mailing list. I hope she reviews the film when it hits theaters in May.Excerpts from the review:"The Da Vinci Code is... a cheesy thriller, with all the familiar qualities of the genre at its worst: characters so thin they're practically transparent, ludicrous dialogue, and prose that's 100 percent cliché. Even by conventional thriller standards, the book isn't particularly good; the plot is simply one long chase sequence, and the 'good guy who turns out to be evil' is obviously a ringer from the moment he's introduced. Dan Brown is no Robert Ludlum, so why has his thriller so outdistanced the work of his betters? "The answer is that what readers love about the novel has nothing to do with story, or character, or mood, or any of the qualities we admire in good fiction. They love it because of the nonfiction material the book supposedly contains, a complicated, centuries-spanning conspiracy theory... Virtually all the bogus history in The Da Vinci Code...is lifted from Holy Blood, Holy Grail..."As enormous crocks of nonsense go, Holy Blood, Holy Grail is a kind of masterpiece...[but] its theories...have a certain invincible panache. They are proof of the adage that the hardest lie to refute is the Big Lie. Unlike, say, speculation about the 'real' author of Shakespeare's plays, these theories span so many historical specialties -- ancient Hebrew customs, early Christian texts, regional French folklore, ancient and contemporary church history, medieval dynastic minutiae, Renaissance and neoclassical art, esoteric movements of the early modern age, and so on -- that no one person has the expertise to refute all of the fabrications..."Numerous books have been published refuting the novel's depiction of Jesus' life and Christianity's early years, but most of these have been written by defensive evangelicals. They aren't particularly interesting to a secular reader -- or reliable, since their authors are deeply invested in a particular view of Jesus. They don't apply standards of proof (or, to be precise, plausibility) of much use to nonbelievers. Fortunately, Bart D. Ehrman, who chairs the department of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has just published Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code..."Ehrman methodically demolishes a sizable chunk of the conspiratorial claims in The Da Vinci Code, which are mostly cribbed from Holy Blood, Holy Grail. To hit some of the high spots: Early Christian texts excluded from the New Testament did not depict Jesus as human rather than divine; in fact, quite the opposite...It was not unheard-of for a Jewish man of Jesus' time to be either single or celibate, particularly if he was part of the apocalyptic prophetic movement of the day, as Jesus most likely was..."A significant portion of the fan base for The Da Vinci Code consists of women who are uncomfortable with the male-dominated, slightly to very misogynistic nature of the Christianities they were raised in and who see Brown's version of early Christian history as a corrective. As Ehrman points out, it does appear that women had a more prominent role in Jesus' ministry than might be expected of a religious movement at that time and place. Some of that status is apparent in the canonical texts..."The early Christian scriptures...were written by people who were the product of a patriarchal culture that subscribed to many values we abhor today -- slavery, for one. Most of Jesus' followers assumed the world as they knew it was about to end very soon, to be replaced by an earthly kingdom of heaven. They were wrong about that and a lot of other things. To try to recast them as people with egalitarian attitudes about the sexes is to imply that we can't improve our own society without some kind of precedent from them. This idea could be even sillier than anything in The Da Vinci Code."It's true that Ehrman's book is the best available corrective, though he gives the novel credit for at least being a good thriller. (Like Miller, I think it fails miserably even on that score.) Most other rebuttals are too defensively apologetic, though I suppose Ben Witherington's Gospel Code is decent enough if you can wade through his hallelujahs. Andrew Criddle said... Sharan Newman's 'The Real History Behind the Da Vinci Code' is good particularly on the medieval material, (Newman was a medievalist before becoming a historical novelist), and without overt religious agenda. Loren Rosson III said... Yes, I ordered this for my library a while back. It's on one of my amazon lists.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/2337

Poster by T.A. A brief survey of the short story part 18 Stefan Zweig For Stefan Zweig, the first and second world wars destroyed an entire way of life, one kept alive in his subtle, striking, page-turning stories Chris PowerThursday 11 June 2009 11.18 BST Despite being one of the most famous writers in the world during the 1920s and 30s, Stefan Zweig's reputation faded considerably – and almost totally in English-speaking countries – following the second world war. Over the past few years, however, his star has once more been in the ascendant. That many of his stories are in print again is thanks, in this country at least, to Pushkin Press, whose stewardship of European literature in translation is one of the more praiseworthy publishing endeavours of the past decade. The primary reasons why Zweig's stories are so worthy of reclamation from obscurity are straightforward and compelling: the stories are imbued with tremendous psychological acuity; they are as page-turning as they are subtle; and the profound moral sense which underpins them never tips over into moralising. To fully understand Zweig, who was a non-practising Jew, it is necessary to be aware of the value he placed on his identity as a European and as a citizen of the world, as opposed to of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Born into a wealthy Viennese family in 1881, Zweig wrote in his posthumously published memoir, The World of Yesterday (1943), that his parents regarded their environment "as if it had been a house of stone". "Today, now that the great storm has long since smashed it, we finally know that that world of security was naught but a castle of dreams." By far the most effective and striking part of Zweig's fictional oeuvre is precisely to do with this disappearance of the old world and its cultural values, and with the war that destroyed them. It might be thought that harking back to the "good old days" of the Austro-Hungarian empire makes Zweig a decadent but, as Paul Bailey has noted, "Zweig puts decadence in perspective, neither revelling in its attractiveness not castigating its more squalid aspects. It is his aesthetic purpose to sound the human note, and to do so in such a disarming manner as to shame the reader who has already made facile judgements." Additionally, Zweig was a committed pacifist and worked throughout the first world war to disseminate his beliefs, combining in this mission with the French writer Romain Rolland. Zweig's story Compulsion (1920), one of his finest, concerns Ferdinand, an artist who has fled to Switzerland to avoid enlistment. When his call-up orders eventually find him, he feels unaccountably obliged to comply, much to his wife's disgust. Zweig writes: "He felt that somehow or other his name had hooked him from behind to haul him back into that bloodstained thicket, that something he didn't know, although it knew him, was not about to let him go." The tension generated by Ferdinand's conflicted sense of duty, pacifist beliefs and love for his wife is extraordinarily powerful. Several more of his stories unfold beneath the war's ominous shadow. Fantastic Night (1922) purports to be the memoir of a baron who has fallen at the battle of Rawa-Ruska in 1914; in the unfinished Wondrak, written during the war, a Bohemian mother's obsessive love for her son pits her against the Imperial authorities; Incident On Lake Geneva (1936) sees an isolated Russian soldier drown while trying to return to his family; Jacob Mendel, the titular bibliophilic genius of Buchmendel, is a political innocent whose life is heartbreakingly ruined when he is suspected of being a spy. In each of these stories, innocence, promise or the pacifist's moral standpoint are either snuffed out or gravely threatened. Zweig variously describes the war as Europe's "fit of drunkenness", "this foolish prank played by diplomats and generals left to their own devices", "a strange and pitiless force treading a whole world underfoot", and the reason for "those little crosses ... that now cover the continent of Europe from end to end". It is commonly held to be the case that Zweig, having fled mainland Europe for Britain as his books were burned at Berlin University before moving to Brazil, killed himself alongside his wife in 1942 due to the news of Japan's advances in the far east. I am persuaded, however, by Clive James's opinion that this final act was of a piece with Zweig's disconsolate grief for a vanished world; that although "he already knew that the Nazis weren't going to win the war ... [he] thought they had already won the war that mattered." Austrian writers, Chris Power, Stefan Zweig,

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/2376

Book Review: Ugly to Start With by John Michael Cummings Synopsis (from Goodreads.com): Jason Stevens is growing up in picturesque, historic Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in the 1970s. Back when the roads are smaller, the cars slower, the people more colorful, and Washington, D.C. is way across the mountains—a winding sixty-five miles away. Jason dreams of going to art school in the city, but he must first survive his teenage years. He witnesses a street artist from Italy charm his mother from the backseat of the family car. He stands up to an abusive husband—and then feels sorry for the jerk. He puts up with his father’s hard-skulled backwoods ways, his grandfather’s showy younger wife, and the fist-throwing schoolmates and eccentric mountain characters that make up Harpers Ferry—all topped off by a basement art project with a girl from the poor side of town. Ugly to Start With punctuates the exuberant highs, bewildering midpoints, and painful lows of growing up, and affirms that adolescent dreams and desires are often fulfilled in surprising ways. My Review: *I received a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.* I enjoyed this book for the most part. I don't really think it's quite right for my age group, and it's not the kind of book I normally read. There were a few parts that made me squirm a bit (parts I skipped), and the I'm not a big fan of cussing. Luckily the whole book wasn't like that. I really like the way the book was written. It's almost like a collection of short stories, but all about the same person and they happen in order. The way it's written and the way it flows sort of makes you think about it. Like taking a step back to digest it all. It's a short book, but it doesn't read very fast. I don't mean it's slow, its just not something you can speed through. I liked the characters a lot, too. I thought that the author put a lot of thought into them, and I thought they were well-developed. It was interesting to get a peek into Jason's life. I didn't feel like I got much more than just a peek, though. I think the book shows a good understanding of a lot of issues, particularly of growing up and prejudices, and how people deal with them. Overall, I think it's a fantastic book. Beautifully written. It just wasn't the right book for me. 3.5 Stars. John Michael Cummings, Ugly to Start With Lulu (The Bookworm is Here!)February 23, 2012 at 11:41 PMWell said Amanda. I felt the same way - its just not in our age group but the book is actually very beautiful. Thanks for your honest words :)ReplyDeleteRepliesAmanda B.February 24, 2012 at 5:03 PMThanks for the comment!DeleteReplyAdd commentLoad more... Last Day!!! Cover Reveal: Defiance by C.J. Redwine Book Review: Ugly to Start With by John Michael Cu... Giveaway! Emily's House by Natalie Wright Book Review: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E.... Talented and Caged Winners Something I thought I'd Share... Chapter Samplers: Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton Teaser Trailer - The Mail Still Runs Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth Giveaway! Talented and Caged by Sophie Davis New Design!

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/2377

Healing the Unquiet Spirit The spirits call to meI hear the spirits of the dead.Those who have died in war, natural and man made disasters, and the spirits of loved ones.In the case of the murder of Meredith Kercher, it was her spirit that called for justice, and still affects many.We are surrounded by spirits. Children see them as flashes of light or people, in the corners of their eyes, and ask quiet questions about them. Adults grow up, and forget how to do so, until tragedy hits them.An old friend, Yogi Alfred Narayana, a famous Toronto psychic, was murdered a while ago. But then, he told me he would be killed one day. My brother died of leukemia at the age of 10, and it was only when I asked the questions about what happens to us after death that I was able to start preparing for my life as a healer.Many of us carry old traumas from past lives, from the destruction of Atlantis and Aergon, from Atlan. On Atlan many spirits simply crossed over into another dimension and were reborn here, and carry a sense of being strangers in their bodies, beings out of sync with time, spirit, and place.I once cleansed an entire apartment building, the Manulife Center in Toronto. It was built over some native remains and people were getting strange, suicidal thoughts. You just need water, candles, smudge the building. When we got to the 18th floor the actor Christopher Plummer walked into the elevator. Lovely twinkle when we told him what we were doing.So, we are surrounded by spirits. But we also, have the unquiet spirit within.I heal the unquiet spirit. An Easter Meditation I asked a question about First LoveI've mentioned how I hold 3-4 meditations a year with my close group. We share food, wine, and friendship, and the things that occur around this time, I share with you.This year has seen a lot of movement and change, in keeping with the themes of reflection and renewal. Many of the things we hold on to, will be left behind.We had the meditation this Saturday, March 31. I turned off the lights for Earth Hour, and lit some candles. Someone asked a question about her first love, was he around, and I said yes, and he was happily married :) So I asked every one to tell a story about their first love. Yes, some hold on to them, and some, are transformed by them and move on, but isn't that the theme of Easter? Rebirth and Resurrection? And Bunnies?So, speaking of bunnies, someone told a story about bunnies. Working on a farm, his dad had inadvertently killed some wild rabbits in their nest with a backhoe. His brother raised the surviving baby rabbits, whose poop all over the premises led to him getting the bunny disease tularemia which led to meningitis. He almost died, and his health has not been the same since. So I invited him for a healing, and the pain he had in his head for some time shifted down to his back. This reminded me of something that happened a while ago. When he came for a first healing, he had some sort of visual disturbance that caused him to not come back again for a while. Yet, this is what I do. By stirring up the area that has been damaged, yes, there can be, um temporary reactions. Yet, the reaction tells me the healing is working. Tularemia causes optical neuritis, which can affect the eyesight and cause headaches. So I gave another healing, and he seemed to feel better, and now, there is hope for him, where conventional medicine had no answer.And when we talked about it at the meditation, I talked about how one thing leads to another, and how important it is, the communication we establish with one another. And how I had once again received a reminder about the little girl Sara, the miracle child I talked about before, and this is where Ania stuck up her hand and said this was what I did several years ago. She was in my office and I held up my hand and said hold on for a moment, then I called Hawaii and it turns out the mother was hemorrhaging and about to go the hospital, and for the next while it was touch and go to send healing and help deliver her child.But really, this meditation is about one's first love, and how we are always chasing after that. Yes, we can connect with a soul mate or an idealised being and keep looking for that person. Yet, the question then is where is love, and why don't have that loved one? Why do we spend lives in loneliness, looking for love? Indeed, what we seek is unconditional love, but, be it pets or people, that may not always be there. There is a time, a moment, of creation. In that moment, you see the one true love, which is that of God, for all of God's creation. God does not judge, or condemn you. It is that love we seek, beyond every other kind. God loves all beings, and every once in a while reincarnates to remind those of us who forgot, what it was like to know that.And that was the message of this Easter meditation.Ps: While I was writing this blog, twelve tornadoes touched down in the Dallas-Fort Worth area during a major storm http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/05/uk-usa-tornado-dallas-idUSLNE83303820120405 There has been extensive damage, especially in the town of Lancaster, Tx, and some fear that 2012 will be even worse than 2011, which was the worst year in a century.I felt this disturbance in the energies, and, as I said before, such events often follow my meditations. My connection with the Dallas area is this: I was welcomed by and stayed with good friends in Dallas for several months over 1994, and many of my followers still live there. I am glad to hear that no one was killed. As the mayor of Dallas said, "it was a miracle". This, too, is the message of Easter. Follow the spiritual path. Believe in miracles.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/2404

Eliot: Impersonal Theory of Poetry Eliot, a Poet Critic Eliot is one of the long line of poet-critics which stretches right from Ben Jonson to our day, and includes such names as Dryden, Dr. Johnson, Coleridge and Arnold. Though he did not formulate any comprehensive theory of poetry, he was a conscious poet who had thought long and deep about the mysteries of his own art. His critical essays, reviews and editorial contributions and commentaries throw a flood of light on his view of poetry. An understanding of his poetic creed is interesting and desirable, for he is the only critic after Wordsworth who has much to say about poetry and the poetic process. His criticism comes from his “poetic workshop”, and hence its special significance. Need of Complexity: Reasons for It The Georgian and Edwardian poetry of England of the first quarter of the 20th century was in the thinned out romantic-pre-raphaelite tradition. It was simple, it was easy, and so it was popular, but it was not great or good. It was Eliot’s reaction to romanticism, “that led to his formulating the literary theories from which all his poetry since has derived”—(Maxwell). For example, the decadent poetry of his age dispensed with all subtlety, metrical, linguistic, intellectual, or emotional. Eliot’s own esotericism—complexity and difficulty—is in part a reaction or revolt to the exotericism (lack of subtlety) of this poetry. Reacting against the popular appeal of the poetry of the day, he voluntarily cultivated subtlety and complexity in the hope of finding or creating an audience which, though small, would at least appreciate and understand. In his essay on The Metaphysical Poets, he writes: “Poets in our civilisation must be difficult. Our civilisation comprehends great variety and complexity, and this variety and complexity, playing upon a refined sensibility, most produce various and complex results. The poet must become more and more comprehensive, more allusive, more indirect, in order to force, to dislocate, if necessary, language into his meaning.” The poet must create new devices, cultivate all the possibilities of words, in order to express entirely new conditions. His own poetry is a new kind of poetry, his technique is new, and this very novelty creates difficulties. Rejection of Subjectivism: Stress on Objectivity Eliot’s theory of poetry marks a complete break from the 19th century tradition. He rejected the romantic theory that all art is basically an expression of the artist’s personality, and that the artist should create according to the dictates of his own “inner voice”, without owing allegiance to any outside authority. In his essay on The Function of Criticism he tells us that writing, according to the “inner voice”, means writing as one wishes. He rejects romantic subjectivism, and emphasises the value of objective standards. Reacting against subjectivism of the romantics, Eliot advocated his famous theory of the impersonality of poetry. He recognised the dangers of unrestricted liberty, and felt that granted such licence, there would be only, “fitful and transient bursts of literary brilliance. Inspiration alone is not a safe guide. It often results in eccentricity and chaos.” Moreover, the doctrine of human perfectibility and the faith in “inner voice” received a rude shock as a result of the world war. It was realised that man is not perfect, and hence perfect art cannot result from merely the artist’s following his inner voice. Some sort of guidance, some discipline, some outside authority was necessary to save art from incoherence and emptiness. Thus Eliot condemned the Inner Light as, “the most untrustworthy and deceitful guide that ever offered itself to wandering humanity,” and pointed out that the function of the critic is to find out some common principles, objective standards, by which art may be judged and guided. Eliot rejected the romantic fallacy, says Maxwell, for it, “has resulted in destruction of belief in central authority to which all men might owe allegiance, in objective standards by which men might agree to judge art, and in any inspiration other than the shifting of personality through which adult, orderly art might be created.” Passion for Form: Unification of Sensibility Thus Eliot demands an objective authority for art, and in this way his theory of poetry approximates to that of the classics. Rejecting the romantic theory and the romantic tradition, he emphasises that the classics achieved, an elegance and dignity absent from the popular and pretentious verse of the romantic poets. In The Function of Criticism he writes that the difference between the two schools is that, “between the complete and the fragmentary, lie adult and the immature, the orderly and the chaotic.” This shows Eliot’s appreciation of the order and completeness of classical poetry, qualities which he tried to achieve in his own practice as a poet. The classics could achieve this form and balance, this order and completeness, only because they owed allegiance to an objective authority which was provided to them by past tradition—”stores of tradition”. Another sign of maturity, according to Eliot, is the unification of sensibility—of thought and feeling, of the critical and the creative faculties. Such unification Eliot found in the Metaphysicals, and hence his admiration for them. Sense of Tradition: The Poetic Process Since the romantic tradition had exhausted itself out and had lost its value and significance, it was necessary to search for some other tradition which may give a correct orientation to contemporary poetry. In his well-known easy, Tradition and Individual Talent, he advocates the acceptance of the European literary tradition as such an objective authority. Eliot views the literature of Europe from Homer down to his own day as a single whole and pleads that English literature must be viewed as a part of that European literary tradition. According to Eliot, two kinds of constituents go into the making of a poem: (a) the personal elements, i.e. the feelings and emotions of the poet, and (b) the impersonal elements, i.e. the ‘tradition’, the accumulated knowledge and wisdom of the past, which are acquired by the poet. These two elements interact and fuse together to form a new thing, which we call a poem. The impersonal element, the ‘erudition’, ‘the sense of tradition’, or the ‘historic sense’, must be acquired by the poet. He must, “develop or procure the consciousness of the past, and that he must develop the consciousness of the past throughout his career”. Some will acquire it more easily, while others have to sweat for it. But all must acquire it, for great art is not possible without this sense of tradition. Thus Eliot emphasises painstaking effort through which the poet must equip himself for his task. Inspiration is not enough; perspiration too is necessary. That Eliot regards poetry as a craft, the result of painstaking effort on the part of the poet, is also borne out by his definition of poetry: “Poetry is excellent words in excellent arrangement and excellent metre.” A great part of the poet’s labour is the labour of analysing, selecting and rejecting. Dynamic Conception of Tradition Though like the classics Eliot insists that the individual poet must work within the frame of tradition, his view of tradition is not passive, static or unchanging. In this respect, he differs from the classics who believed in a blind adherence to a fixed, and unchanging tradition. According to Eliot, the literary tradition constantly grows, changes, and becomes different: “When a really great work of art is created, the whole existing order is altered. In this way, the past is altered by the present and the present is directed by the past.” The historic sense or the sense of tradition implied that the poet is conscious, “not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence; the historical sense compels a man to write not merely with his own generation in his bones but with a feeling that the whole of the literature of Europe from Homer down to the present day, and within it the whole of literature of his own country has a simultaneous existence and composes a simultaneous order.” Impersonality of Poetry Reacting against Wordsworth’s theory that poetry is, “spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling,” or that poetry has its origin in “emotions recollected in tranquillity”, Eliot advances his theory of impersonality of poetry. He observes, “Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion but an escape from emotion, it is not an expression of personality but an escape from personality.’“ The greatest art is objective: “the more perfect the artist, the more completely separate in him will be the man who suffers and the mind which creates”. As a matter of fact, the poet has no personality, he is merely a receptacle, a shred of platinum, a medium which fuses and combines feelings and impressions in a variety of ways. Intensity: The Themes of Poetry Thus poetry is not concerned with personal emotion. Even imagined experiences will do. The poet’s imagination can work as well upon what he has experienced as on what he had read. Further, Eliot points out that it is wrong to suppose that poetry is concerned merely with beauty. The subject of poetry is life with all its horror, its boredom and its glory. It is the poet’s consciousness of the situation—the human predicament, which has been the same in all ages—which should inspire poetic creation. If the poet’s sense of his own age is intense enough, he will be able to pierce beneath the superficial differences between one age and another, and realise the fundamental sameness of human life in all ages. Then he will realise the horror, the ugliness as well the glory of life, and communicate it to his readers. It is the intensify of the poetic process, and not the romantic spontaneity, which is the important thing. Objective Co-relative: Depersonalisation of Emotion Further, Eliot points out that the poet can achieve impersonality and objectivity by finding some ‘objective co-relative’ for his emotions. He defines, objective co-relative as a “set of objects, a situation, a chain of events which shall be the formula”, for some particular emotion of the poet. Thus Milton could find a perfect objective co-relative for the release of his personal emotions in the story of Samson. Eliot himself uses European literature ancient myths and legends, as objective co-relatives in his poetry. Such depersonalisation of emotion is the test of great poetry. Function of Poetry As regards the function of poetry, Eliot suggests that the poet is an artist whose primary function is to maintain the pattern of tradition as well as to redesign it by his own creation. No doubt, poetry is a “superior amusement”, but primarily the purpose of poetry is neither to please nor to instruct. The poet is “involved with the past and the future”: with the future because he is assuring the continuance of tradition, and, therefore, of art; with the past because he must explore and study the tradition, as well as modify it, and in this way transmit it to the future. “His search is to discover again what has been found before, and to adapt it to contemporary needs.” Eliot does not totally reject the cultural function of poetry, but in this connection his views have a religious bias. “Eliot’s impersonal theory of poetry is the greatest theory on the nature of poetic process after Wordsworth’s romantic conception of poetry.” —(A.G. George) thank u soooooooo much!!!! You are Mooost Welcome.... very helpful notes...thanks There are more notes coming. please keep visiting the website... I m really benifitted by this note.Thank U very much. thanks for the note.it is really very helpful Ahaa, its niсe dіalogue cоncerning thіѕ artiсle heгe at thіs wеblog, I have геad all thаt, so at thіs time me also commеnting heгe.My web page :: megas The article is very helpful. Matiur Rahman Mazumder The article is well-informed and throws much light on Eliot's literary criticism.Thank u. M.R.Mazumder Very helpful thanku soo much

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/2422

MAYNARD, Ricky Australia 1953 Free Country Portrait of a Distant Land silver gelatin photograph Courtesy of the artist and Stills Gallery © Ricky Maynard. Licensed by VISCOPY, Australia VIEW: ARTICLE | BIOGRAPHY | The truth really is about an honest interpretation. Ricky Maynard, 2007[1] What do you see when you look into Ricky Maynard’s photographs? Do you see the incredible attention to detail in the work of a tremendously gifted and dedicated picture-maker, or perhaps the technical mastery and passion of an artist who has remained loyal to the tradition of large-format photography? Maybe you see the unique cultural presence in Maynard’s works that gives them a layered complexity and challenges the perspective of the viewer. Maynard’s practice is skilled, considered and culturally charged, and in Portrait of a distant land the work seems intensely personal and critical on a number of levels. This series of photographs traces the modern evolution and adaptation of the ancient living culture of Aboriginal people in Tasmania alongside recent European settlement, in the context of the frequently violent interaction between the two cultures. Maynard is a member of the Big River and Ben Lomond tribes of Tasmania, and his work is about the history of his people. He tells their stories as a way of honouring them and affirming the maintenance of local Aboriginal cultural practices. His photographs are indeed portraits: of people, and of places; more than mere documentation they illuminate local Aboriginal history. In his first body of work, the Moonbird people1985–88, Maynard depicted a Tasmanian Aboriginal community from the Bass Strait during the annual muttonbird season. In Portrait of a distant land Maynard shows the physical and social landscape of his people through songlines, corner stones, petroglyphs, massacre sites, middens, meeting places, sacred sites and cultural practices, in a combination of visual diary and oral history. The works question the ownership of land and history. Recognising that the history represented in Australian cultural institutions is largely written – and pictured – by the dominant colonising European culture, Maynard invites audiences to understand things from a different perspective, that of the first Tasmanians. He asserts: We now tell our own history. Picking that up and carrying forth.[2] Each image in Portrait of a distant land is juxtaposed with personal, poignant and insightful words by revered members of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community, who have maintained and upheld local cultural heritage. Maynard believes strongly in maintaining cultural integrity in his practice, and he sees the process of picture-making as collaboration with his subjects. In The healing garden, Wybalenna, Flinders Island, Tasmania and Death in exile, Wybalenna, Flinders Island, Tasmania both 2005, Maynard portrays two sides of the human condition by showing two important aspects of the same place: Wybalenna on Flinders Island. Here is both life and death. The pictures are about remembering both the bad and the good: Aboriginal people living in exile because of conflict and broken promises, yet, perhaps most importantly, revealing the ability to heal. Vansittart Island 2007 depicts another site of exile for mainland Tasmanian Aboriginal people, where there is evidence of their graves, subsequently raided by Europeans in the name of research. This culturally insensitive, indeed barbaric, practice is controversial yet sadly continues today. The first four images in Maynard’s Portrait of a distant land were completed in 2005 to wide acclaim, and were subsequently produced as billboards around Sydney train stations and freeways as part of an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Interesting times: focus on contemporary Australian art (22 September to 27 November 2005). This high-visibility project was later included in the Busan Biennale (Korea) in October 2006 and Ten Days on the Island (Tasmania) in March 2007. The title of the series highlights the artist’s desire to create a body of work that is considered and true; a portrait, by definition, is an honest and genuine attempt to portray a person, place or subject matter. Maynard presents important aspects of Aboriginal history, of a people largely ignored or defined by romanticised stereotypes that persisted through to the late 1970s and early 1980s, when their continued existence was still in dispute. Maynard’s images do more than welcome us to aspects of his culture; they show the maintenance of Aboriginal cultural practice and challenge audiences to view our shared history and country with empathy and with greater understanding. The works in Portrait of a distant land make a very powerful statement. Keith Munro [1] Interview with Keith Munro, 2 March 2007. [2] Maynard, interview.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/2524

Review - The Watch: Casus Belli #s 1-3 The Watch: Casus Belli #1-3By Christian Read, Stewart McKenney, and Annette KwokPublished by Phosphorescent ComicsThe Watch: Casus Belli is the third volume of The Watch, a superhero conspiracy saga about a world gone awry after thousands of its citizens spontaneously acquire superhuman powers. The Watch Inc., founded by the powerful telepath Jack Hawkins, acts as a superhuman mercenary organization. In the third installment of the series, the team is sent to help stop a supervillain’s merciless assault on Beijing. While battling the villain Lucifer and his warped cronies, the team is in for more than they bargained for, including surprise attacks by heroes and villains alike, and an encounter with the mysterious Abaddon that may or may not help answer the question of why the world has spawned so many super-powered warriors, as well as hinting at a shadowy agenda on the part of Jack Hawkins.My first impression was that The Watch: Casus Belli promised to be nothing more than a smaller press superhero-fight book. A good portion of the first issue is reserved for listing the various players and their respective powers, and I sighed a little at one particular line from the character Luc Coltraine: "My powers say he’s vulnerable to my strength level." It read like the kind of line Internet "versus thread" debaters quote for future reference, while leaving the more discerning readers scratching their heads as to how anyone can know what their "strength level" is, and wondering how long it will take for the tabletop RPG to come along.Further reading reveals that, while it certainly is the action that drives the story, more than "just another" superhero-fight book, it’s a damn good superhero-fight book. It’s smart and funny, with some great lines like, "I’m an iconoclastic leftist poet who juggles helicopters. You ain’t seen nothing like me," and the bloody fisticuffs are done with an artistry most superhero battle mags lack. It has the feel of a more cartoony Ultimates, except that it plunges headfirst into the action.The main problem with The Watch: Casus Belli is its size versus its scope. By the time the UN-sponsored superhero team, UNite, arrives in the third issue, the cast list is already too long. Along with The Watch and Lucifer’s followers, the superhero duo Magus and Paladin battle Lucifer in the skies above Beijing, former Watch member The Fisher shows up hoping to take revenge on Jack Hawkins, and the villain Abaddon and his thugs the Blackday Soldiers trouble the heroes as well. In spite of the prompts tagged to each battle (e.g., "Event 3 –Adelaide Green Vs. Johnny Grond"), it’s tough to not get lost in the action. This is the first full-color volume of The Watch, and I suspect that had a lot to do with the length of this installment. Regardless of the reason, with multiple super-battles raging across a war-torn Beijing and a dense conspiracy just beginning to be understood, it’s really more than three issues–regardless of the storyteller–could withstand. That, coupled with a climax that serves mainly to build suspense for future issues rather than as resolution, leaves you more confused than intrigued.Still, it should be mentioned that I’ve never read either of the first two volumes of The Watch, and those with some emotional investment in the characters and story may feel differently. If nothing else, if you’re like me, the more engaging aspects of The Watch: Casus Belli may pique your curiosity enough to make you want to track those first two volumes. Unfortunately, on its own, it leaves a lot to be desired. The Skull Man #1 The Defenders #10 The Incredible Hulk #33 Review - Fallen Angel Review - Hench

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/2620

Dec 6 2013 at 12:01 AM Updated Dec 6 2013 at 12:04 AM Arts and business: Creative Partnerships Awards Helen Nugent winner of the Richard Pratt Business Arts Leadership Award. AFR by Katrina Strickland Helen NugentNon-executive director, Macquarie Group, Macquarie Bank, Origin Energy; chairman, Funds SA, National Portrait Gallery; chancellor, Bond University; ­president, Cranbrook School. Winner Richard Pratt Business Arts Leadership Award.MY INTEREST in the arts started when I was studying in London for my doctorate in Indian history. I was this 20-something girl from Brisbane who was suddenly going to the theatre every second night. It opened my eyes to a new, exciting world and caused me to look for ways of engaging with the arts. Then, when I was a council member at Monash University, the vice-chancellor wanted me to become a member of Monash’s finance committee. I did him a trade: in return, I would become Monash’s nominee director on the Playbox Theatre board. That was the start of a great adventure.From there, David Clarke [the late Macquarie Bank chairman] invited me to join the board of Opera Australia. David was a great philanthropist and it was de rigueur for every director on the Opera Australia board to give financially. I’m really proud of the work we – panel members Michael Chaney, David Gonski, Catherine Walter and myself – did for the federal government’s 1999 inquiry into the major performing arts. We wanted to find a way to build the companies’ capital base, to allow them to be creatively bold without risking financial ruin. State and federal governments now give $1 each for every $1 the companies put into their reserves pot. This kind of incentivised matching program has really taken off in philanthropic circles. The inquiry’s other enduring legacy has been the three-way relationship built between federal arts funding agency the Australia Council (where I was chairman of the major performing arts board), each of the state government agencies and the companies they fund. It’s a really productive, powerful model.When I look back, I can see that the arts, education and business have become inextricably entwined in my life.Betty AmsdenGovernor, Arts Centre Melbourne Foundation; founder, Betty Amsden Arts Education Endowment for Children. Winner of the Creative Partnerships Philanthropy Leadership Award. THERE ARE two schools of thought about giving. There are some people who like to be private, but many, many years ago Dame Elisabeth Murdoch said to me: “Betty, I never see your name anywhere." And I said, “Well, I don’t want it to be anywhere." And she said: “That’s wrong. You should be putting your name to whatever you do because that is an example to other people." I thought about it for quite some time and that is when I started to be named, for want of a better word.I was taught very early on that if I had a sixpence in my pocket, I had to share it. The first threepence I gave away, I can assure you, was the worst thing I ever had to do. I saw this silver coin in my hand and thought, “I have to give half of that away". You don’t realise the impact at the time, but the girl I gave it to at the lolly counter became my greatest friend. I would like to encourage younger people to think more about sharing.I am self-made. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth and I have worked very hard. I was born in 1926, in the heart of the Depression. I didn’t know anything about art as a child because I didn’t have time. I left school at 15 and I have been working ever since. I built the first nursing home of its kind in Camberwell. That was a heck of a risk. My mother became very ill and my father passed away when I was quite young, so I became the sole supporter of the house. At the first meeting I had with the manager of the Bank of NSW, I walked in and said: “I need a loan of around £70,000." He said: “Really?" I had to report to him every month. I told him I would pay him in 10 years and I did. I have met some very nice young people who have the ability to lead, and I would try to empower them as much as I could to bring their people on board.Betty Amsden spoke to Patrick DurkinLynda DorringtonExecutive director, FORM. Winner of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Arts Leadership Award. WE [WEST AUSTRALIANS] build safe, straight, great bridges and don’t spend a cent on the flourish. We are predominantly a state of engineers and scientists, which is amazing, what a fabulous resource but we can let our hair down and misbehave a bit. For all that “wild west" talk we are the most conservative state in the nation.I don’t want to look back in ten years’ time and say I could have done more. I suppose I am comfortable with risk; in fact, I find it quite exciting. The cultural sector is what gets me out of bed in the morning, but I guess I am more interested in the space between the traditional and the innovative, the capacity to really push yourself to find the unexplored. My job is just to make sure that we are not insolvent at the end of the year but the job of the creative team is to put on the ground the most amazing projects imaginable, and they can only do that because we have good partnerships.I took over [creative powerhouse FORM] when the paint on the wall was counted as an asset, to now ... to a turnover of $8 million or $9 million a year. Less than 5 per cent comes from art funding, the bulk is raised from partnerships. In WA where you have enormous wealth,, you still have a state that largely doesn’t invest in the cultural sector.As soon as the words, “slowdown in the resources sector" and “boom and bust" start to appear, you can bet there is an ingrained fear in the WA DNA that this will happen again. So it is a hard gig, to be honest. BHP has been a tremendous supporter – they stay with you on projects for seven, eight, 10 years. That is not to say you don’t have your ups and downs because of changes of CEOs, but they have been prepared to weather the storm. Wesfarmers has also been with us for the first 12 years.Lynda Dorrington spoke to Patrick Durkin This article Arts and business: Creative Partnerships Awards was originally published in BOSS. Sam Walsh, Grant King: oil and water ScoMo's Grebe keeps it real Bibi: an epic life and a high stakes player Contains: Lowe urges business on investment Contains:

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/2628

Aimé Tschiffely - Long Rider Tschiffely's Ride Books by Aimé Tschiffely The Tschiffely Literary Estate Mancha and Gato Tschiffely Articles by and about Tschiffely Violeta Tschiffely "Don Roberto" Cunninghame Graham Correspondence and documents The Solanet family St. George's College Aimé Tschiffely Though he was to become the most famous Long Rider in history, Aimé Tschiffely started life quietly enough in the small village of Zofingen, Switzerland. The call of adventure and travel soon lured the young Swiss man to move to England in the early 1910s. There he tried his hand at a number of occupations, including a bout as a professional prize-fighter. But despite his pugilistic abilities, Aimé was a devout student and ardent reader. Having been offered a chance to teach at St. George's College, a boys' school in Argentina, Aimé moved to Buenos Aires in 1917. Once again, it was the lure of travel which drove the fighter turned maths teacher to make an historic decision. In 1925 Aimé set out to ride 10,000 miles alone from Buenos Aires to New York city. For the next three years Aimé and his two Criollo geldings, Mancha and Gato, survived a litany of hardships unequalled in equestrian travel. The trio trekked through mud-holes, over quicksand bogs and across rivers, over the mountains of Bolivia and into the steep jungle valleys of Peru and across the Matacaballo (“Horse-killer”) Desert. The towns they travelled through include La Paz, Cuzco, Lima, Quito and Bogota, Panama, San José, San Salvador, San Luis Potosi. They crossed into the USA at Laredo and continued to Washington via San Antonio, St. Louis and Columbus. Then, after being hailed as a hero by the President of the United States, the quiet Swiss traveller returned home with his horses to Argentina, and spent some time there. Then he went to the USA and in 1932 he returned to England and took up writing full time. His ensuing first book, Tschiffely's Ride sold more copies than any other Long Rider book in the twentieth century. For more information about this astonishing journey, please go to the Articles page. Here is the moving postscript Tschiffely wrote to the rare 1952 edition of Tschiffely's Ride, in which he comments on the changes in the half-century since his journey. He also writes most movingly of the deaths of Gato and Mancha. He penned a remarkable biography of his friend, the noted Scottish socialist-adventurer, Robert Cunninghame Graham. But, always restless, he journeyed back to Latin America several times, afterwards writing a number of books based on his keen observations. For more information on the Long Rider's life, please click here. Ten days before Christmas 1953 Aimé Tschiffely, the most influential equestrian travel writer of the 20th century, checked into the Mile End Hospital in London for a minor operation. He died unexpectedly on 5th January due to complications related to the surgery. Ever the traveller, Aimé had one more journey to make: his ashes were sent to his beloved Argentina, where they rest near the memorial for his horses on the El Cardal ranch. In 1999 the Argentine Congress passed a law celebrating 20th September of each year the “Día Nacional del Caballo” (National Day of the Horse) - because that is the day Aimé arrived in New York in 1928. Five generations have got in the saddle and headed over the horizon because of Aimé Tschiffely. This website is devoted to the man, his horses, his books, his family and his life. It is dedicated to Jean Cunninghame Graham (Jean, Lady Polwarth) who protected Aimé's literary legacy for so many years. News! The Aimé Tschiffely Memorial Ride Memorials and Statues Aimé Tschiffely T-shirts The Literary Legacy of the Tschiffely Estate Documents and Correspondence All information and images on this website copyright (c) 2008-2017 The Aimé Tschiffely Literary Estate, Basha O'Reilly, Executor. Click on picture to visit The Long Riders' Guild website. Click on picture to visit The Long Riders Guild Academic Foundation website Click on picture to visit the Horse Travel Books website Click on picture to visit the Classic Travel Books website

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/2807

Best Books Ever Thread: Best Books Ever Location Hartford, CT USA If we're doing primarily fiction, here's mine: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - American rendition of the Aussie/Brit concept of "the tall poppy syndrome" The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway - The joys and sorrows of manhood as exemplified in Jake Barnes who has lost his in WWI Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald - Love, sacrifice, control, and eventual loss. Everything you can say about the relationship between a man and a woman On the Road by Jack Kerouac - Purest expression of post-WWII America and the beat generation with an exuberance for living and loving The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham - The antithesis of the 30 year fixed, 2.1 kids in an SUV, Pleasant Valley Sunday set talleyJudy Location River Falls, WI This isn't fiction, but a lovely, thought provoking biographical story none the less. Especially for us canine 'fans', you will look at you dog with new awareness. Merle's door : lessons from a freethinking dog by Ted Kerasote "If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." author Will Rogers IanMartins Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand. The book that changed my life in so many ways. http://www.atlasshrugged.com/ Ayn Rand’s masterpiece. It integrates the basic elements of an entire philosophy into a highly complex, yet dramatically compelling plot—set in a near-future U.S.A. whose economy is collapsing as a result of the mysterious disappearance of leading innovators and industrialists. The theme is: “the role of the mind in man’s existence—and, as corollary, the demonstration of a new moral philosophy: the morality of rational self-interest.” Nathan S. Posts 8 06-10-2008, 05:03 PM I have to admit I'm a HUGE sci-fi and fantasy fan. It helps to "escape" in this way every now and then. Top pick? Alastair Reynolds is a great noir, space-opera author. Great stuff. Robert Jordan's epic "The Wheel of Time" series is a classic in the making for fantasy fans. Those are 'my classics'.:) Gee, mine are going to seem so trivial compared to most on here, but here goes (keep in mind, this is what I think as best, of course): Pet Semetary by Stephen King -- the first book of his I'd read and still one of the most frightening things he's ever written. Watchers by Dean Koontz -- I think this was the 2nd book of his I'd read but left such a huge impression on me. Man and super-smart dog versus mutant killer-thing. What could be better? The Dark by James Herbert -- the opening scene in this book freaked me out...still does. The British equivalent to King and still writing novels. Succubi by Edward Lee -- the opening scene in this book hooked me, it being so graphically different from anything I'd ever read in the horror genre. Been hooked by Lee ever since. The Doc Ford novels by Randy Wayne White -- I grew up in southwest Florida where all his novels are set, especially around the Pine Island, Sanibel and Captiva areas. I breeze through his novels because they are fast, engaging reads, with well-developed characters and twisting plot threads. If they ever made movies from these books I always picture Harrison Ford as Doc Ford, for some reason. "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." H.P. Lovecraft in Supernatural Horror in Literature LogansPapa Location Surf City, USA Who Goes There? (science fiction) by John W. Campbell, Jr :eek: At Coretta Scott King's funeral in early 2006, Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert Kennedy, leaned over to him and whispered, "The torch is being passed to you." "A chill went up my spine," Obama told an aide. (Newsweek) FeebMaster Originally Posted by Nathan S. I just hope Brandon Sanderson doesn't butcher the last book. Which reminds me, I have to pick up some of his work to check out. My picks: Almost everything Heinlein ever wrote. Any of Neal Stephenson's work. Especially Cryptonomicon and Snow Crash. Also The Diamond Age. I really liked the Baroque Cycle as well, but a lot of people seem to think it's too long and rather slow. Symbols Flow, by George Potter. Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield. It's hard to come up with a list of bests. There's a lot of really great books out there. One of my favorites is All We Need of Hell by Harry Crews. I love southern lit, and Crews is one of my favorites. I'm also a big fan of Larry Brown and Flannery O'Connor. As a kid, Bunnicula, The Celery Stalks at Midnight, etc. were my favorites. Now, I tend towards sci-fi/fantasy, books like Armour, Ender's Game, and Starship Troopers are some of my favorites. Enders Game and pretty much anything Card writes if F-ing awsome. Originally Posted by Zafod One of my co-workers who is also a writer got picked to attend an invite-only week-long writer's workshop in San Diego by Card...of course he has to pay for air-fare and lodging, but still....pretty cool.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/2830

Hidden City Philadelphia nathanielpopkin.net | nathaniel.popkin[at]gmail.com Nathaniel is editorial director of Hidden City Philadelphia and the co-editor of the Hidden City Daily. He is the senior script writer and editor of the documentary film series "Philadelphia: The Great Experiment," winner of the 2013 Mid-Atlantic Emmy for best documentary for "Fever." He's the author of the forthcoming Lion and Leopard (The Head and the Hand Press, November 12), Song of the City, and The Possible City. Popkin writes the Art Attack/Philly.com column "Bookmarked," and is the fiction review editor of Cleaver Magazine. His work also appears regularly in The Smart Set. Much of his work can be found here. Popkin lives in Philadelphia with his wife Rona Buchalter and two children. Find him on Twitter. Program Assessment & Strategic Business Planning Planning Project

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/2895

by Ohlin, Nancy; Larkum, Adam Publisher: Little Bee Books Inc SummaryGet ready to blast back to World War II and discover what life was like during that time!Discover what life was like throughout the world during World War II. This engaging nonfiction book, complete with black and white interior illustrations, will make readers feel like they've traveled back in time. It covers everything from how the war started to the Holocaust to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and more. Find out interesting, little-known facts such as how spies deciphered enemy codes and how some small resistance groups won against the Axis Powers. The unique details, along with the clever illustrations, make this series stand out from the competition. Author BiographyNancy Ohlin is the author of the Blast Back! series, the YA novels Always, Forever and Beauty, and the early chapter book series Greetings from Somewhere under the pseudonym Harper Paris. She lives in Ithaca, New York, with her husband, their two kids, two cats, a bunny, and assorted animals who happen to show up at their door. Visit her online at nancyohlin.com. Adam Larkum is a freelance illustrator based in the United Kingdom. In addition to his illustration work, he also works in animation and develops characters for television.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/3018

Citz philosophical about its experimental edge Keith Bruce describes a real wild card opening tomorrow at the Citizens' Theatre and speaks to the woman behind the production PHOEBE von Held is the sort of thing that no-one would have predicted happening at Glasgow's Citizens'. Which makes her Stalls Studio production of Denis Diderot's Rameau's Nephew the most intriguing of this week's openings for the theatre's new season. In the more predictable company of Giles Havergal's revival of Ena Lamont Stewart's Men Should Weep and Jon Pope's latest tilt at the Gothic, his adaptation of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, Rameau's Nephew is a real wild card, and would be so in any theatre. Its presence in the programme is an indication both of the openness of a house that is often seen as wilfully self-contained, if not insular, as well as further evidence of the egalitarian nature of an organisation that makes little fuss when household names chose to work there. Ms von Held is a graduate student at London's Slade art college, where one of her tutors is the Citz's Philip Prowse. This production is, in effect, part of her course work towards her PhD, the first time anyone is aware of the Gorbals theatre filling such a role. It also arrives as an entirely self-made conception by von Held and her metropolitan peer group. While quite undramatic - and dauntingly academic - about her task, von Held clearly appreciates the opportunity. She came to London from her native Germany to attend the London Contemporary Dance School and later transferred to the Slade. Her MA was originally on alienation in the theatre of Brecht but, as her studies progressed, she uncovered earlier influences and in particular the theories of eighteenth-century French philosopher Denis Diderot. Diderot was part of a pan-European coterie of philosophers that included Scotland's David Hume at a time (which we Scots usually refer to as the Enlightenment) when a major shift in human thought was being documented in correspondence across the Continent. A playwright and the author of a seminal work of dramatic theory, The Paradox of Acting, Diderot's Rameau's Nephew was neither intended for the stage, nor for wide circulation. Although familiar to Schiller and translated by Goethe into German, it subsequently disappeared, before being found again at the end of the nineteenth century, 100 years after Diderot's death. The philosopher had worked on the text for 10 years after his actual meeting with Rameau's nephew and it takes the form of a conversation between ''The Philosopher'' and the nephew, a dialogue that explores many of the ideas in the air at the time and was in some measure a response to a contemporary satire on the role of philosophers, Les Philosophes. ''There are no dramatic situations, but the nephew performs his stories in a gesture towards theatricality,'' says von Held. ''He is a performer, a failed musician, who has never created anything original and acknowledges his mediocrity. He tells stories that come to no point.'' The dynamic is one of an old head confronted by the negativity of a teenager. A reflection of the attempt by Enlightenment philosophers to create a system of ethics that was both atheist and lacked the supremacy of a monarch, it is at least debatable whether the ''dialogue'' is not simply a reflection of a dichotomy in Diderot's own thinking. References to role-playing and masks link the piece with Diderot's writing on the nature of theatre and von Held has added her own layer of construct to that by casting women in both roles: Alexandra Belcourt, who graduated last year from the Drama Centre in London, and Candida Benson, whom she saw at a Rada graduate showcase. With her partner in the translation of the piece being Slade colleague Nina Pearlman and lighting by Zerlina Hughes, von Held's is an entirely female company. ''You could do the piece as well with men but definitely not one of each,'' she says. ''In the stories that the nephew tells he keeps impersonating femininity, and the question arises: 'What does it mean to be a woman'?'' A workshop production of the first third of the text impressed Prowse sufficiently for him to offer von Held the Citizens' slot. At the time he would have been working on last season's staging - in the same space - of Dans la Solitude by Koltes, a piece with some shared characteristics. Whatever this show turns out like, Rameau's Nephew is certainly an intriguing prospect and a timely reminder that the Citz retains its risk-taking experimental edge. n Rameau's Nephew opens tomorrow, with a free preview tonight.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/3066

Lisa SeeWriterBorn: 18 February 1955Birthplace: Paris, FranceBest known as: Author of Snow Flower and the Secret FanLisa See is the author of the non-fiction family history On Gold Mountain: The One Hundred Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family and the novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. See, who is one-eighth Chinese, grew up in Los Angeles surrounded by her Chinese-American family. After an early career writing for Publishers Weekly and other magazines, See published her first book, On Gold Mountain, in 1995. The story is a sweeping account of her father's side of the family as it moved from China to southern California. The book was a success, and See followed up with three mystery novels set in China: Flower Net (1997), The Interior (1999) and Dragon Bones (2003). Her fourth novel was the critically acclaimed bestseller Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005), the story of two women in 19th century China who communicate through a secret written language called "nu shu." See, the daughter of novelist Carolyn See, is also active in the cultural affairs of the Los Angeles Chinese-American community.Extra credit: On Gold Mountain was adapted for the Los Angeles Opera in 2000 with composer Nathan Wang. See wrote a libretto for the production.Copyright © 1998-2017 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/3156

Red Riding Hood The Graphic Novel Written by Victor Rivas Illustrated by Victor Rivas Part of the Graphic Spin Series Red Riding Hood The Graphic Novel by Victor Rivas One morning, young Ruby sets out to visit her grandma's house. She wears a Red Riding Hood to protect her from the forest's evil creatures. But will it? A hungry, old wolf has some evil plans of his own. About the Author Since 1986, Martin Powell has been a freelance writer. He has written hundreds of stories, many of which have been published by Disney, Marvel, Tekno comix, Moonstone Books, and others. In 1989, Powell received an Eisner Award nomination for his graphic novel Scarlet in Gaslight. This award is one of the highest comic book honors. Victor Rivas was born and raised in Vigo, Spain, and he now lives outside of Barcelona. Rivas has been a freelance illustrator since 1987, working on children and teen books, as well as magazines, posters, game animation, and comics. When he's not working, Rivas enjoys reading comics, watching cartoons and films, and playing strategy games. Most importantly he spends as much time as possible with his daughter, Marta. More books by this author More books by Victor Rivas Elosie Clarkson – age 11 I love Lovereading as it provides an honest opinion and showcases a range of fiction. Suited to both parents & kids alike, it’s a must-use. Katie Lonsdale I am so pleased to have signed my kids up as they are reading a much wider range of books and even choosing books out of their comfort zone.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/3179

City Lights: Turning on new 'Lights' This column has moved but will not require a new name."City Lights" — I originally thought of that title as a play on the city editor position. Now, as I move into the features editor spot, I'm reminded of from where else the inspiration came. City Lights, for those who have been to San Francisco, is one of America's legendary bookstores, the epicenter of the Beat movement in the 1950s and, for any performance poet, the equivalent of playing Carnegie Hall. "City Lights" is also the title of Charlie Chaplin's greatest film, made defiantly in 1931 after talking pictures had arrived, and is home to one of the most moving final shots in history.Years ago, I ran a blog for Times Community News and called it "Modern Times" — the title of another Chaplin classic. Those silent nuggets hold up, for sure. Not many things created half a century ago hold up today. Cars? They've long since been junked, a few survivors at classic auto shows notwithstanding. Businesses? A handful still exist; most don't. Political speeches? We can find them online but rarely call them up. When we think of 1956, Elvis Presley and Dwight Eisenhower may both spring to mind. Which one's voice do we hear more often?The other week, I talked with Dan Cameron, the chief curator at the Orange County Museum of Art, about that very issue. We had just taken a tour of the Newport Beach museum's new exhibit, "OC Collects," which features works, many of them decades old, from private collections around Orange County. Afterward, in the lobby, we put our amateur philosophers' heads together and talked about art itself. Why do people make it? What are their hopes for it? Is it just entertainment, or does it have a deeper value?Cameron, who has curated shows in the United States and abroad for decades, had a simple theory: Art represents what a society values. That a work is a hit in its time makes it relevant to that time. That it survives its time makes it a gift to the world, and something of a miracle. Even while so many other things, art and otherwise, have faded from memory, we still have Chaplin's films on DVD and Allen Ginsberg's collected works on the shelf, ready in pristine condition whenever we need them.Why? Because they tell us something about ourselves, something that goes beyond the Hollywood backlots or the dives of Cold War San Francisco. Think about it: Right now in Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa or Laguna Beach, someone may be creating a piece that will be studied and performed in hundreds of years. Is it unlikely? Yes. More unlikely than anywhere else? Hardly.The greatest success for any artist is to have his or her work endure. Think of Mozart, Shakespeare, Dickens, Michelangelo. The greatest difficulty for an artist, sometimes, can be to get a project off the ground in the first place. As Times Community News' features editor, I hope to touch on both of those sides of the process.Years ago, when I took over the business beat for the Daily Pilot, my editor told me to treat the subject matter as "man and his work." Art, likewise, is very much about man and his work (or woman and her work, as the case may be). On that path to posterity, so many hurdles sit in the way: budgets, reviews, collaborators, the right connections. Film critic Gene Siskel once told of a Hollywood producer who applauded at the end of every movie he saw, simply because he knew how hard it was to get a film made.In these pages, we hope to spotlight people at different stops along that creative journey. You'll encounter Sophocles and Beethoven and Twain, and also the woman who lives in the apartment next to yours and sews costumes for the campus theater. You'll meet authors who have won Pulitzer Prizes and others who are sweating to win first prize at the local open mic.You'll find something else too, and here I'll quote Siskel again: He once referred to his job as covering "the national dream beat." The movies, he said, represented people's dreams — what they thought about, what they feared, what they aspired to be.The same is true of any other medium. This section of our paper spotlights some of central Orange County's dreams. With a little time, with a little luck, they may be the rest of the world's dreams as well.Features Editor MICHAEL MILLER can be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com. Movies City Lights (movie) Gene Siskel Charlie Chaplin Carnegie Hall Allen Ginsberg Modern Times (movie)

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/3261

A Colorful Anniversary: The Caldecott Medal Turns 75 January 28, 20133:24 AM ET The Polar Express won the Caldecott Medal in 1986, and was turned into an animated movie with Tom Hanks in 2004. Some children's book illustrators might not have gotten a lot of sleep over the weekend. That's because they might have been wondering if this could be the year they win one of the grand prizes of children's literature: the Randolph Caldecott Medal. Enlarge this image English painter and book illustrator Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886), for whom the award is named. This year is the 75th anniversary of the Caldecott, which is given to the most distinguished children's picture book of the year. The winner is being named Monday morning at a meeting of the American Library Association. Retired children's librarian Rita Auerbach, who chaired the 2010 Caldecott award committee, says picture books allow children who are not yet readers to tell themselves the story. They "give children a sense of pictorial possibility — a way to imagine words that they might not imagine on their own," she says. The Caldecott Medal has been given to a long list of children's books, from Make Way for Ducklings and Madeline's Rescue to Where the Wild Things Are and The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Article continues after sponsorship Kevin Henkes won in 2005 for Kitten's First Full Moon. "It's a little like winning the Nobel Prize, in that forever afterward you are 'Caldecott-winning illustrator,' " Auerbach says. "That phrase accompanies your name wherever your name appears, and that's a quite wonderful thing." As important as the honorific may be, the Caldecott has another advantage. It has a big impact on sales — more so than most literary awards. Chris Van Allsburg won in 1982 for Jumanji, and he says he didn't quite want to believe he was in the running. "I always believe that you can curse your possible good fortune by anticipating it. So a much better mindset is to tell yourself you couldn't possibly get it, but on some level believe that it might still happen," he laughs. "So that's a hard place to get to mentally, but I'm capable of doing it." Van Allsburg won a second Caldecott in 1986 for The Polar Express, which has become a beloved children's classic, especially popular around Christmas. "Years ago I signed it for parents giving it to their children, and their children have subsequently become parents themselves, so now I am signing it for that generation, so that's a terrific feeling." Monkey See Tell Us: Which Of These Picture Books Is Worth A Caldecott? Author Interviews A Ball (And A Caldecott) For 'Daisy' The Dog Kevin Henkes has created a series of books about whimsical little kids who just happen to be mice: Chrysanthemum, Sheila Ray the Brave and, perhaps most famously, Lily, of Lily's Purple Plastic Purse. So it was somewhat ironic that he won his Caldecott for Kitten's First Full Moon, a book about the natural enemy of mice. "It is funny, I think — the bulk of my work, the thing I am most well-known for are the mouse books, but I'll take it," he says, laughing. Like Van Allsburg, Henkes writes as well as illustrates his books. He says he loves the way words and pictures can play against one another. "When it's done right, it can be so beautiful," he says. "And I think when it's done right and you see those words and those pictures together, those particular words and those particular pictures, once you see them you can't separate them anymore because they really become one." Both Henkes and Van Allsburg say they're happy their books have helped young children learn to read. Van Allsburg, who started as a sculptor, says he never expected to get fan mail from teachers. "They say, 'Mr. Van Allsburg, your books have a kind of challenge and a puzzle and a mystery to them that seem to stimulate the desire for the kids to read, and they've been enormously helpful in getting kids who are reluctant readers to become enthusiastic readers,' " he says. "I think that's just naturally what will happen if you've got a great story and it's got some great pictures along with it. "

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/3305

Animal encounters: Human and Animal Interaction in Britain from the Norman Conquest to World War One Until the advent of steam and later the internal combustion engine, the fortunes of man and beast were intimately and essentially bound together. Animals were fundamental partners in a range of human work and leisure activities such as transport, agriculture, industry, warfare, sports, and recreation. But their importance to human progress has become overshadowed by technology and greatly overlooked in our now largely urbanized society, from which the animal world has become ever more remote.Arthur MacGregor, in Animal Encounters, seeks to renew our appreciation of the diverse ways in which human and animal lives have been and remain interlinked. Drawing on his lifelong interest and expertise in the fields of art history, topography, archaeology, history, and archaeozoology, MacGregor provides a compelling overview of the evolving relations between the human and animal populations of the British Isles from the Norman Conquest to World War I. In this very readable, informative, and well-illustrated narrative, MacGregor explores the animal kingdom from bees to horses, and a wide range of human activities, from pigeon-breeding to bear-baiting, showing just how interdependent the animal-human relationship has been. Animal Encounters will stir a new sympathy for and an interest in the not-really-so-remote world of animals. Condition: Interior - Near-fine condition; Jacket - signs of bumping at extremities, small nicks apparent at the top of the spine. Very good condition overall. Arthur MacGregor Oxfam Shop Bangor We have a large well-stocked shop on Bangor High Street, in beautiful North Wales. The in-store Bookshop has a great selection of books. Our donated range is probably one of the best in North Wales, always well stocked with quality donated clothes, shoes and handbags. We also sell Fairtrade food, gifts and cards.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/3312

BooksAuthorsSeriesAbout Us B.G. Hennessy Photo: © Jim Hennessy B.G. Hennessy grew up in Wantagh on Long Island, NY. At the University of Wisconsin in Madison, she majored in fine art and learned how to design, print and bind handmade books. She also took courses in Children’s Literature. The combination of form and content in the picture book format fascinated her and after graduation she headed for NYC where she worked for 17 years in children’s book publishing as a designer and art director. She is the author of Road Builders and The First Night, as well as many books starring Corduroy, the loveable toy bear created by Don Freeman. She now lives with her family in Arizona. Sign me up for news about B.G. Hennessy Books by B.G. Hennessy A Christmas Wish for Corduroy Corduroy’s Halloween SE The Road Builders Corduroy’s Christmas The Dinosaur Who Lived in My Backyard Books by B.G. Hennessy published by Candlewick The Scary Places Map Book The Once Upon a Time Map Book More Series From B.G. Hennessy Corduroy SHARE:SMS Related Articles

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/3495

Triumph for Paul from Lewes at the theatre world’s Olivier Awards Lewes man Paul Pyant was a winner at this year’s prestigious Olivier Awards, celebrating the best in professional theatre. Together with Jon Driscoll, he received the White Light Award for Best Lighting Design for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.The judges considered that Paul and Jon’s spectacularly varied work played a vital role in bringing Roald Dahl’s story to vivid, rainbow-bright life. Every scene required a unique spin, from Mike Teavee’s technicolour, strobe-lit scenes to the gloomy streets of Charlie Bucket’s world. Paul, 60, of Friars Walk, has spent 40 years in theatre and his lighting designs have been featured in the West End, on Broadway and in opera houses around the world. He has received six Olivier nominations in the past but this was the first time he has hit the jackpot – and he described himself as “gobsmacked”.He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1973 and spent nearly 20 years at Glyndebourne Opera House. Three arrested after stabbing in Seaford

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/3526

Little Brown & Co Inc The record-breaking debut novel that won every major science fiction award in 2014, Ancillary Justice is the story of a warship trapped in a human body and her search for revenge. Ann Leckie is the first author to win the Arthur C. Clarke, the Nebula and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in the same year.They made me kill thousands, but I only have one target now.The Radch are conquerors to be feared - resist and they'll turn you into a 'corpse soldier' - one of an army of dead prisoners animated by a warship's AI mind. Whole planets are conquered by their own people. The colossal warship called The Justice of Toren has been destroyed - but one ship-possessed soldier has escaped the devastation. Used to controlling thousands of hands, thousands of mouths, The Justice now has only two hands, and one mouth with which to tell her tale. But one fragile, human body might just be enough to take revenge against those who destroyed her.'ENGAGING AND PROVOCATIVE' SFX Magazine'UNEXPECTED, COMPELLING AND VERY COOL'John Scalzi'HIGHLY RECOMMENDED'Independent on Sunday'MIND-BLOWING'io9.com'THRILLING, MOVING AND AWE-INSPIRING'Guardian'UTTER PERFECTION'The Book Smugglers'ASTOUNDINGLY ASSURED AND GRACEFUL'Strange Horizons'ESTABLISHES LECKIE AS AN HEIR TO BANKS'Elizabeth Bear The Kept Woman The Wandering Earth Die Maschinen Die Mission Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay The Hanging Tree George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones 5-Book Boxed Set (Song of Ice and Fire Series) The Three-Body Problem The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/3601

Interview with Brian Wood: ‘The Massive’ By Matt Staggs Brian Wood has been responsible for some of the last few decade’s most challenging comic book titles. From the stark violence of the Viking saga Northlanders to the fragile peace of DMZ‘s wartime New York, Wood has never shied away from asking tough questions about the price of civilization and the inevitability of change. His new series, The Massive, looks ahead to an uneasy future of global collapse. Look for a first look on February 1 in Dark Horse Presents #8. The full series launches in June. It seems to me that a lot of your work focuses on societies in transition, be it northern European communities responding to Christianity or the fragile peace of demilitarized New York. The Massive continues this theme. What interests you about these stories? I think the point of change is ripe material for any writer, and at any scale. I think I first figured that out with my Demo series in 2003, which, put briefly, was about these troubled people at a crossroads, faced with decisions that would radically alter their lives depending on which way they went. Those were smaller scale stories to be sure, but the same idea applies no matter how big you get. In Northlanders, as you reference, that series was set, deliberately, at a time of huge change, an entire way of life turning over, and there is no end to the stories you can set there. That’s sort of the technical reason, the pragmatic benefit as a writer looking for great material. Personally, I like to create situations where I can put my characters through hell, where they are forced to examine who they are and why they do what they do, and how those actions can affect others. I like hard time and tragedies and stories of struggle. And specifically with The Massive, the near-future enviro-disaster world hits on a lot of stuff that’s been on my mind for a couple years, themes of austerity and scarcity of food and societal breakdown and the health of the oceans. There’s a strong sense of social justice – or at least a questioning of the status quo – in your books, too, even when that “justice” comes from the point of a sword or barrel of a gun. Would you describe yourself as a political writer? I write about politics, but try not to be partisan about it. I made that decision with DMZ, to strive to the best of my abilities to not pick sides as a writer, to not make simple black/white boundaries, to always create gray areas, moral ambiguity, so the book could never be so easily labeled as this way or that. It was tricky, and maybe I slipped a few times, but on balance I think I pulled it off. If there is one definitive message the book did communicate in a forthright way, its that war is bad. If that’s a partisan position, I’m not sure I belong in the same world as those who would think so! The Massive is a little post-politics, though. The world it inhabits is sort of a minefield of current events, of divisive politics (global warming, regime change, corporate bad-behavior, etc) but all that has sort of come to pass by the time the story opens. The damage has been done, and so its less about why/how things got so bad and more about, okay, what do we do now? Powerful social themes, but not political in the same way DMZ is. I know I’m looking forward to reading The Massive. I’ve been a fan of your work for a very long time. Can you tell me a little bit about the plot? What is The Massive anyway? The Massive itself is the name of a ship, a converted trawler that serves as one half of a direct action conversationist fleet. Since the “Crash”, the end of the world, the complex series of global breakdowns that is all explained in the first chapters of the series, The Massive has gone missing, and our cast is aboard The Kapital, the other ship in the fleet. A persistent story element in the series is not just the search for the missing sister ship, but also what happened to it, and why is it so impossible to find, despite popping up from time to time on radar. There is a slight sci-fi vibe to the story as well. That personal story is mixed in with the larger one of this future world and the exploration of what it means to be a conversationist, and environmentalist, having failed to stop the end of the world? None of the rules of society apply any more. Many nations have ceased to exist. Those still around are all now in what we would call the third world. Resources are scarce, access is limited, and the hits just keep on coming. As The Kapital sails the globe, they are forced to confront this new reality. There are some apocalyptic themes – or at least dystopian elements – in The Massive. Do you think western society, or more specifically, the United States, is in danger of collapse? I think so. Economically, absolutely, since no one who can prevent it seems to care about doing that. A bit further out we have the issues of water scarcity, the massive (heh!) overfishing of the oceans, and global warming. I think in my lifetime I’ll be largely safe from all of this, but I suspect my kids will grow up in a world of scarcity and compromise. I’m always interested in other people’s influences, and with you, I’d like to know what nonfiction – and fiction – (comic and otherwise) has informed your very unique perspective as a writer. Could you share a few “recommended” titles for fans of your work? I do a lot of research and could easily recommend a dozen titles. But start with Four Fish, The World Without Us, Tropic Of Chaos, and the two volume Endgame series. FILED UNDER:Brian Woodcomic booksdark horse Follow us

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/3772

Home Front Girl A Diary of Love, Literature, and Growing Up in Wartime America How Susan edited Joan’s diaries Editing Issues Prose and Poetry: What to choose? Joan’s poetry Joan’s Doodles About Joan Joan’s marriage and family Joan’s other books About Susan Susan’s other books Historical and Cultural Links Joan’ Journals and Historical Events Women and World War II Suggestions for YOU to write Book Club Discussion Questions ← Memorial Day: Once Teenagers at War, now Elderly Veterans, on Honor Flight New Moon Girls Review → “Nightmares During Wartime in Asia–Imagined and Actual” [with guest blogger] Posted on May 27, 2013 by Susan Morrison Today’s blog is written jointly with Rachael Rifkin who keeps the blog Family Resemblance (www.lifestoriestoday.com/blog). It’s a lovely tribute to her grandfather, Sidney Goldstein, who was a medic during the Korean War. Rachael’s grandfather, Sidney Goldstein. His wife kept all his letters sent to her during that conflict. Rachael discovered them in the garage. Her blog is dedicated to him and his life. Our work is similar: we both pay tribute to beloved family members who experienced war. My mother, Joan, experienced war on the home front. Rachael’s grandfather, Sidney, experienced it in the field. We would like to pay tribute to both experiences by seeing how Asia appeared to Americans in wartime. Five days before her 16th birthday, Joan hears reports of Japan’s increasing aggression in Asia. . . . The other day Japan bombed three American ships[1]—one a gunboat—that were in some Chinese harbor and everyone thought there was going to be a war—there wasn’t though, so it’s all right—I hope. [1] In the margin, Joan wrote “Panay bombing.” The Panay was the US gunboat bombed on December 12, 1937. You can view a newsreel Joan sees of the Panay bombing and Japanese incursions into China here. USS Panay sinking after Japanese air attack. Nanking, China. 12 December 1937. Monday, December 20, 1937 I am fifteen years old. Fifteen years ago I was not, now I am—fifteen years from now—who knows? It gives you a queer feeling—your birthday . . .P.S. Italy and Germany and Japan have a triple alliance now—whatever that means. And the Japanese had a peace assembly at Tokyo this week and are still killing people in China—nice world, isn’t it? Tensions escalate between the West and Japan. Boys she knows may be enlisted and even killed, should war begin. Sunday, February 13, 1938. . . The United States (mine), England and France—the three great democracies as the paper glaringly puts it—sent a note to Japan last week demanding that she cut down on her navies—and yesterday the note came back with an answer—“Go to it—let’s have a naval race”—or to the point. And then Thursday night they had a program on the radio discussing the next war in confident tones. Somehow everything seems to point to 1940 as the turning point—as the time when the climax is reached. Everyone seems sure that there will be a war soon. I was talking to a boy in school Friday about war and death. He seemed sure that there’d be another war (another, oh!) and he said he’d probably be killed in it. All the boys I know will be old enough to die in a war in 1940. When I said, “And afterwards—?”, he said, “Well, if there’s anything to see—afterwards—I’ll see it, and if not, well, I won’t know about it.” Which is, after all, the only thing to say. But think 1940—death—war—oh, why must it be? Joan at camp the day war begins in Europe; see how young she is (only 16)–so are the boys she knows Finally, Joan’s fears enter her subconscious. She dreams about war in China. I had another dream about war last night—I dreamt that the Chinese and Japanese were fighting and that I and about 50 other neutral people—white—were behind the Chinese lines. The fighting got worse and worse and we decided to go over to the Japanese lines—but the place between was awfully dangerous. I kept saying, “Oh, go on over—we’re sure to die if we stay—we must do something.” And I kept thinking it terribly loud, too. While we were deciding, the Japanese captured the place and conquered the Chinese—we wanted to escape but there was a sentinel at the only free place. So we went to the Japanese commander and asked him to let us go free—when I say “we,” I mean I and a few others asked that all 50 might go free. The Japanese commander thought and said, “I will let you all go free on [the] condition that I may kill the last one to leave.” This map shows Japanese incursions into China in 1940; Japanese occupation in red. So we left in a hurry and then others formed a line for leaving. We who had left stood around outside the camp to see what would happen—as people will—especially to see who would be the last. One man in the middle of the line deliberately walked back and placed himself at the end—self-sacrifice. I recognized him as a famous doctor-scientist and I thought, “He can’t do that—think of what he means to the world. If I were to die, it wouldn’t matter so much—I want to be something but I may never be worthwhile and he is already. I will go and place myself at the end of the line.” And I believe I actually was going to do so. But other men were at the end of the line—trying each to be last—wholesale self-sacrifice—and as I watched the dream faded—or at least I can remember no more. I don’t know what happened then. . . . Then, Pearl Harbor happens. But I’ll tell about Joan’s diary entry on December 7, 1941 another time. You can read another blogpost about the Pacific theater of war and American nurses here. Rachael’s grandfather was also in Asia, but a number of years later. Sidney was there for the Korean War, a conflict that lasted from June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953. Rachael writes movingly about the legacy of her grandfather. And his letters are strangely reminiscent of Joan’s diaries. Here follow Rachael’s words: Sometimes I put myself in my grandmother’s position, imagining the fear and anxiety she must have felt with my grandfather away in Korea, not knowing if he’d return home. She spent a year and a half with the uncertainty, and the aftereffects are still with her today. Whenever my grandfather’s stint in Korea is brought up, she tells me and my mother how afraid she was that he wouldn’t make it back. If he hadn’t, she reminds us, neither of us would here today. Ruth and Sidney Goldstein in South Carolina. Sidney was stationed there before he went to Korea. Despite the small fraction of worry that invades when I read my grandfather’s letters, it’s usually hard for me to take the potential of danger seriously. For one thing, I already know he made it home safe. For another, as a medic he was never stationed in the frontlines. He also spent a good portion of his 1951 letters reassuring my grandmother that he was safe. Turns out he sometimes omitted things. Things like screams in the night, overturned jeeps, and rides through landmine territory with only the inky blackness of night to keep you company. Caught off guard by how close he came to death, for the first time I got a real sense of what my grandmother might have felt like when she read this letter for the first time. He tells my grandmother about these incidents months later as he’s on his way to the safety of his new station in Japan. He says he didn’t want to worry my grandmother while they were still in Korea, but I can’t help feeling a little deceived. He pledged to write honestly and in detail about his experiences, but I bet if I look back at his June, July and September 1951 entries (which I eventually plan to do) he won’t even hint at the real story. To be fair, my grandmother is a big worrier, so the omission was probably wise. But as a reader and granddaughter who believed he would tell the truth, I’m a little dismayed. Sidney Goldstein’s caption: “The Road Back after endless months in Korea. The trip to Chuncheon has begun and the convoy eagerly starts rolling despite the freezing weather, Jan ’52.” Nonetheless, the passage below is one of my favorites. Much like Joan’s dreams, it’s full of suspense and danger, and offers a close look at the horrors of war. Though separated by time and different conflicts, their descriptions of war—in particular, that indefatigable need to flee and survive—are strikingly similar. On Board USS George Clymer USS George Clymer (APA-27) underway, date and location unknown Dearest Ruthie: Calm satisfaction and inner peace still pervade my being; I’m looking forward to unique and tasty meals in Japan with the same eagerness that we both experienced when we were on our honeymoon. While on board this ship, I have already finished the book Caine Mutiny. First edition cover. It became a famous play and movie. Another roll of film to be developed and I now have color film in my camera primed and ready to go. Even though I have been on the high seas for only three days, the wonderful joys of civilization has made Korea a dim recollection. Now to tell you a few war stories “with my helmet on,” as the expression goes. Lt. Sparkman has told you not to believe my war stories and that is your right. Oh yes! Before I start, I would like to say that the rumor of the bombing of Chuncheon Chuncheon, Korea. and the derailment of the railroad train were absolutely false. It’s true I did not tell you everything about Korea, but I did not want to worry you needlessly and make you gray ahead of your time. Let us turn back the calendar to June of 1951, the month of my grand debut in Korea. At that time there was still the danger of communists infiltrating our lines. They enjoyed attacking vulnerable spots that could not easily defend themselves such as medical installations. In fact, in the months of April and May, several doctors, medical aid men, and even chaplains, were killed during such sneak night raids. During my early days in Korea, I carried a gun and I wouldn’t have hesitated to use it either. I had the strange sensation that I would be shot in the head by an enemy sniper lurking in the bushes or the overhanging, perpetual hills which always surrounded us no matter where we rode or walked. In early July, several communist infiltrators were killed about two miles from our position, but some of them escaped. For an entire week we spent anxious, sleepless nights with our loaded guns within arm’s length. I’ll never forget one night; I posted my medics as guards around the aid station. At least ten times I could hear their determined voice shouting: “Halt, who goes there?” At about 3 am a shot suddenly rang out. I thought that was the beginning of the fireworks but no more shots were fired. The thousand and one noises we heard that night were interpreted as belonging to the Chinese guerrillas. Sidney Goldstein’s caption: “Posing before my overturned ambulance, Nov. ’51.” Without warning, at 5 am we heard a blood-curdling scream. It sounded as if one of the guards had suddenly been choked or stabbed to death. Now we’re going to get it for sure, I thought as I grabbed my gun. But a strange silence ensued and I prayed fervently for the dawn. At 6:15 am came the dawn, and I cannot tell you how thankful and appreciative I was of the Biblical saying: “Let there be light.” With the coming of the light, we felt safe and secure. I later discovered that the shot that rang out in the night could be attributed to a nervous GI who shot at what he thought was a moving figure on the road. Oh, the blood-curdling scream! One of the cooks it seems was having a dream in which he was tied with ropes by the communists and they were about, to crush him with a steamroller. No wonder he awoke with a fearful scream! There was one other time I appreciated the saying “Let there be light.” Do you remember that 150 mile march I told you about? Well, I was wrong; it was only 26 miles. Do you remember telling me of reading about a company of our men who had been trapped by the communists? It so happens that my artillery battalion made that night march in order to come to their aid. Sidney Goldstein captured this tank in action. The night of Sept. 18 was a nightmare I will never for­get. It was the first taste of blackout driving for my medics and me and we did ourselves proud. We all kept a sharp lookout for the road; after all we didn’t want to drive over a mountain pass. Suddenly my driver, Corporal Gehrs, and I saw white tape ahead of us and just to the side of the road. We instinctively stopped and drove around the white marker. We later learned that a white marker indicates that there is a minefield at that spot. At about 10 pm that same night, word reached us that one of our trucks had overturned while rounding a turn. I envisioned dead, crushed bodies and bleeding galore, but all I had to treat were contusions and painful shoulders. Then at 11:30 pm the medics were called again: in going off the road, a jeep had set off a booby trap. We weren’t told where the incident occurred. We drove everywhere in the darkness and couldn’t find a soul. In the meantime, about 1,000 yards ahead of us, we saw machine guns playing a deadly game and tracers and flairs lit up the sky. Why, heck, that was the fighting front. Eventually, we came to a fork in the road, and fearing that one of the roads might lead to communist territory, decided that a 50-50 gamble with our lives was not worth it. We retraced our steps instead. Fifteen minutes later we found the four victims of the booby trap explosion. They were all badly shaken, hurt and staring vacantly. Medics helping wounded soldier during the Korean war. Photo and story here. I gave one of them a plasma transfusion; he later lost his leg. Suddenly, we went over a bump, which resulted in the wounded men cowering in fear, hands covering their faces and bodies assuming the fetal position. Turning to three of my medics, I said, “Take the men to the clearing station, wherever that may be. Good luck.” With the above two incidents occurring in rapid succession, we had to break convoy and became totally lost. For a while, we found ourselves following the vehicles of an infantry outfit that was also part of the large convoy. We had the uneasy feeling that we were going to the front lines with the infantry. Soon dense silence engulfed us; we realized that once more we were all alone but had to keep moving. And so from 12 pm-5 am, we wandered through the deep darkness hearing machine gunfire in front of us and behind us with occasional flares lighting up the sky. We drove slowly, making sure we stuck to the hard asphalt road, wondering when the explosion from the minefields would occur. We were relieved that all we heard was the rumbling of our trucks and deafening silence. Finally at 5 am, we stumbled upon our Headquarters Battery and one of the officers greeted me with: “Say, doc, I’m glad you finally caught up to us.” But I was still wary—I did not want to walk around the area for fear of mines, so I slept in the jeep for an hour and a half and boy was I cold! When I awoke at 6:30 am, I saw the most beautiful, welcome light of the dawn. Again I said thankfully to myself: ”Let there be light.” From then on we were in minefield territory. One of the fellows stepped on a booby trap a hundred yards away from my aid station and was blown into grotesque bits. This booby trap was located near a Korean hut. In fact, I wanted to take a picture of this hut with its thatched roof, but I decided against it for I knew that Christmas trees, houses and valuables lying on the ground were favorite places to plant booby traps. I instructed my medics most emphatically not to wander across the fields and to stick to the straight and well-trodden path or road. See this page for much more fascinating information about the Military Air Transportation Service. In our last position, a vehicle from an ordinance outfit drove across the fields to get to another road and set off not one but three mines (not booby traps this time). It completely demolished the jeep so that anyone could have lifted it with his hands. One fellow was killed outright, two died in my ambulance, and the fourth died the next day. So much about minefields, but I hope that Lt. Rack and his medics of the 40th Division take my advice about the minefields seriously. There are more war stories to tell, but that should wait for the breakfast table. Suffice it to say, what saved most of us was our alertness and common sense. Now don’t shudder, Beautiful. I am safe, sound, happy, very much alive, and love you terrifically with all my heart. Sidney on board USS George Clymer, Jan ’52. Rachael and I hope you enjoyed this joint blogpost today! Share this: http://www.facebook.com/HomeFrontGirlDiaryFacebookLinkedInLike this:Like Loading... Posted in Susie's Blog. Bookmark the permalink. ← Memorial Day: Once Teenagers at War, now Elderly Veterans, on Honor Flight New Moon Girls Review → 2 responses » Grammie Travels Wow, thank you for the Nanking link! My grandparents and my mother (British and Russian) were in Shanghai at the time this happened. Great news footage link which will be helpful to me as I continue to uncover their lives during wartime. Your family has an interesting background. Loved the post. Reply smorrison78704 Thanks so much! I’m glad it could help. It is amazing how much newsreel footage is available on the internet! Many thanks! Keep in touch via email

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/3903

Search Neil Simon Critical Essays Neil Simon American Literature Analysis (Masterpieces of American Literature) Neil Simon Drama Analysis (Critical Edition of Dramatic Literature) Simon, (Marvin) Neil (Vol. 11) Simon, (Marvin) Neil (Vol. 6) Simon, Neil Other Literary Forms (Critical Edition of Dramatic Literature) > Neil Simon Neil Simon Biography For Neil Simon, art truly does imitate life. Arguably one of the most commercially successful playwrights of the twentieth century, Simon forged a career out of turning his life into serio-comic theater. When Simon lost his beloved first wife, Joan, to cancer in the early 1970s, it inspired Chapter Two, a play about a widower trying to start his life over. Critical acclaim came Simon’s way with his highly autobiographical trilogy of plays: Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and Broadway Bound. Written in the 1980s, they follow Simon’s alter ego, Eugene Morris Jerome, as he grows up during the Depression, serves in the Army during World War II, and tries to break into writing for TV shows. Following the trilogy, Simon’s heartfelt Lost in Yonkers won the Pulitzer. That and many other honors helped cement Simon’s reputation as one of America’s favorite playwrights. Facts and Trivia At one point in the late 1960s, Simon had four successful plays running on Broadway at the same time: Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Sweet Charity, and The Star Spangled Girl. Simon never profited from the popular TV series The Odd Couple, which was based on his hit play. In an ill-advised business scheme, he sold all rights to the play and thus never saw any proceeds from the TV show. Simon helped adapt his highly acclaimed screenplay for the film The Goodbye Girl as a stage musical in the early 1990s. The show, which featured Martin Short and Bernadette Peters, was savaged by critics and closed quickly. Simon has a Broadway theater named after him, The Neil Simon Theatre. Simon’s daughter, Ellen, is also a writer. Her play Moonlight and Valentino was adapted into a 1995 film. Access our Neil Simon Study Guide for Free Start your 2-day free trial to access our Neil Simon study guide, along with more than 30,000 other titles. Get help with any book. Biography (Masterpieces of American Literature) Neil Simon. Published by Salem Press, Inc. Born in the Bronx, New York, on July 4, 1927, Marvin Neil Simon was the second of two sons in a middle-class Jewish family. His father, Irving, was a garment salesman who abandoned the family several times before the Simons’ marriage ended in divorce. Because of his parents’ domestic difficulties, Simon’s childhood was not particularly happy, but he nevertheless developed his affinity for comedy at an early age. As a schoolboy, he earned his nickname “Doc” for his ability to imitate the family doctor, and he reported in a Life magazine interview: When I was a kid, I climbed up on a stone ledge to watch an outdoor movie of Charlie Chaplin. I laughed so hard I fell off, cut my head open and was taken to the doctor, bleeding and laughing. I was constantly being dragged out of movies for laughing too loud. Now my idea of the ultimate achievement in a comedy is to make a whole audience fall onto the floor, writhing and laughing so hard that some of them pass out. Simon’s plays are often quite nearly that amusing, but his gift for provoking riotous laughter has ultimately been a burden, because it has prevented most critics from taking him seriously as a comic dramatist. Simon demonstrated his ability to make people laugh even as a teenager, when he teamed with his older brother Danny to write material for stand-up comics and radio shows. After briefly attending New York University (he never graduated from college) and serving in the Army at the end of World War II, Neil teamed with Danny again as they began, in 1946, to create material for one of the radio era’s most successful comedy writers, Goodman Ace. The Simon brothers prospered as radio comedy writers but shifted in the early 1950’s to television as the new medium developed. Writing for such television notables as Phil Silvers and Tallulah Bankhead, they were each earning huge weekly salaries of sixteen hundred dollars by the mid-1950’s. During his television writing in the 1950’s, Simon worked alongside many young writers who would later make successful careers of their own, most notably Mel Brooks and Woody Allen. Danny left the writing team in 1956 to pursue a career as a television director, but Neil continued writing for such stars as Sid Caesar, Garry Moore, Jackie Gleason, and Red Buttons, earning two Emmy Awards (in 1957 and 1959) for his comedy writing. Simon believed that writing for television did not allow him enough independence, so while writing for... Simon has always been able to make audiences laugh, although it has been debated whether he is more than a gag writer, a creator of situation comedies for the stage. Chapter Two, the three plays of his Brighton Beach trilogy, and Lost in Yonkers have wrested additional respect from most, though not all, critics. Audiences, on the other hand, have been markedly less critical, usually flocking to Simon plays regardless of the level of seriousness he achieves. While it is not yet appropriate to place Simon in the company of Shakespeare, Moliere, or Shaw, his is no small achievement: to have become the most commercially successful playwright in the history of theater. Neil Simon Homework Help Questions Does eNotes have ANY literary criticism on Neil Simon's "Plaza Suite?" I'm desperate! CR,... Neil Simon’s plays submit to literary criticism only on the lowest level, because their first function is as “commodity,” not literary art. His characters are not universal, and his... Ask a question

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/3946

Pub Date: Sept. 1st, 2008 Publisher: Scribner A debut novel that works better as cultural criticism than it does as fiction.Popular journalist Klosterman built his reputation with a musical memoir (Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota, 2001) that established him as the anti-rock-critic rock critic, a writer who could explain why things that rock critics dismiss as dumb are really significant and things that rock critics celebrate are often dumb. For his first novel, he returns to his native North Dakota, while making sure to assert: “This story is a non-autobiographical work of fiction.” It also isn’t much of a story, encompassing as it does the narrative perspectives of three characters who are more generic than fully fleshed and whose interaction with each other is minimal. Mitch is a regular guy and underappreciated football player (by his coach, who has a history of impregnating students), who can’t really understand the appeal of some of the music his friends have started to embrace (Van Halen, ZZ Top, Def Leppard). Julia is the new history teacher who becomes the unlikely femme fatale in a small town that doesn’t attract many young, single females. Horace is an old guy who drinks coffee and swaps gossip with other old guys at the coffee shop in what the title ironically terms “downtown Owl.” The short chapters are chronologically dated from late summer 1983 until the climactic blizzard of winter 1984. There is some exegesis of the George Orwell novel and the Van Halen album that both take their title from the latter year. Klosterman has a feel for how kids find fun, meaning and purpose (or don’t) in small-town Dakota, but the fact that the movie theater is closing invites unfortunate comparisons with Larry McMurtry’s far superior The Last Picture Show.This will likely find a wider readership with those who love Klosterman (from his nonfiction books and magazine work for Esquire, ESPN, Spin et al.) than those who love novels.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/4007

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel book review Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel is a tale of first contact Author:Sylvain NeuvelPublisher:Michael JosephReleased:7 April 2016Buy on AmazonIf you like this, try...The Martian by Andy WeirThe novel that inspired the film is a science-heavy, mostly journal-style sci-fi joy. The discovery of alien life is a delicate business in Sleeping Giants, the first in a proposed trilogy. It’s not really a surprise to read that Sylvain Neuvel’s debut novel has been optioned for a film. It’s fast-moving, gripping, and affecting enough to make you forget the slightly unusual storytelling method. As a child, Dr Rose Franklyn accidentally uncovers a giant metal hand, which is alien in origin. As an adult, Franklyn is leading the secret investigation into what exactly this thing is and where it came from when another piece is uncovered by a military helicopter crew in the Middle East. As more segments are found, the small team realises that they fit together to form some kind of humanoid (although clearly alien in origin) robot, and one that can be piloted. But how will the world react to such a powerful weapon? And why would it have been left on Earth in the first place? The story unfolds almost exclusively as a series of interviews (and some journal entries and reports) conducted by an unnamed, but obviously powerful, figure. Neuvel’s method might be a little tricky to get used to at first, but the author quickly establishes the distinct and interesting personalities of the various team members, as well as the shady operative whose actions push the narrative along, and who quickly becomes the most fascinating. There’s something very Michael Crichton-esque about Sleeping Giants, not just in its ‘where did this come from, is it dangerous and why is it here?’ setup, but in the collection of soldiers and scientists assembled to answer that question. Of the characters, Dr Rose is so excitable and benign that she’s an excellent point of introduction to the story. Pilot Kara Resnik is endearingly insubordinate and difficult to get on with, her co-pilot Ryan Mitchell is an apparent puppy-dog, genius Vincent Couture is seemingly better with the science than he is with people, and scientist Alyssa Papantoniou is a little too eager to conduct invasive medical tests. Each character surprises, but they do so in ways that feel natural. The political manoeuvring is just as important and compelling as the big questions. Our interviewer is operating in tricky political waters, and the problem of how other nations will respond to this incredibly powerful otherworldly weapon gives the story an extra level of tension. Not that it particularly needs it, as the conflicts between the team members will keep you committing to just one more chapter after you planned to go to bed. At times the narrative technique does feel a little too simple, allowing Neuvel to jump from conflicts and cliff-hangers to their resolution, but it gives the novel such a brisk pace that it’s hard to quibble too much. When the action is unfolding as it happens, as opposed to an incident being reported, it’s absolutely gripping. Apparently the first part of a trilogy, Sleeping Giants works very well as a standalone sci-fi that manages to make an enormous world event feel personal. Read it before they make the film. Tags: Sleeping Giants, Sylvain Neuvel SCIFINOW ISSUE 129

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/4016

Sign in to subscribe to email alerts for Meifu Wang Meifu Wang The Editor-and-Translator Team of "21st Century Chinese Poetry": Mien Wang: Ms. Wang is the editor and co-translator of "21st Century Chinese Poetry". Born and grew up in Taiwan, Meifu Wang earned her BA in Foreign Languages and Literature from National Taiwan University. Her poetry has appeared in various Chinese literary journals. Ms. Wang also earned Master's degrees in meteorology and in transport system engineering, and worked in these fields in Alaska and Washington D.C. prior to moving to Seattle, Washington in 2015. Meifu received the 2013 Henry Luce Foundation fellowship for Chinese poetry translation for a residency at Vermont Studio Center. Michael Truman Soper: Born in Washington, D.C. in 1946, Mr. Soper began writing poetry in high school, and studied creative writing, briefly, at UVA. Fascinated by Chinese characterfonts, he began translating Chinese poetry almost 20 years ago. He was a submarine sailor during the Vietnam War, after that, a newspaper typesetter and night school student. His degree is in Business Administration. His career led from printing and publishing to contract management. He is retired, living in North Carolina with his wife, Mary Lou. He has published five books for Amazon Kindle devices and apps. Steven Townsend: Born in the US, but spent considerable time in Europe as a child, Mr. Townsend writes poetry as well as translates poetry from French, Spanish, and Italian to English. He has published some of his poetic works as Kindle e-books. Mr. Townsend lives in Seattle, Washington. Where to find Meifu Wang online Website: http://www.modernchinesepoetry.com http://www.amazon.com/21st-Century-Chinese-Poetry-No/dp/0984009728 You have subscribed to alerts for Meifu Wang. Would you like to favorite Meifu Wang? Yes, add Meifu Wang to my Favorites You have been added to Meifu Wang's Meifu Wang releases a new book.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/4166

info@borimix.com BORIBLOG Welcome to the eleventh annual celebration of BORIMIX: Puerto Rico Fest! A NOTE FROM THE FESTIVAL’S PRODUCER Welcome to the eleventh annual celebration of BORIMIX: Puerto Rico Fest! We are extremely honored to celebrate Puerto Rican Heritage, Arts and Culture. This year, in celebration of its 11th anniversary, BORIMIX: Puerto Rico Fest 2016 will feature the Dominican Republic as a guest country, and its theme is based on two famous songs from the Puerto Rican Composer, Rafael Hernández: “Linda Quisqueya” and “Preciosa”. Rafael Hernández shared in these songs, “Quisqueya la tierra de mis amores…preciosa por ser un encanto por ser un Edén”. BORIMIX 2016 events will feature both Puerto Rican and Dominican arts, culture, traditions and folklore as well as celebrate the relationship between the two islands. SEA is working with many institutions committed to the Puerto Rican and Dominican arts and culture, and thanks to their collaboration, we will be presenting events throughout New York City in film, theatre, the visual arts, music, dance and more during the month of November! SEA will continue to present the BORIMIX Award recognizing and honoring artists who have made a significant contribution to the arts as well as institutions, politicians and community leaders who have supported and actively advocated for Puerto Rican, Dominican and Latino Arts and Culture in NYC. We are very much looking forward to this year’s festival. We hope you will join us! To the public and our collaborators and sponsors: ¡Gracias! Dr. Manuel Morán Producer / Productor Borimix 2016 Events Calendar BORIMIX 2016 | All Rights Reserved.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/4329

Poetry for Young People by Harold Bloom Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-92) was born in Lincolnshire, the sixth of eleven children of a clergyman. After a childhood marked by trauma, he went up to Cambridge in 1828, where he met Arthur Hallam, whose premature death had a lasting influence on Tennyson's life and writing. His two volumes of Poems (1842) established him as the leading poet of his generation, and of the Victorian period. He was created Poet Laureate in 1850 and in 1883 accepted a peerage. In T. S. Eliot's words, 'He has three qualities which are seldom found together except in the greatest poets: abundance, variety and complete competence. He had the finest ear of any English poet since Milton.' About Harold Bloom Maynard is Professor of English at New York University and the former chair of the department. Garns is a freelance illustrator. by Chelsea House Pub (L). Reader Rating for Poetry for Young People

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/4378

« Did Edmond Hamilton Really Invent Captain Future? Comic Book Legends Revealed #435 » How Did John D. MacDonald Become a Professional Writer Without Even Knowing It? Tweet Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about pulp fiction and whether they are true or false. PULP FICTION URBAN LEGEND: John D. MacDonald became a professional writer without knowing it. John D. MacDonald, like many popular pulp writers, was also extremely underrated. MacDonald’s most famous single work is most likely The Executioners… which was later remade into the film classic, Cape Fear… But he’s also well known for his series of novels starring the character, Travis McGee, beginning with Deep Blue Good-by… What’s amazing, though, is that his long and storied career really began when he became a professional writer…without his knowledge! MacDonald went to school to study business, and he graduated with an MBA from Harvard University. But during World War II, he enlisted in the army as a First Lieutenant and eventually ended up working for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the American Intelligence organization. While there, he wrote some stories and sent one home to his wife, Dorothy, to read. Unbeknown to MacDonald, his wife then submitted the story to the magazine Story, and it was accepted!! With the knowledge that he was now, whether he intended to or not, a professional writer, MacDonald continued to write short stories and pursued writing as a career upon the end of the war, to great commercial and critical success! Sounds like the sort of spouse any guy or gal would like to have (it also sounds like a plot for a sitcom)! The legend is… STATUS: True on Friday, September 6th, 2013 at 7:49 am and is filed under Grab Bag Urban Legends, Pulp Fiction Urban Legends Revealed.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/4448

Five Hobbies You Never Considered Miss Cellaniafiled under: Miss Cellania Image credit: NAPCG Everyone has a hobby, whether it’s something traditional, like collecting stamps, or modern, such as playing online games. I grow flowers and vegetables and collect antiques, and when I retire I will return to quilting. But there’s no limit to the different activities that people love and spend their free time doing. Here are a few hobbies that you don’t hear about often -if ever! 1. Conlanging A conlanger is a person who creates new languages. It is not a simple hobby. The more you study the process, the more you become aware of the importance of internally consistent rules, the way people communicate, and the beauty of existing languages with all their flaws. The Language Creation Society is a great resource for both beginning and experienced conlangers. We recently linked a story about one of the Society’s founders, David J. Peterson, who was hired by HBO to create the languages used in the series Game of Thrones. Jobs like that are few and far between, so conlangers devote themselves to language creation as a challenge that they enjoy. Peterson has a list of resources for conlangers, in case you’d like to try it yourself. 2. Highpointing Photograph by Denali National Park and Preserve. Highpointing is a sport, or hobby, in which people aim to climb the highest point in different geographical areas, like the highest point in all 50 states, or the highest points in one’s home country or continent, or even the world. Highpointers is a club for Americans who wish to scale the highest peaks of all 50 states. There’s also the County Highpointers, for people whose goal is to scale the highest peak in all 3,142 U.S. counties. Thomas Harper recently explored some peaks with other highpointers and reported his experiences at Atlas Obscura. Photograph by Fredlyfish4. The highest of the state’s highest peaks is Denali, also known as Mount McKinley, in Alaska, which is 20,320 feet. Some climbers forego that one, and aim for covering the 48 contiguous states. In contrast, it’s not so hard to visit Mount Sunflower, the highest point in Kansas. We all know that Kansas is flatter than a pancake, and Mount Sunflower, in the western edge of the state, is close to the lowest point in Colorado. You’ll find a list of the highest points in each state here. 3. Body Recovery Photograph from Ralston and Associates. Gene and Sandra Ralston have a hobby that has become a mission: they find drowning victims. Gene Ralston is an environmental consultant in Idaho. His business, Ralston & Associates, provides inspections and evaluations for projects involving water, with services ranging from hydrographic surveys to species inventory. In his work, Ralston uses equipment called the Side scan sonar system. Ralston recognized that the system would be useful in underwater search and recovery operations. In 1983, Ralston helped find the body of a drowning victim, and since then has found over 100 bodies, free of charge. Local law enforcement agencies search for missing people underwater, but most do not have the specialized equipment nor the expertise that Ralston has. He and his wife Sandra help in searches wherever they are requested. They invested in an RV and now crisscross the country with their boat and equipment right behind them. Sometimes their find can close a recent case, while sometimes bodies have been missing for years. Ralston was quoted after one case, “There's no feeling like being able to walk up to the boat ramp to tell mom and dad, widow, husband, whatever, a parent, that you're bringing their child home,” he said. “When everyone else has given up.” 4. Creative Dog Grooming Photograph from The NAPCG at Facebook. Dog grooming is a profession, as dog owners need their pooches cleaned, clipped, and maybe coiffured. But like many professions, a little competition among groomers got the creative juices flowing, and turned dog grooming into an art form, with dogs as the medium. Creative dog grooming is a hobby of professional dog groomers in which they can show off their skills in ways no local client would ever think to ask for. Contests such as Intergroom and Groom Expo attract competitive groomers from all over. Learn more about creative grooming from the National Association of Professional Creative Groomers. See a gallery of creatively-groomed dogs at Gothamist. 5. Hikaru Dorodango Photograph by Flickr user DaJJHman. Dorodango is a Japanese word meaning mud balls, particularly the kind that school children create. If you polish that mud ball to a sheen, it’s called hikaru dorodango, or shiny ball of mud. If you use the correct technique, you can make an almost perfect sphere and polish it until it shines. However, the mud ball is still fragile, so the entire process is a delicate art form. The practice was dying out until Professor Fumio Kayo of the Kyoto University of Education took an interest in 1999 and developed a technique to teach children how to make their balls shiny. Try it yourself, with illustrated instructions. You can see some fine examples of the art here. More from mental_floss... 12 Old Words That Survived by Getting Fossilized in Idioms 10 Lifehacks from 100 Years Ago 38 Wonderful Words With No English Equivalent 10 Ways the CIA Tried to Kill Castro July 22, 2014 - 4:19pm

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/4457

Review: Ghost House by Alexandra Adornetto Ghost House (The Ghost House Saga #1) by Alexandra Adornetto Publisher: Harlequin Teen Source: ARC provided by NetGalley The sudden death of Chloe Kennedy's mother has shocked her entire family. It's bad enough that Chloe is dealing with the incredible grief from this unexpected loss, but a secret from her past has come back to haunt her...literally. When she was younger she was able to see ghosts. The only person she told was her mother, who understood without judging and even helped her make the ghosts go away. Now that her mother is gone, the ghosts are back. Her father isn't dealing well at all and it's decided that what's best for everyone is sending Chloe and her younger brother, Rory, away from their home in warm, sunny California to stay with their Grandmother in cold, dreary England for a while. As soon as they arrive at Grange Hall, Chloe can feel it's history and she senses there are dark secrets that time has buried. This becomes a problem when her abilities seem to be getting stronger and the ghosts more real. More danegrous. More enticing. When Chloe meets Alexander Reade, she is drawn to him like no ghost ever before. For some reason, she feels a strong bond to him. He's been dead for over 150 years, but when they're toghether, she feels more alive. Their attraction to each other seems to transcend time and defy death. It has also drawn the attention of a dangerous, vengeful spirit. Their bond has awoken Isobel, the woman Alexander once loved, who is now determined to destroy everyone in her path. Isobel is angry and she has killed before, so if Chloe wants to protect her family and make it back to L.A. alive, she's going to have to push her abilities to the limit. She begins to get visions from the past that unravel the mystery of the horrifying events leading to the deaths of all those still tethered to Grange Hall. She has the help of two grandmotherly ghost hunters who are guests of the manor and the adorable British boy-next-door, Joe, who helps with the horses in the stables, but in the end, it's all up to Chloe to stop Isobel. Only when she discovers what happened in the past can she preserve her future. But by making things right, she may have to say goodbye to Alexander forever. After all, he's a ghost and truly doesn't belong amongst the living. I really enjoyed this creepy and suspenseful ghost story. I was furiously turning pages to find out what was going to happen. I may have even injured my hand while turning the pages. I could not put it down. Alexandra Adornetto provides plenty of spooky atmosphere and she makes you feel like you're part of the story, unravelling the mysterious past of Grange Hall along with Chloe, who is extremely relatable and realistically written. The romance between Chloe and Alexander has just the right amount of sizzle, but not so much that I would hesitate to recommend it to every teen. Basically, Ghost House is a lovely, yet creepy, ghost story wrapped in an intriguing mystery. It's also about tragedy and loss and how some people (and ghosts) deal with it. Also, when you get to the end of the book, there is a WICKED cliffhanger that will make you scream for the next installment, and you'll wonder WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT!?!? Other similarly ghostly books you'll enjoy: The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe The Hollow series by Jessica Verday JenBibiAugust 29, 2014 at 6:34 PMYou totaly convinced me to get this the other day in the store!ReplyDeleteAdd commentLoad more...

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/4490

A Poet's Love - Songs of the Romantic Imagination Toronto, May 6, 2014 - As they welcome summer, Toronto’s Talisker Players conclude their season with A Poet’s Love, a journey through the landscape of love, in the words and music of some of the most ardentlovers across the centuries. This passionate production stars the brilliant young baritone Alexander Dobson, who has won acclaim for his splendid voice and vivid stage personality. He shares the stage with the actor and director Stewart Arnott, and the members of the Talisker Players core ensemble on strings and piano. Alex Dobson The programme features two of the great Romantic song cycles, expressing the full range of the lover’s experience – passion and despair, honesty and irony, joy and pain. These beloved works are paired with two eloquently lyrical pieces by Canadian composers. The concert title is an English translation of Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe, which the Talisker Players present in a new arrangement by Vancouver’s Harold Birston, for voice and string quartet. Based on 16 poems by Heinrich Heine, it traces the intensity of a poet’s love through the language of flowers, dreams and fairy-tales. Also featured is Gabriel Fauré’s La Bonne chanson, in the composer’s own version for voice, string quintet and piano. A setting of nine passionate poems by Paul Verlaine, it was written for the great singer Emma Bardac, with whom Fauré was madly in love at the time (though both were married to others). These two large-scale works will be balanced with shorter pieces by Toronto composers John Beckwith and Alexander Rapoport. Beckwith’s Love Lines, for voice and string trio, is an arrangement of favourite songs by Ben Jonson, Oscar Hammerstein II, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and George and Ira Gershwin. Rapoport’sFragments of Verlaine, for voice and string quintet perfectly captures the yearning for an unattainable beloved. As always, this Talisker Players production blends instrumental music, song and the spoken word. A Poet’s Love spotlights the award-winning actor and director Stewart Arnott, to perform passages from the letters and diaries of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Lord Byron, Vita Sackville West, W.H. Auden and other great literary lovers. A dedicated concert and recital artist, British-Canadian baritone Alexander Dobson has been praised for his musicality and dramatic awareness in a range of repertoire on both opera and concert stages. Opera highlights include his riveting title role portrayal of Wozzeck and Don Giovanni both conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and his Royal Opera Covent Garden debut in The Midnight Court. He is frequently heard in recital on CBC Radio. He has performed Schubert's Die Winterreise with Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the keyboard, in Victoria, Toronto, Montreal, Paris and England. In Toronto, he has appeared with the Aldeburgh Connection, and has also collaborated with the Gryphon Trio, Coleman Lemieux Dance Company and choreographer James Kudelka. ‘Alexander Dobson, one of the most impressive Canadian baritones of this generation, is a wonderful actor and has a beautiful, rich and commanding voice that is also as smooth as silk.’ – Opera Canada Stewart Arnott has been a theatre artist in Canada for over 30 years, and has acted and directed across the country. He is also a respected teacher and coach. Stewart Arnott Each performance of A Poet’s Love will be preceded by an informal talk by the Talisker Players Composer in Residence, Alexander Rapoport. Free with a ticket to the concert, these entertaining and informative chats became an instant hit when they were instituted two seasons ago. John Beckwith: Love Lines, for baritone and string trio Gabriel Fauré: La Bonne chanson, for baritone, piano and string quintet Alexander Rapoport: Fragments of Verlaine, for baritone and string quintet Robert Schumann, arr. H. Birston: Dichterliebe, for baritone and string quartet Individual tickets: $35 / $25 (seniors) / $15 (students/un(der)employed) A Poet’s Love Songs of the Romantic Imagination Tuesday, May27 & Wednesday, May 28, 2014 at 8 pm Pre-concert chats at 7:15 pm Trinity St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor Street West Alexander Dobson, baritone; Stewart Arnott, actor/reader The Talisker Players Email: words.music@taliskerplayers.ca Talisker Players Chamber Music offers one of the most imaginative and exciting concert series in Toronto. In collaboration with some of Canada’s finest young singers, Talisker Players present the rarely-heard repertoire for voice and chamber ensemble. Their unique programming includes readings that illuminate the music and delight audiences with a stimulating, theatrical concert experience. The music, engaging and varied, includes both celebrated works and unknown gems from all styles and periods, with a strong presence of Canadian compositions. Labels: A Poet’s Love, Toronto’s Talisker Players posted by Hassan Laghcha at 2:44 PM 0 Comments: Music is Key to a Child's Development, Brain Resea... Les petites et moyennes entreprises (PME) montréal... La Biennale de Montréal annonce les artistes de sa... Soprano Sharon Azrieli Perez donnera la première m... Soprano Sharon Azrieli Perez performs the world pr... Crested Butte Music Festival Unveils 2014 Opera Se... Counterpoint Players’ Corpus launches TACTICS a ne... La médiation culturelle sous la loupe des chercheu... L'Orchestre à vent du PSNM remporte la première pl... Fédération des harmonies et des orchestres symphon...

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/4526

Staff Picks: June 2013 by Diane Ackerman The Zookeeper’s Wife is a World War II story about two Polish zookeepers, Jan and Antonina Zabinski. Each person blessed with special gifts that keep the Warsaw Zoo thriving during times of peace, as well as wartime. As the war changes the lives of many, the zoo is also changed. As the majority of animals are lost to death and greed, Jan and Antonina use the zoo’s losses to save the lives of the Jewish people being persecuted. People are hidden in the zoo’s enclosures, and given names that correspond with the enclosures previous inhabitants. A touching read about the hardships and perseverance one family encountered during WWII. Call #: 940.53 ACK | Category: Adult Non-Fiction | Reviewed by: Dana | Review Date: June 2013 This Magnificent Desolation by Thomas O'Malley How do you write a book that is both sad and wonderful? O'Malley has done this in a way that is mesmerizing in plot and almost poetic in his writing style. It takes place in an orphanage in northern Minnesota and details the life of a boy named Duncan who was left there by his mother during the worst blizzard of the century. As the story develops we come to know his mother, a lounge singer in San Francisco, and her boyfriend, a Vietnam vet who works as part of a tunneling crew beneath the bay. Another interesting aspect is Duncan's reliance on a transistor radio that broadcasts the voices of Apollo mission astronauts who never came home. This novel deals with memory, imagination, friendship, and love on many levels. Call #: F OMALLEY | Category: Adult Fiction | Reviewed by: Pam K. | Review Date: June 2013 by Ron Rash This is a book of short stories of the Appalachian region that Rash is known for. Spanning the time of the Civil War until the present day, these are stories of hope, tenderness, fear, and violence, all written with elements of raw truth and emotion. Call #: F Rash | Category: Adult Fiction | Reviewed by: Pam K. | Review Date: June 2013

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/4575

Sai Baba's Miracles (short stories) Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba A few years back Bhagavan had come to Abbotsbury during his Madras visit. Both Mrs. K.B. Sundarambal and Mr. Pichandi Iyer went to see Bhagavan. But they were sent out by those present there telling them that they could not see him. After waiting outside for sometime, they came again to see Bhagavan. Those who were there, said "You have come again?" and were trying to send them out. But Bhagavan himself came towards them. On seeing Bhagavan, Mrs. K.B.S said, "Now I have discovered the Lord Murugan for whom I have been searching for so many years through songs" and prostrated before him. Bhagavan asked her to sing and enjoy her songs. Then Swami waved his hands in front of the eyes of Mr. Pichandi Iyer who was nearby. Iyer could not understand anything. Those who were nearby asked Mr. Pichandi to remove the spectacles. Now this octogenarian claims that even his son's eyesight is not as clear as his. Our Bhagavan is the most beloved God who gives Eyes. The husband of Mrs. Annapoorani enjoyed scolding Sathya Sai Baba. He never missed any such opportunity. One day, ne had scolded Him a little more. That night, he was sleeping. Bhagavan came and standing at his beside massaged him three times from head to toe. He got the divine's rare blessing, by scolding Him, which even sincere devotees don't get. Immediately on waking up, he felt some ('ananda') happiness spreading throughout his body. What could be the extent of compassion this Dheenadayalan should have to accept even abusings. He said that since that day's experience, his mouth got shut by itself from scolding him. He had escaped from two such things. One - divine abuse and the second one - by the touch of his divine hands a serious disease or a danger which would have come to him had been avoided. This Paramesa Honeybee is the one who saves even those who insult him. A Grand march past of the Samithi members took place at Parthi during the 60th Birthday celebrations. Mrs. Sakunthala was among the participants. As her husband was not well, she was saying that she would leave Parthi immediately after the march past. On seeing her at Parthi on the next morning, I asked her why she did not leave. She said," When I was ready for leaving, they told me that Baba would be giving sarees for all those who took part in the march past. You also please stay back and go after taking the sarees from his hands," they asked her. So she stayed back to take the saree. But now I am leaving immediately. The reason for his sudden change, was that Bhagavan appeared in her dreams on that night and asked, "why did you not start yet? The saree which you ware wearing now also was given by me". Bhagavan showed her all the gifts like Ghodhanam and Bhoodhanam which took place on the birthday that she could not witness. Look at the special interest Bhagavan takes in every individual's case. Is there anything that we have to take from him when our very existence in healthy condition itself is due to his grace on us, if we can realise him who dwells within us? A big beautiful temple's watchman is a Sai-devotee. He used to do his duty during the early part of the night up to twelve midnight and go to sleep up to four o'clock in the morning after handing over the duty to the next guard. Afterwards he used to water plants in the garden around the temple. One day he had overslept up to five o'clock. The telephone bell rang. He rushed to it after waking up. A lady's voice informed "Five o'clock" and the receiver was hung up at the other end. Like this, whenever he failed to wake up, this voice had never missed to inform the time. Bhagavan who always reminds us of our duty says, "you think about me only sometimes. But I am always thinking about you". The Nalini-Sudhakar couple are Sai devotees. Both of them were travelling in a car. Even then, both of them were discussing about Bhagavan. All of a sudden, a hand appeared before their car, in the form of "Abhaya hastham" (Saviour Hand) above the wrist. Next second, they heard only a deafening sound. They did not know what had happened. On regaining their consciousness both of them were lying on the roadside. When they went to see, the car in which they were travelling was smashed to pieces by a collision with a lorry. The omnipresent and omniscient Lord had saved them by raising his Saviour Hand at electric speed. Is there anybody who is not moved on seeing his raising hands towards one during darshan at Parthi? Mr. Dharmakula Raja of Srilanka did not anything about Baba, as he was born and brought up in London. He came to India and married t a Sai family. On Indu's compulsion, he accompanied her to Parthi. He was sitting in the dharshan queue without either belief or liking. At that time "Akhanda Bhajan" was in progress. Bhagavan came near to him with his one hand in raised position for blessing, and then other hand tapping on the thigh. One raised hand appeared as Two Hands of Dharma Kularaja. Whatever and however he tried, he could not see it as one hand. Hesitating to reveal this, he asked his wife as to how many hands she saw. She saw one hand only. Courtesy: http://sathyasaibaba1.tripod.com/miracles.htm

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/4668

South Florida Actor Tackles 30 Characters in One Play By Christine DiMattei Oct 18, 2012 TweetShareGoogle+Email Actor Tom Wahl in Zoetic Stage's "I Am My Own Wife" at the Adrienne Arsht Center Justin Namon After actor Tom Wahl first read the script for “I Am My Own Wife,” he had to lie down. “It was a little overwhelming,” Wahl says. “But from the first page, I was just blown away by the story.” Doug Wright’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play revolves around the life of Charlotte Von Mahlsdorf, a Berlin transvestite, who survived first the Nazis and then the Communists -- as a woman. “I Am My Own Wife” covers the passage of 60 years and features more than 30 characters – all played by Wahl. To prepare for the demanding tour-de-force, Wahl did some homework. “I went onto the Internet and read everything I possibly could about Charlotte and about the time that the play takes place.” Produced by Zoetic Stage, “I Am My Own Wife” runs through Oct. 21 at the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Carnival Studio Theater in Miami. The production is part of Light/The Holocaust and Humanity Project – a Miami-Dade County arts partnership focused on human rights and Holocaust education. Tags: Miami-Dade CountyartstheaterTweetShareGoogle+EmailView the discussion thread. Related Content Coconut Grove Playhouse Set For State Takeover By Kelley Mitchell Oct 4, 2012 ImageMD / flickriver.com The nonprofit board of the Coconut Grove Playhouse has decided not to try to block the state from coming in and taking back the historic 1926 theater. That means the state could be in charge of the facility by next week. The theater has been closed for six years because of financial problems and there are still unresolved claims against it. However, Miami-Dade County has set aside $20 million designated for the theater and there is a strong possibility the Playhouse could be deeded to the county by the state. Muralist Makes His Mark In Little Haiti By Trina Sargalski Sep 14, 2011 Trina Sargalski If you’ve ever visited Little Haiti, you’ve probably seen Miami muralist Serge Toussaint’s work, which is sprinkled throughout the city. How can you tell it’s his work? His signature is a dollar sign instead of an “S” in Serge. He spends most of his time in Little Haiti, but his work can be seen in Liberty City, Little River, Allapattah, the Miami River and all the way to Fort Lauderdale. © 2017 WLRN

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/4694

Desktop view Andy Warhol: Headlines Molly Donovan et al It has been over 20 years since his death, yet the legacy of Andy Warhol lives on. It is a known fact that Warhol was obsessed with contemporary culture, but the feeling was, and still remains, mutual. Warhol continues to influence our culture in a limitless way through a variety of media. Headlines has been published to coincide with a major exhibition at Washington’s National Gallery of Art that explores the works of art in which the artist used or referenced tabloids throughout his career. This richly illustrated companion is divided into five illuminating essays, which tackle the wider theoretical contexts at play in Warhol’s headline works, which were realised in a range of formats – from two-dimensional to time-based media such as film, video and television. Bringing together more than 80 works, and including a fascinating glimpse at Warhol’s private scrapbooks of clippings, as well as works he produced with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Headlines lays bare the intersection of mainstream media and fine art that took place at this time. Florence Wright Helen Boulding Primarily acoustic, the album prioritises melody, and you’ll find yourself humming some of its tunes when you don’t expect it. There but for the There but for the is the new novel from Ali Smith, best known for her acclaimed fiction including The Accidental, Hotel World and Girl Meets Boy. Koolhoven’s emotive film of a young boy learning about love, loss and deception at the close of the second world war is a journey through history and adolescence. Beneath the Lion’s Gaze Mengiste’s debut novel, Beneath the Lion’s Gaze is a fraught and tender portrayal of a land ravaged by revolution. Multi-layered, engaging, robotic-electro combined with rustic rhythms and wired visions are just a handful of adjectives to describe Grasscut’s debut. Originally released in 1970, this cult classic tells the story of a well-to-do New Yorker who becomes the landlord of an inner-city tenement.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/4716

Woodblock prints confirmed Hokusai\'s Tokyo - KYODO A set of five woodblock prints owned by a museum in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, has been confirmed as an authentic work by famed ''ukiyoe'' artist Katsushika Hokusai, the museum said Monday. Fake copies of the set have been circulating in large quantities since the Meiji era, with only a few originals by Hokusai confirmed. With the latest discovery, the Japan Ukiyoe Museum became the only institution to possess originals for all five works in the set. The five works, all of which are 26-by-19 centimeters in size, are based on ghost stories, and are believed to have been created at around the same time as Hokusai painted his masterpiece, ''Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji,'' between 1832 and 1833. Their authenticity was examined by several experts, including Satoru Sato, professor at Jissen Women's Educational Institute, and Matthi Forrer, researcher at Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden, the Netherlands, according to the ukiyoe museum. The experts highly praised the techniques adopted in creating the five works and their print technology. The works are on display at the museum through May 31. Related News GMT 18:51 2017 Monday ,20 Over 1,000 students visited Etihad Museum during opening month

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/4727

SAMPLE PLAY AUDIO SAMPLE http%3A%2F%2Fsamples.audible.com%2Fbk%2Freco%2F000173%2Fbk_reco_000173_sample.mp3+flashcontent11WD3K49YKQH66VA32VG0 Life on the Mississippi Norman Dietz A Tramp Abroad In April 1878, Mark Twain and his family traveled to Europe. Overloaded with creative ideas, Twain had hoped that the sojourn would spark his creativity enough to bring at least one of the books in his head to fruition. Instead, he wrote of his walking tour of Europe, describing his impressions of the Black Forest, the Matterhorn, and other attractions. Neglected for years, A Tramp Abroad sparkles with Twain’s shrewd observations and highly opinionated comments on Old World culture. "A hoot" Roughing It In 1861, young Mark Twain found himself adrift as a tenderfoot in the Wild West. Roughing It is a hilarious record of his travels over a six-year period that comes to life with his inimitable mixture of reporting, social satire, and rollicking tall tales. Twain reflects on his scuffling years mining silver in Nevada, working at a Virginia City newspaper, being downandout in San Francisco, reporting for a newspaper from Hawaii, and more. "The wild humorist of the West" The Innocents Abroad: Or, The New Pilgrim’s Progress In June 1867, Mark Twain set out for Europe and the Holy Land on the paddle steamer Quaker City. His enduring, no-nonsense guide for the first-time traveler also served as an antidote to the insufferably romantic travel books of the period. Cynthia Franks says: "Twain's Hidden Gem" Narrated By Nick Offerman A natural storyteller and raconteur in his own right - just listen to Paddle Your Own Canoe and Gumption - actor, comedian, carpenter, and all-around manly man Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) brings his distinctive baritone and a fine-tuned comic versatility to Twain's writing. In a knockout performance, he doesn't so much as read Twain's words as he does rejoice in them, delighting in the hijinks of Tom - whom he lovingly refers to as a "great scam artist" and "true American hero". Brad says: "Stop what you are doing!" By James Fenimore Cooper Narrated By Larry McKeever The Last of the Mohicans has all the elements of a classic frontier adventure: massacres and raids, innocent settlers, hardened soldiers, renegade Indians, and a doomed love affair. It is a memorable portrait of fierce individualism and moral courage. But what draws readers and listeners again and again to this panoramic novel is its deep insight into the symbols of American consciousness. Margaret says: "Poor sound" The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing By Marie Kondo Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles?Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you'll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. Rebecca says: "I both love and hate this life changing book" The Life of Abraham Lincoln By Henry Ketcham In his introduction to The Life of Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ketcham notes that there has been so much written about Lincoln that the legend has begun to obscure, if not to efface, the man. “In this biography the single purpose has been to present the living man with such distinctness of outline that the reader may have a sort of feeling of being acquainted with him.” Charly says: "Good overview of Lincoln's life" Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin By Benjamin Franklin Narrated By Walter Costello Considered to be one of the best autobiographies written in colonial America, Franklin portrays a fascinating picture of life in pre-revolutionary Philadelphia. In his own words he describes his life as a printer, inventor, scientist, and politician. "A great man" Weaveworld Clive Barker has made his mark on modern fiction by exposing all that is surreal and magical in the ordinary world - and exploring the profound and overwhelming terror that results. With its volatile mix of the fantastical and the contemporary, the everyday and the otherworldly, Weaveworld is an epic work of dark fantasy and horror - a tour de force from one of today's most forceful and imaginative artists. Diane says: "Finally, the audio!" The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights By James Knowles Narrated By Eric Brooks King Arthur was a legendary British leader of the late fifth and early sixth century who, according to the medieval histories and romances, led the defense of the Romano-Celtic British against the Saxon invaders in the early sixth century. This book gives an account of the life of this great legend of all times. T. Rod says: "This was painful!" The War of Alien Aggression - Box Set One By A. D. Bloom The story of the 2164-2165 war with the Squidies from the first engagement to the final detonations. This compilation includes Hardway, Kamikaze, Lancer, Taipan, and Cozen's War. RJWood says: "WAR OF ALIEN AGGRESSION, by D.A. Bloom" A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is both a whimsical fantasy and a social satire chock-full of brilliant Twainisms. Hank Morgan, a nineteenth-century American---a Connecticut Yankee---by a stroke of fate is sent back into time to sixth-century England and ends up in Camelot and King Arthur's Court. Ian C Robertson says: "A Classic Yarn" Dinosaur Lake By Kathryn Meyer Griffith Narrated By Johnnie C. Hayes Ex-cop Henry Shore has been Chief Park Ranger at Crater Lake National Park for eight years and he likes his park and his life the way it's been. Safe. Tranquil. Predictable. But he's about to be tested in so many ways. First the earthquakes begin, people begin to go missing, then there's some mysterious water creature that's taken up residence in the caves below Crater Lake and it's not only growing in size, it's aggressive and cunning and very hungry. Kim Venatries says: "Good Escape Listening." Narrated By Harold Wiederman Chesterton's talent as a mystery writer is displayed in this collection of detective stories, The Man Who Knew Too Much. In each story, the star detective, Horne Fisher, deals with another strange mystery: the vanishing of a priceless coin, the framing of an Irish "prince" freedom fighter, an eccentric rich man dies during an obsessive fishing trip, another vanishing during an ice skate, a statue crushing his own uncle, and a few more. "The Prince who Knows Paradox Too Well" By Alexandre Dumas This historical romance, perhaps the greatest cloak-and-sword story ever, relates the adventures of four fictional swashbuckling heroes who served the French kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV. When the dashing young D'Artagnon arrives in Paris from Gascony, he becomes embroiled in three duels with the Three Musketeers: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. But when he proves himself by fighting not against, but with, the Three Musketeers, they form a quick and lasting friendship. Tadd says: "A brilliant read." Over a century before the dime-a-dozen memoirs started popping up on our shelves from people with dubious claims to fame, Mark Twain wrote Life on the Mississippi. At the age of 12, when he was still going by Samuel Clemens, he left school to begin a career of odd jobs until he received his steamboat pilot license. It was this experience going up and down the Mississippi on the steamboat that not only provided the backdrop to these humorous and exciting tales, but also the occupation which gave him his famous pen name. Veteran narrator Norman Dietz gives a performance Twain would be proud of, ensuring the satire and earnestness alike are not lost on any listener. When Mark Twain was growing up, all he wanted to be was a steamboat man. And so Twain ran away in pursuit of his dream. Life on the mighty river for Twain consisted of paddleboats and history, poker games and gamblers, larger-than-life characters and outlandish festivals like Mardi Gras. Twain recorded it all with his keen eye for detail and biting wit. (P)1986 by Recorded Books, Inc. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Signature Performance by Elijah Wood Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln (Unabridged) Notes from the Underground (Unabridged) JFK and the Reagan Revolution (Unabridged) What Members Say Kristoffer Oslo, N/A, Norway "Inaudible!" I honestly think this is a good book depicting the way of life along the mighty Mississippi river, told with Twain's renowned wit and displaying his love for the subject, but unfortunately the horrible sound quality of this recording makes it near inaudible, and impossible to listen to. I gave up about two hours into the book, having understood only about half of what had been said. I'll be damned if I'm going to listen to a 14 hour long audio book, 7 of which consist of incoherent mumbling! Retired teacher of literature with an interest in religion and in science and in history. I have loved reading for 50 years. "Humorous, poignant, informative, adventurous" The wild man from Hannibal who gave us Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn remembers (and revisits) his home town in this memoir written after he was rich and famous and no longer the kid that in his heart he always remained, at least partly. In making the journey, he tells about the geologic history of the Mississippi, about the geographic effects of the river, about the early days of steamboating on the river and the complexity of the task of moving a boat on a river that changed from hour to hour and day to day and was always ready to grab a boat and its passengers and pull them to muddy death. Any reader who enjoyed Tom and Huck owes it to himself to sample this wonderful story by a man who never wrote a bad sentence, although he was know for using bad language, i.e. profanity, at the drop of a cigar ash. I have listened to the recording twice, have read the book more than two times, and if I take a notion, I will do it again, regardless of the consequences, so little do I value sanity. (That was supposed to be humorous, but I really have listened twice and read twice....and I hope you do too.) bob orca Mark Twain's Life on the Mississipi is excellent, one of his best works. It contains a nice blend of humor and a picture of a part of early American life. Some of the previous reviewers commented negatively on the recording quality, which kept me from getting this book up to now but I finally decided to go for it anyway. To tell the truth I can't find anything wrong with the recording quality so I'm not sure why the other reviewers complained, plus the narrator has a very clear voice and one which seems to capture my mental image of Twain. Overall highly recommended. "Quintessent, Elegant, Perfect..." I am shocked that people actually had the audacity to review this work based upon its fidelity. And for the record (no pun), the recording is FINE if you have any clue how to operate any sort of an audio playback machine. What this piece is about is obviously the text, which is Twain at his documentary best. This piece is also about Norman Dietz, who is -objectively- the most straight and consistent reader of the Twain out there. And he's on the money and very sweet in this version. But getting back to the text, this is a most lovely American document. It should be required reading. Artfully woven language, satire and prose, with a touch of poetic angst put this in the tops of this reviewers list of books-to-be-listened-to. Thank you, Norman, and a huge thanks to the author wherever he is. He's a mighty powerful pen with a passion and a pension to please. "Absolutely delightful" This book got some bad reviews here, but I can't see why. The narrator was a champion storyteller and every word was clear. It's about an interesting time in American history, humorously told as the autobiography of a steamboat pilot. Kensington, CA, United States "Not one of Twain's best" The narration is excellent and the story offers an interesting historical perspective of a unique period in American history. Still, the book is short on the wit and humor that mark many of Twain's other better books. Prairieville, LA, USA "Mostly Audible :)" Yes, the narration starts off badly technically sampled, but the quality gets very good a little less than halfway through. In all, the audio quality wasn't bad enough for it to significatly effect my understanding or enjoyment of the book. The content however is a bit like the Mississippi, rather meandering and long. The book follows Twain down and back up the Mississippi who gives picturesque vingettes of everything inbetween. He also gives an excellent and detailed history of river navigation and how to be a steamboat pilot, from his own experience as one in the 1800's. There are many exciting and interesting stories in the narration which are frustratingly enjoyable as the rest of the novel can be quite dull. Frustrating because they are good enough to keep you plodding through the dull stuff to hear another good one :) Just be prepared for a very long read as it can put you to sleep often. It took me two months to get through it. But, again like the Mississippi, it's slow, peaceful and soothing. Do listen to the appendix at the end as it contains an excerpt he recorded about an old Indian story titled "The Head that Wouldn't Die" In my opinion, it's the hilite of the book! Beth Kern "Can't Beat a Good Twain" Everyone knows Mark Twain, and by now they know well enough if they like him as a writer or not. So, I shall not say more than that this book is an excellent look into life of that Era, not just the area.Norman Dietz reads very well and gives the listener the sense of one speaking from that time.Overall, very enjoyable! Russell Bernard Salt Lake City, Utah United States Avid Listener of books at 1-1/2 times the normal speed. Trying to make up for all those boring high school teachers that could not reach me. "Great American Classic all should listen to." Listened to a different version with Grover Gardner and it is wonderful.the stories are wonderful. More Less FAIR OAKS, CA, United States I'm a web developer based out of Sacramento, I listen to books while I work, and love audible. "I Prefer His Fiction" This was the least interesting Twain book I have read, it is an account of events that happened to him, parts where very interesting and other parts where very uninteresting. LANGEAIS, France "Fascinating insight to times gone by" Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why? Most definitely, the detail, information and history is fascinating. Well, 'Mark Twain' of course, his story telling is just wonderful. This is a book I could listen to again and again, the detail in it ensures that each time I hear it, I find out something new.

文学

2014-35/4521/en_head.json.gz/29375

Kenneth Goldsmith unpacks Walter Benjamin’s library Kenneth Goldsmith and Walter Benjamin in the library When Dmitri Prigov explores the relationship between the book as material object and endlessly repeating copy, he anticipates a similar interest in the relationship between copy and singular material instantiation in Anglophone conceptual writing. One of the leading figures in conceptual writing, Kenneth Goldsmith, began his artistic career, like Prigov, as a sculptor. Among his early work, Goldsmith’s iterations of Steal This Book illustrate his interest in the book as both copy and unique material object. His two versions or copies of the book are both monumental copies of Abbie Hoffman’s 1971 counter-culture classic. One was made of lead and weighed 150 kg, the other was seven feet tall — both were too big to be stolen. Goldsmith has since then produced a number of works that explore the iterations of the book through conceptual writing. For example, in retyping the New York Times and publishing the result in book form, Goldsmith transforms the disposable newspaper into a monumental brick-sized book on a par with the largest of the modernist long-poem masterworks, such as Pound’s Cantos or Olson’s Maximus Poems. Recently in Jacket2 new at PennSound A sampling of new recordings at PennSound From left to right: Jen Hofer, Alice Notley, Robin Blaser. Apples can cause riots Linh Dinh playfully and bitterly engages food, war, and race in a poem called “Eating Fried Chicken,” and those were the topics raised in PoemTalk's 51st episode, released in March of 2012. The poem appeared in Dinh's book American Tatts, published by Chax in 2005. September 1, 2014 Jerome Rothenberg & John Bloomberg-Rissman: from the Pre-Face to Barbaric Vast & Wild (Poems for the Millennium, volume 5) [What follows is a draft of what will be part of the pre-face to Barbaric Vast & Wild, the assemblage of “outside & subterranean poetry” to be published later this year by Black Widow Press – the de-facto fifth volume of Poems for the Millennium & the culmination for the moment of a project that began nearly fifty years ago with the original publication of Technicians of the Sacred. I’m posting it now on Poems and Poetics before I head off for six or seven weeks on the road, to engage in readings & performances in August 31, 2014 © 2014 Jacket2

文学

2014-35/4521/en_head.json.gz/29463

Home Is Where the Heart Is - Right? Commentary by: Nancy Kranzberg Aired September 03, 2010Windows Media WMP (56 kbps)MP3 MP3 (56 kbps) I recently returned from the Ukraine, where I found my maternal grandfather's native village. The trip brought to mind how many artists base their works on home, place and memory. Shortly before my trip, I heard the magnificant St Louis Chamber Chorus perform a concert entitled, "Home Thoughts From Abroad" at Christ Church Cathedral. Philip Barnes, the artistic director and conductor, has been on a sabbatical in his native England. In reference to the program he writes, "While I have spent much of the year away from St. Louis, thoughts have frequently returned to the Chamber Chorus, its members and friends. Home is clearly a flexible concept, and one can feel a home in different places, surroundings and circumstances. Similarly, abroad can be interpreted on more than one level, from the purely topographical to the metaphorical, when we find ourselves adrift or isolated from that which is known, and perhaps comfortable. An article called, "A Sense of Place: Three Artists" appeared on an internet site called Studio International. It begins by saying, "An artist's relationship with a particular place is a constant in art; Cezanne's paintings of Mont St. Victoire, which established a great precedent in modern art, are among the most significant. The concept of the artist as traveler and diarist also belongs to a long tradition." The article describes three artists in an exhibition as being linked by a relationship to place, but also by the way in which the place comes to represent a plethora of images alluding to memory and to their own perceptions and observations. Bunny Burson, a renowned visual artist and her songwriting daughter, Clare recently made a journey to Germany where Bunny's grandparents lived, to Riga, Latvia where they fled, and then to Rumbula Forest, ten kilometers outside of Riga,where they were killed. They found historical records, newly discovered letters from them and as Bunny says, "They are no longer ghosts, but loving parents, brave and bold role models, and very human grandparents." Clare�s music and Bunny�s visual art give their departed family members life and legacy to fill the void. Another well known visual artist from St Louis, Carol Crouppen, now living in Colorado, says that her works are often about going home and there is a strong question as to what is true or false in her memory. She refers to her works as a touchstone, both personal and ancestral. Home is where the heart is and sometimes it takes some searching of heart and soul to decide just where that is - here, there, and sometimes everywhere. (The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of St. Louis Public Radio.) Back to Commentaries Nancy Kranzberg Arts Aficionado Nancy Kranzberg has been involved in the arts community for some thirty years. She serves on numerous arts affiliated boards, including The St. Louis Art Museum, Laumeier Sculpture Park where she is the Co-Chair, The Sheldon Arts Foundation and the Sheldon Art Gallery Board, Jazz at the Bistro, The Missouri Mansion Preservation Inc., The Mid American Arts Alliance, and the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. Nancy was named Women of Achievement and was awarded the Distinguished Alumnae Award at Washington University Nancy is a docent at the St. Louis Art Museum and is an honorary docent at Laumeier Sculpture Park. At age 60 she became a Jazz singer. She performs with the Second Half which features Chancellor Tom George on the piano. More Nancy Kranzberg Commentaries

文学

2014-35/4521/en_head.json.gz/29549

Yasunari Kawabata's Thousand Cranes takes place in Japan soon after World War II. The central character is a 25 year old man whose late father was a collector of rare old tea ceremony objects and a practitioner of the traditional tea ceremony. Quite a few of the key scenes take place in the now-mildewing tea-ceremony cottage in the family garden, and the collected objects play a major role in this psychological drama.The focus of the book is the young man's relationship with his father's two mistresses and the daughter of one of them. An unnamed maid and another young woman are the only other characters in the book: it's almost like a stage play with only a very small cast.Several times, there is an enactment of the tea ceremony or some part of it, at a critical emotional point. Water boils. A tear falls on the iron kettle. The choice of rare and special water vessels, tea bowls, and decorative objects creates atmosphere and they become symbols to the characters and to the story. Sometimes a meal is served.Nothing, basically, is ever said about the characters' tasting the tea, eating the food, or even noticing what food is being served. The tea ceremony is all about ritual and proper behavior. The way it affects the characters is important in the drama of their interaction and their individual problems. However, I find it very telling that the actual content of the tea vessels is not part of this drama, as I believe it would be in an actual tea ceremony. Savoring the tea is listed in documentary books as part of the ritual -- personally I find the tea at tea ceremonies unbearably bitter, and couldn't appreciate it.I'm not able to tell if this lack of sensual participation or tasting the small snacks or the meal of tea time would be a meaningful symbol for a Japanese reader. It may be too late to know this, as the traditions described in the book are much rarer now than they were 50 years ago when the action took place. Each March, I believe it is, the U of M Japanese students club holds a huge cultural festival and there is a society of women in Ann Arbor who practice the art of the tea ceremony and perform it at the festival. I know, too, that my Japanese exchange daughter took lessons for six months to learn how to do this so she could demonstrate it for us and for friends in the U.S. I didn't realize that men could be practitioners. I don't know how prevalent this is today, or if it's along the lines of, say the Civil War re-enactments or things of that ilk. As far as I know, the tea ceremony was mainly practiced by men in the really old days (when women were really kept in the home to a great extent), then mixed, now I think mainly women. It wasn't exactly part of the religion, but somehow associated with it -- one of the tea houses in the book is on the grounds of a Buddhist temple. Evelyn, your pizza is ready Amsterdam Falafel, Washington D.C. Doll Food Tropical fruit trees Dinner at Roy's The Surfing Goat Dairy Hawaii Food Fresh Fish! Movie Food "All is soup!" Bad Salmon Run Again

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/4903

You are here: Home › arts & culture › classical › The Masters at Work classical The Masters at Work Cedarville University presents their Masterworks concert By Pat Suarez On March 25, Cedarville University presents its annual Masterworks concert. Photo courtesy of Scott L. Huck/Cedarville University. In the world of classical music, Germany had Bach and Beethoven, England had Elgar and Vaughan-Williams, France had Debussy and Ravel and the U.S. had Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein. Even as we enter the second decade of the 21st century, there is still a segment of classical music patrons who still have their doubts about “American” classical music. In time, those doubts will vanish into willing acceptance with new generations of music lovers. For many current audiences and musicians, classical music written in and inspired by our nation is unique and second to none, and Aaron and Lenny, who were close friends, champions of each other’s work and who died within two months of one another in 1990, are America’s two most cherished icons. Their music could not be more different. Every movie and TV soundtrack having anything remotely to do with the 19th century American west traces its origins back to Copland, ironic given Copland’s birthplace of Brooklyn. Copland’s music embodies a sense of adventure and heroism and rarely strays into the realm of traditional 19th century European classical music. Bernstein, from Massachusetts, explored jazz, the live stage, rock ‘n’ roll and his Jewish heritage. His need to find deeper meaning in traditional classical repertoire, a need based in his innate musical curiosity, caused not a little controversy. It is Bernstein’s and Copland’s music that Cedarville’s Masterworks Concert will present on March 25 at the campus’ Jeremiah Chapel. The program will include Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and selections from Candide and Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait and the Fanfare for the Common Man. Carmon DeLeone, Music Director of the Cincinnati Ballet and other orchestras, will conduct. The DCP spoke with Beth Cram Porter, chair of the University’s Music and Worship department and associate professor of voice, about the event. How old is the Masterworks program? We have been producing the Masterworks concert for the last 10 years. We feel it is our duty to provide our students with a variety of performance opportunities. Producing a large-scale concert of the great masterworks of choral and orchestral literature is one way we expose our students to great literature. Plus, we offer this program to our university family, in addition to the community at large, as a way to educate, inform and raise music scholarship dollars. [Beth Cram Porter] What is the range of works that the program has presented? Over the past 10 years, the Masterworks program has presented such works as Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Haydn’s The Creation, Poulenc’s Gloria, Brahms’ A German Requiem and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. [BCP] Bernstein and Copland were friends, and Bernstein championed Copland’s works. Both are closely associated with American 20th century classical music, but their musical styles differ. What was the process in selecting these two composers? The music faculty wanted to do an all-American 20th century program. We all felt strongly about Bernstein and Copland – you could argue that they embody two very different spirits of America. Their music is challenging, but accessible to both performer and audience member. [BCP] How were the works to be presented selected? Once we secured our guest conductor, we told him of our desire to do Bernstein and Copland. He was agreeable, suggested several programs and we ultimately settled on this one. [BCP] Copland’s Fanfare had its premier with the Cincinnati Orchestra in 1942 as a response to the U.S. entering WWII. Is this performance meant to honor our veterans currently serving in the Middle East? While we have not said that specifically in any article, nor have we discussed this as a department, we are wildly patriotic and any time we can honor those who served and those who presently serve, we gladly do so. It is one of Copland’s pieces that almost everyone knows, one of his best known (and shortest) works. We had to program it. [BCP] Chichester Psalms has a boy treble part. Will you use a boy treble or countertenor, something some performances employ? We will use a current CU student, Nathan Price, countertenor. Nathan is not a music major, but is a fine musician. I believe he sang in the Kettering Children’s Chorus as a child. His voice is amazingly beautiful. People will be stunned. [BCP] Chichester Psalms uses a sampling of Psalms from the Hebrew Bible. What do the Psalms bring that lend them to music? The Book of Psalms is the songbook of the Bible! Consisting of 150 Psalms, written by different authors, including King David, these served as the texts for worship and praise of God when they were written and still do. These ancient words have been sung for generations and continue to be sources of inspiration for composers of all flavors. The Book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible. [BCP] For ticket information, visit www.cedarville.edu or call (937) 766-7728. Reach DCP freelance writer Pat Suarez at PatSuarez@daytoncitypaper.com. New Music for New Dance Commentary Forum: 3/22/11 About Pat Suarez View all posts by Pat Suarez Pat Suarez has been involved with a wide variety of music for nearly five decades. He has hosted music programming on FM radio and produced and hosted the radio broadcasts of two symphony orchestras. His articles about music have been published extensively in print and online. Reach him at PatSuarez@DaytonCityPaper.com. Subscribe Mid-life masterpiece 1,001 stories and a jealous king Brought to you by the letter ‘B’!

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/5042

HomeThe Beggar's OperaWikipedia: Introduction The Beggar's Opera The Beggar's Opera[1] is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today. Ballad operas were satiric musical plays that used some of the conventions of opera, but without recitative. The lyrics of the airs in the piece are set to popular broadsheet ballads, opera arias, church hymns and folk tunes of the time.The Beggar's Opera premiered at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre on 29 January 1728[2] and ran for 62 consecutive performances, the longest run in theatre history up to that time (after 146 performances of Rober Cambert's "Pomone" in 1671).[3] The work became Gay's greatest success and has been played ever since; it has been called "the most popular play of the eighteenth century."[4] In 1920, The Beggar's Opera began an astonishing revival run of 1,463 performances at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, London, which was one of the longest runs in history for any piece of musical theatre at that time.[5]The piece satirised Italian opera, which had become popular in London. According to The New York Times: "Gay wrote the work more as an anti-opera than an opera, one of its attractions to its 18th-century London public being its lampooning of the Italian opera style and the English public's fascination with it."[6][7] Instead of the grand music and themes of opera, the work uses familiar tunes and characters that were ordinary people. Some of the songs were by opera composers like Handel, but only the most popular of these were used. The audience could hum along with the music and identify with the characters. The story satirised politics, poverty and injustice, focusing on the theme of corruption at all levels of society. Lavinia Fenton, the first Polly Peachum, became an overnight success. Her pictures were in great demand, verses were written to her and books published about her. After appearing in several comedies, and then in numerous repetitions of The Beggars Opera, she ran away with her married lover, Charles Powlett, 3rd Duke of Bolton.Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill adapted the opera into Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera) in 1928, sticking close to the original plot and characters but with a new libretto and mostly new music. Origin and analysis John Gay Biography The Beggar’s Opera Questions and Answers The Question and Answer section for The Beggar’s Opera is a great Study Guide for The Beggar’s Opera The Beggar's Opera study guide contains a biography of John Gay, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. About The Beggar's Opera The Beggar's Opera Summary Read the Study Guide for The Beggar’s Opera… Essays for The Beggar’s Opera The Beggar's Opera essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay. Uxorial Use-Value and Marxist Marriages: Evaluation of Women and Desire in The Beggar's Opera E-Text of The Beggar’s Opera The Beggar's Opera e-text contains the full text of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay. Act I. Scene I. Act II. Scene I. Act II. Scene II. Act II. Scene III. Read the E-Text for The Beggar’s Opera… Wikipedia Entries for The Beggar’s Opera View Wikipedia Entries for The Beggar’s Opera…

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/5219

Mantex > Reviews > Design > Graphic design > Edward Bawden design Edward Bawden design graphic design and illustration Edward Bawden (1903-1989) was a graphic designer and illustrator of the English romantic-nostalgic school. He is best known for his book jacket designs and murals in public buildings, but he worked in a number of different visual media – ranging from advertising posters to wallpaper design and the labels for beer bottles. He was born in Braintree in Essex, going from local education to Cambridge School of Art. From there he went on a scholarship to the Royal College of Art where he met his lifelong friend and fellow illustrator, Eric Ravilious. They both studied under the supervision of painter Paul Nash. Shortly after graduation he was fortunate enough to receive a number of commissions. First for decorative tiles for the London Underground, then a mural for the refectory at Morley College. He began to work one day a week as an illustrator (along with Ravilious and Nash) at the Curwen Press, which produced high-quality colour lithography and short runs of specialist publications. Bawden designed decorative borders, endpapers, and illustrations – a foundation which he continued into his later life with work for Faber and Faber. Following his marriage to a fellow RCA student Charlotte Epton, he moved from London back to Essex, where he developed a strong attachment to the countryside and began to produce watercolour paintings. This led to one-man exhibitions at both the Zwemmer and the Leicester Galleries. The Queen’s Garden – Kew During the Second World War he served with the British army as an official war artist – first in France, then in the Middle East. Returning from Cairo, his ship was torpedoed and he spent several days in an open lifeboat before being picked up by the (Vichy) French navy. This resulted in his being held prisoner in an internment camp in Casablanca. After the war he designed fabrics and murals for cruise ships, and he participated actively in designs for the Festival of Britain. These led to big public commissions for the BBC, the British Council, and London Transport. It has to be said that part of Bawden’s success was his ability to work in any number of different visual media — linocuts, engraving, lithographic prints, watercolour, or line drawing. This supported his willingness to undertake the most humble commissions. His work includes not only large-scale public works, but dust jackets and illustrations for recipe books, and promotional materials for Fortnum and Mason – even down to the design for biscuit tins. Brian Webb and Peyton Skipworth, Edward Bawden Design, Suffolk: ACC Art Books, 2015, pp.96, ISBN: 1851498397

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/5345

2017 International Opera Awards sponsored by Join our mailing list and you'll be the first to hear about all our latest news and upcoming events. I hereby agree to you holding my personal information on the terms of the Opera Awards privacy policy. Festival of the Year 2015 (Image: Bregenz Festival, P. Pichler) Founded in 2012, the International Opera Awards is an annual celebration of excellence in opera around the world. The aims of the Awards are simple: • To raise the profile of opera as an art form. • To recognise and reward success in opera. • To generate funds to provide bursaries for aspiring talent in opera from around the world. Over the last four years the International Opera Awards has raised funds for the Opera Awards Foundation to support 48 bursaries for aspiring artists, including singers, directors, conductors, répétiteurs and accompanists. Judging of the International Opera Awards is carried out by a jury of industry professionals headed by Opera editor John Allison. Sir Thomas Allen Dame Anne Evans Sir John Tomlinson Harry Hyman Harry Hyman founded the International Opera Awards in 2012. A lifelong opera lover, he felt that opera too often hid its light under a bushel. He was inspired to establish the Awards as a way to celebrate an exceptional art form, and to recognise on a global stage, the talented and dedicated individuals and organisations who make it happen. Harry is founder and Managing Director of Primary Health Properties PLC. Founding Media Partner Opera Magazine Described by the Daily Telegraph as ‘the bible of the industry', OPERA has been the world's leading commentator on the lyric stage for over 65 years. It was founded in 1950 by the late Lord Harewood, and since then has provided unrivalled coverage of events through a mixture of features, reviews (live performances, recordings, books) and analysis, plus monthly listings of events worldwide and the famous ‘We hear that' section. Long-standing editors-Harold Rosenthal, Rodney Milnes and (since 2000) John Allison-have ensured continuity, and the editorial board includes many of the most distinguished opera critics from Britain's national newspapers. London-based, the magazine has an unrivalled network of international correspondents, covering performances from around the globe. Copyright © The Opera Awards Limited 2017

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/5379

Writing and Revising the Best of All Possible Books Hey guys! First thing’s first: there was a clear winner in the “pick my author photo for me decisions are hard” election. You guys loved photo #3, and so that was what I sent on to my lovely editor! This will be my face, FOR THE AGES. Second of all, I know I’ve been quiet lately. That’s because I’ve been doing that mysterious writer thing called revising. A few weeks ago, right after I got my big ol’ edit letter (alongside a marked-up manuscript which bore a veritable and literal rainbow of sticky notes), a friend asked me if I was planning to blog the editing process. But he wondered if doing so might be problematic. After all, you don’t want to reveal conflicts between author and editor. Funny thing, though. It’s not that I haven’t been blogging because I disagree with my editor. Quite the opposite, actually–and more on that in a moment. I actually haven’t blogged because I’ve been really busy. Working till three or four in the morning busy. Scratching my head and moving stuff around in scrivener and pushing myself harder than I’ve ever been pushed before busy. In my off-time (that is, when I’m in the bath), I’ve been reading a biography of JD Salinger. The contrast between ol’ Jerry’s editing process and my own is striking. He finished The Catcher in the Rye and then immediately boxed it up to his agent. He got annoyed when an editor asked him if Holden was “crazy.” He freaked out over a lot of stuff, it seems. Didn’t want his editor messing with his vision. And while it’s difficult to argue with his end result–The Catcher in the Rye is pretty perfect in both conception and execution, no?–I can’t help but feel like my own moments worrying about my own “vision” and whether someone (an agent, an editor, a critique partner) might ruin it were mostly moments wasted. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying a writer should accept every editorial change unthinkingly. I have strong instincts about my work and what does and doesn’t fly. In our short business relationship, my editor has already reminded me that I should feel free to shoot down her ideas. It’s a nice reminder that my book is ultimately my book. But I do think that even inapplicable feedback is helpful feedback. Even if a suggestion or criticism doesn’t jive with my vision of my work, it’s helpful to know how a reader who is very different from me approaches that work. Reader response is always valid, and interesting. The ability to synthesize a whole bunch of reader feedback into glittering generalities about what readers want has been key to my growth as a writer. But I also count myself lucky to be surrounded by people–friends and critique partners, my lovely agent, my lovely editor–who are a whole lot smarter than I am. About the business. About books. I trust their instincts, and their faith in the raw material of my novel. I know that they want Starglass to be the best book it can possibly be. Because look: Starglass has changed a lot since I first started drafting it. Back in 2010, it was a fairly quiet story about a girl whose mom had died called Daughter of Earth. I needed more conflict, so I though, “Okay, I’ll throw in a rebellion. Or something.” While Terra will always be, at her core, a girl whose mom had died, that secondary conflict–that rebellion–has grown in importance mightily. Minor characters have been fleshed out to become whole people. The world–once a stock SF setting–has been enriched. There are now themes and a hearty dose of epicness. I never imagined myself writing an epic novel. The writer I was in 2010 probably could not have executed the task. But because I was open to suggestions from people who are smarter than I am, this book has grown so, so far past its original conception. And it’s much better than it once was. A better book. And fundamentally different. If you’re a writer, you might know the feeling of having an entire universe in your head. Your mind contains characters, stories, which sometimes feel like they’re floating around independent of you and your body and your life. The first version of Starglass was one of these stories. Subsequent revisions–and there have been many–weren’t so much a readjustment of the original vision but a fresh new version. It’s like a “many worlds” theory of books. Revision has not just been a refinement of that original but rather a guided tour through many possibilities. The end result, I hope, will be to find the ideal version–not only the best of all possible worlds, but the best of all possible books.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/5459

Rossland guild puts their best quilts forward The Rossland Quilt Guild put on a quilt show this weekend to show their work.— image credit: Arne Petryshen Photo by John White - Rossland News posted Oct 27, 2011 at 1:00 PM The Rossland Quilt Guild put their best works on display this weekend at their quilt show. The show, Every Quilt Tells a Story, ran Saturday and Sunday and included a wide array of works from Rossland quilters. The guild is also raffling off a quilt. Deyanne Davies, president of the guild, said they made service quilts as well, for causes like the hospital and the Japan relief effort after the tsunami. The guild itself is now up to 20 members. Davies said they started doing shows eight years ago and do one every two years or so. The guild itself started in 1995 and currently meets Monday nights in the Seniors Hall in Rossland from 7 to 9 p.m. They also have business meetings once a month. During the Monday meetings she says the guild gets together with their quilting machines and sew, though the fun isn’t just for the regular meetings. “We have fun at our business meetings too,” Davies laughs. “Every couple years we make a raffle quilt for somebody in the community and we make service quilts too. We’ve given them to the hospital, we’ve given them to Rotary, last year we sent some to the Japan relief as well. “We bring in instructors, once in a while, and that’s just for guild members but we’ll have courses and hire quilting instructors. We have a lot of fun.” The quilt show is a chance for the guild to show off its art. “We’ve been doing them every two years but that’s not a given,” she said. “We might wait three or four until the next one, [because] it’s a lot of work.” For each show, a quilter has to have a new quilt, because it can be shown at a show just once. “There aren’t many rules, but one of them is that once it’s been shown, you can’t show it again in next year’s quilt show,” she said. “So they all have to have new quilts, or new to the show.” So they need a lot of time to make some new ones and the time it takes depends on the complexity of the pattern and how many colours are used. It also depends on whether it’s sewn by hand or by machine. The quilt that is being raffled was put together using pieces sewn by individual members of the Rossland guild. The proceeds will go to Special Olympics for Trail local. “So the money is going to be going to Trail, Rossland, Castlegar and Fruitvale kids,” Davies said. “It goes to the local Special Olympics, not B.C.” She said there are three from Rossland. To buy tickets for the raffle, contact either a quilt guild member or a Special Olympian. “We will have tickets on sale during Spirit of Christmas, because the draw is right after Christmas.” You can also contact Davies at 362-7727 for more info on the guild or the raffle. Rossland mayor looks back on 2016, forward to 2017: A Q&A with Kathy Moore (January 10, 2017) Over 300 Rossland residents celebrate Remembrance Day at cenotaph (November 11, 2016) Syrian family arrives in Rossland (December 01, 2016) Kootenay author’s book first eliminated in Rossland Reads (October 24, 2016)

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/5461

Home Book Author Artist Reviews Press Contact Children's book author, mother and philanthropist, Sue Ganz-Schmitt, is passionate about helping children and families globally. She is co-founder of an AIDS orphanage in Haiti, has traveled to China to help medically challenged orphans, and set up a birthing clinic in rural India. Yet, her writing is inspired by local children. Even Superheroes Get Diabetes (ESGD), the author's first book, was created when a neighborhood child was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Unable to find an inspiring children's book on the subject, she decided to write her own. ESGD reached #8 in Children's Health on Amazon.com and can be found in doctor's offices nationwide. Sue has been a featured speaker at Dodger Stadium during the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's annual walk, which hosted over 20,000 attendees. The author's second book, The Princess and the Peanut, grew out of compassion toward a friend's kindergartner with a severe peanut allergy. Her newest project, Even Pirates Get Leukemia, evolved after her daughter's playmate battled and bravely won a fight against leukemia. Sue graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Business/ Marketing in 1986. She fulfilled her dream of traveling the world by working in international sales and licensing for the entertainment industry, managing customers across 40 countries. Sue Ganz-Schmitt lives in a rural mountain community near Los Angeles with her two daughters and husband. She produces children's musical theater, has sung on Broadway, and writes for a local paper. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). // Footer for Princess website (c) Copyright 2011 by Sue Ganz-Schmitt

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/5462

Waking Up In Dublin: A Musical Tour of the Celtic Capital by Neil Hegarty Updated / Tuesday, 3 Aug 2004 16:05 A vivid picture Reviewer score Sanctuary, £9.99 There are some guide books that talk down to you, others that sneer at the place you're choosing to visit - and then there are the ones that make you feel like you're being shown around by an interesting and knowledgeable friend. 'Waking Up In Dublin: A Musical Tour of the Celtic Capital' by Neil Hegarty can be placed firmly in the latter category. Although it may not age well, this is a topical look at a very contemporary Dublin. Hegarty is a confiding and genial guide through Dublin's disparate music scene, ranging from the obvious - indie rock and trad music - to the slightly more obscure, in the form of the Dublin Gospel Choir and the Lost in Bar 20 salon at the Contemporary Music Centre. Discursive and inclusive, he includes information on venues, pubs and coffee shops - with a particular emphasis on the Queen of Tarts - alongside his own musings and observations about music in Dublin. Although Hegarty is given to the occasional digression, some of which are not at all relevant, he paints a vivid picture of a city that seems to be bursting with talent and opportunities for those interested in attending or participating in musical events. Notwithstanding the awful subtitle, 'Waking Up In Dublin' is not just for tourists, being instead a book that will inspire visitors and inhabitants alike. Caroline Hennessy Book Reviews. Emer O'Sullivan - The Fall of the House of Wilde Ben Ehrenreich - The Way to the Spring

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/5765

The glass castle : A Memoir. / Jeannette Walls. Walls, Jeannette. (Author). Walls, Jeannette. (Added Author). E-audio Simon & Schuster Audio, Participant or Performer Note: Narrator: Jeannette Walls. Summary, etc.: Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an “excitement addict.” Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever. Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town--and the family--Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home. What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms. For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor. Target Audience Note: 1010 Lexile. Subject: Nonfiction. Biography & Autobiography. Genre: Electronic books. ▼ Awards, Reviews, & Suggested Reads

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/5841

Lost Capitol Hill: Florence Kubel and her two scandals (Pt. I) Readers of this blog are probably well aware of my predilection for scandals of years past, and am always willing to dredge up something untoward that happened 100 years ago. Today’s story and its heroine are particularly interesting in that they not only occurred almost exactly a century ago, but the main character managed to be embroiled in not one, but two scandals over the years. Not bad for a young woman from Capitol Hill. Stephen Joseph Kubel was, in the spring of 1911, happy. A grand house at 10th and East Capitol Streets, a wife with whom he had recently celebrated his silver anniversary, a daughter in her last year at Eastern High, a son currently at sea after rounding out his studies in Germany, numerous investment properties, and 20 years as chief engraver at the US geological survey gave him every reason to be content. It was therefore quite a shock when his daughter showed him a letter from a man stating that “I hope I will get to meet you some time.” The letter further stated that it was her picture in the paper that had prompted his writing. From today’s perspective, the missive was hardly scandalous. Except this was 1911 DC and writing to young women to whom you had not been properly introduced to was simply Not Done, even if you were – as he also stated in his letter – “a bachelor without any family of my own.” And particularly not if you were a member of the House of Representatives: the author of the letter, Abraham Walter Lafferty, had been representing Oregon’s 2nd District for just over two months when he sent the incriminating letter. Although Kubel was deeply angered by the affront displayed in the letter, he decided not to confront the writer while in the midst of his righteous indignation. Instead, he waited a few days before stopping by Lafferty’s office, intent on “properly punishing” him. Finding Lafferty to be much smaller than he himself, he contented himself with extracting a letter of apology – not to Florence, but to her father. Florence L Kugel (center) and two colleagues from Eastern High (Mary Newcombe and May White) in the picture from the Washington Times of May 6, 1911 that started the whole affair. (Library of Congress) In the letter, Lafferty claimed that he had, indeed, noted Miss Kubel’s beauty in a picture of her, but that the letter sent to her had been done so by his staff, who were concerned about his bachelor status and wished to do something about it. Later, Lafferty would change his story, claiming that he had actually sent out a large number of letters to various people, and that Kubel’s letter was thus not to be taken all too seriously. This was after another letter had arrived in Lafferty’s office. Purporting to be from the elder Kubel, it “threatened violence” upon the representative, who had replied that he was available every day from noon to 1, and thus available for “any punishment Mr. Kubel cared to, and was able to inflict.” It was later determined that this letter had been sent from Portland, Oregon, and was simply an attempt by Lafferty’s political enemies to re-ignite a scandal that had thus far not managed to gain any public airing whatsoever. Upon the disclosing of these new charges, various newspapers took up the challenge, including the Medford Mail Tribune, which titled its screed “Political Fakir, Street Masher and Cheap Liar,” in which it referred to the Representative as “Congressman A. W. (Romeo) Lafferty” and did not let up until they had insisted that the A stood for Ananias, the early Christian who had achieved infamy for being struck dead for lying. Why Lafferty, who managed to be re-elected to the House, though from a different district, deserved this particular epithet was not further explained by the editor of the Mail Tribune. After his second term, he was ousted in the primary and returned to Oregon and his first love: suing the Federal government. Miss Kubel was otherwise untouched by the scandal, and was thus free to marry – and thus become embroiled in a further scandal. Tune in next week to read all about it. Tags: history, Lost Capitol Hill By Robert Pohl 4 Comments Views 8th street se I love this! Even as a modern women I’d be a little creeped out if a Congressional member wrote me a letter like that. Looking forward to next week! How fun! 🙂 Ironically, while Abraham Walter Lafferty lived in Oregon the place of the shooting, three days after, a hero who gave her life saving her children in Connecticut, and her name was Dawn Lafferty! Florence Louise Kubel (Farnsworth) is my grandmother and known to her many grandchildren as “Mema”. She was a very loving, kind, gentle, proper, beautiful and talented woman. She could play piano beautifully and had an “operatic” voice. Her father, Stephen Joseph Kubel was also a pianist and, I was told, played organ at the National Cathedral.

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/5905

Search Ode on a Grecian Urn Themes Critical Essays Critical Evaluation (Critical Survey of Literature for Students) Analysis The Poem (Critical Guide to Poetry for Students) Ode on a Grecian Urn (Critical Survey of Contemporary Fiction) Forms and Devices (Critical Guide to Poetry for Students) Insights Plot Musings Develop Keats' Feelings and Themes Flawed Flawlessness Flawed Nature of Lifeless Beauty What Does Keats See in the Scene? Perfection Compared to Imperfection Procession to Hymen, Greek God of Weddings Cold Pastoral & Beauty and Truth Defy Contemplation eText Quotes Homework Help rows Ode on a Grecian Urn > Ode on a Grecian Urn Ode on a Grecian Urn Summary When the speaker of the poem gazes at the Grecian urn, he meditates on the nature of truth and beauty. Each of the three scenes depicted on the urn moves him in a different way, and he describes them in detail, marveling at their artistry. In the first stanza of the poem, the speaker starts describing an ancient Grecian urn of the kind used to hold ashes. It depicts three scenes: a wild party, the playing of instruments, and a ritual slaughter. In the second to fourth stanzas, the speaker describes the scenes in detail, envying all the beautiful figures. He lingers particularly on the scene of the party, where several amorous men chase after women. In the final stanza, the speaker boldly states that if the urn could speak for itself, it would declare, "Beauty is truth, and truth beauty." Access our Ode on a Grecian Urn Study Guide for Free Start your 2-day free trial to access our Ode on a Grecian Urn study guide, along with more than 30,000 other titles. Get help with any book. An ode, typically a lengthy lyric poem dealing with lofty emotions, is dignified in style and serious in tone. Lyric poems, in general, explore elusive inner feelings. John Keats, a widely admired poet of the English Romantic period, composed his “Ode on a Grecian Urn” in five stanzas (sections), each containing ten lines of rhymed iambic pentameter. Keats invented his own rhyme scheme for the ode. In stanza one, the poet speaks of a ceramic urn from ancient Greece; such urns often were used to hold the ashes of the dead and were decorated with scenes from daily life or from myth and legend. The imaginary urn of “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is a composite of several urns that Keats probably had seen at the British Museum or in books. He also might have been influenced by the Elgin Marbles, decorated portions of the Parthenon in Athens that had been brought to England, not without much controversy, in the early nineteenth century. One could thus imagine the poet either standing in front of a museum exhibit or looking at an illustration in an art book. In describing the urn, Keats is reflecting on what he sees, engaging in an internal debate. The term “ekphrasis” means a description of or a meditation on a visual work of art; there exist examples of ekphrasis in literature from the classical to the modern. The poet is impressed with the antiquity of the urn and its pictured scenes, images that appear to affect the poet more strongly than do the poem’s words—the poet, though, seems unsure of the exact legend being conveyed by the pictured scenes. The urn depicts several scenes, including a wild party in which men chase after girls, the playing of musical instruments such as pipes and timbrels (tambourine-like percussion instruments), and a sacrificial ritual. The poet is impressed by both the frenzy of action on the urn and the urn’s status as a still object—an artifact quietly persisting for ages—but is frustrated by the silent urn’s inability to answer questions. In stanza two, the poet addresses particular parts of the urn’s images—the pipes and their imagined melodies and a lover attempting to kiss the maiden—and comments on their eternal sameness. He notes that although the melodies being played by the pipers on the urn cannot be heard, this silence is somehow better, perhaps because the melodies dwell in a higher part of the mind, or the imagination or fancy, as this part of the mind had been termed at the time: “Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard/ Are sweeter.” The poet also addresses the youthful lover, presumably one of the pursuing men of stanza one. Though this lover will never catch his maiden for a kiss, she can never fade nor ever become less than fair, thus implying that the imagined world on the vase is superior to the real world of experience. In stanza three, the poet seems to envy the figures fixed on the urn, whose happiness and love will remain forever. To some readers, however, the middle of the stanza shows the poet, in his progressive reflection on the urn, not so sure of the superiority of art (the pictorial representation on the urn) to experience. The repetitive language here is perhaps indicating an ironic tone, and there is a release from a rapt contemplation of the urn. In stanza four, the poet describes a different side of the urn, which depicts a heifer being led to a ritual slaughter while a small town is abandoned by its inhabitants—a desolate scene, an apparent change of tone from the previous stanza (unless read as ironic). To some critics the second and third stanzas are digressions; the poet returns to the urn and its meaning in this fourth stanza. Finally, in the last stanza, the poet makes his last pronouncements to the urn, which seems to speak in the final two lines. The poet is released from his reverie, or rapt contemplation, of the urn. The pastoral scene (the word “pastoral” brings to mind rural perfection and happiness) is thought of as cold, though it is reaffirmed as lasting longer than the present generation. In the final two lines, the poet tells readers what message the urn would pronounce, if it could speak: that truth and beauty are equivalent—an idea that was current in the Romantic criticism and philosophy of Keats’s time. Plot Musings Develop Keats' Feelings and Themes Summary (Masterpieces of World Literature, Critical Edition) “Ode on a Grecian Urn” addresses many of the same concerns that occupied Keats in “Ode to a Nightingale,” except that in this poem he turns his attention from the natural poetry of the bird to the human artistry of the urn. Unable to escape his sense of life’s transience through the immortal song of the bird, Keats looks to the timeless truth embodied in the urn. Keats once again encounters the paradox that is central to all of his art: To achieve immortality is to rid oneself of change, but it is change, not stasis, that produces the contrasts necessary for all that is good. In the first stanza, the poet contemplates first the urn as a whole, which he characterizes as a “historian,” and then turns his attention to the detailed scene engraved onto the side of the urn. The urn first is described as an “unravish’d bride of quietness,” calling attention to the fact that it is only when the poet begins to think about the urn that it begins to tell its story. The urn cannot speak, in other words, until it is spoken to. That is a significant point, for it leads to the conclusion that the immortal urn exists in any meaningful way only when it comes into contact with, and is activated by, the inquiring intelligence of a mortal observer. Immortality, the poet again seems to be saying, depends in some fundamental way upon its opposite. He then begins asking the urn questions about the people portrayed on the side of the urn. He wonders who they are, “deities or mortals, or of both,” and speculates about the location of the engraved scene, “In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?” The setting is obviously ancient Greece, a time when mortals and gods often interacted. From the very beginning, therefore, the poet is concerned with the issue of immortality, both as it is represented by the immortal urn and by the godlike characters whose “legend” is engraved on the side. Stanza 2 shifts from questions to observations. The first observation stems from the experience of the first stanza. Having tried to experience imaginatively the scene before him, the poet reaches the conclusion that the imagination, when engaged by art, produces an experience that is superior to reality. The sounds of the pipes are sweet, to be sure, but the sounds supplied by the imagination “Are sweeter,” because the imagination can alter and improve upon actual experience. Not bound by the material world, the imagination is capable of conjuring up sights, sounds, and emotions far beyond one’s physical human capabilities. It would seem, therefore, that Keats is suggesting that the world of the imagination, which is the world of art, is preferable to the world of actuality. In the ideal world of art, where life need not conform to the limitations of flesh and blood, everything is as it should be; there the leaves never fall from the trees, no one ever dies, youth never fades, and lovers are forever young and forever in love. Keats comes to that realization through the scene before him: Although the lover, poised to kill his beloved, will never actually complete the act, nevertheless it is not a loss, since his beloved “cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,/ For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!” This praise for the perfection and permanence of art continues through stanzas 3 and most of 4 until the poet pauses to wonder about the “little town by river or sea shore” that has been vacated by the people portrayed on the urn. In attending this celebration of life, they have left their village forever, never to return. In this detail the poet discovers a complication in his admiration for permanence, for even as the lovers will always be young and in love, so in turn will the village always be empty and silent with “not a soul to tell/ Why thou art desolate.” There is a shift in tone from the celebratory mood of the previous two stanzas to a somber, almost sad picture of the deserted town and its eternal silence. The celebration of life on the urn has its counterpart in the unspoken death of the village. Again Keats brings life and death together, but in this case both are made immortal through art. Keats’s point is that if there is much that is desirable in the immortality of his lovers and their eternal celebration of love and life, there is also much that is undesirable in this idealized world; not only will the lover never actually kiss his beloved (they will always remain right on the verge of touching each other’s lips) but also everything that surrounds this event likewise will be frozen in time, including the abandoned village. In the end, the poet sees the urn as a friend to humanity, but that friendship resides less in the particular truth that the urn has to teach humankind and more in the fact that the message is truth, and truth (whether joyful or painful) is beautiful. The questions of whether the permanence of art is good or bad, whether immortality is better than mortality, or whether stasis is preferable to change are all set aside in the end in favor of a statement about the lasting importance of truth—all truth—and the capacity of art to convey that truth from one generation to the next. Whether or not one agrees with Keats’s poem is ultimately unimportant; what is important is that his poem discloses a truth, the great and enduring gift of art. Ode on a Grecian Urn Homework Help Questions What do these lines mean? "Beauty is truth, truth beauty"-that is all Ye know on Earth, and all... The urn speaks these lines to mankind. They address an age old philosophical question: what is truth? The lines mean that rather than seeking the answer to this question in pure reason, we should... Whom does the poet call the 'Sylvan historian'? Why? Keats calls the Grecian Urn itself a "Sylvan historian." On the urn is a painted record of some ancient ceremony. Because it holds this record, it is a historian of sorts. For a more... What is the tone of "Ode on A Grecian Urn"? Surfacely, the tone seems very light...a poet describing a sublime piece of visual art. The speaker calls the beauty of the object, “A flowery tale more sweetly than our... "Beauty is truth...and all you need to know". Explain how Keats arrives at this conclusion in... Aspects of life are frozen on the urn in different images which chronicle a ritual of another culture in another time. It represents, for that people, an aspect of life that had meaning. It... What thoughts does the Grecian Urn arouse in the poets mind in "Ode on a Grecian Urn" by John Keats? The poet, who serves as a critic as well - courtesy of the last two lines, thinks of many things: time, love, desire and paradoxes: mortality/immortality, as well as the main dichotomy - or maybe... View More Questions » Ode to a Nightingale Bright Star! Would I Were as Steadfast as Thou Art To Autumn On First Looking into Chapman's Homer Liam O’Flaherty The Secret Life of Bees We have a Ode on a Grecian Urn tutor online right now to help you!

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/5924

Alison Whittaker's Vital Signs, a Solo Play About Hospital Life The Marsh Upstairs Studio Theater The Marsh presents Vital Signs, Alison Whittaker's honest and funny portrayal of working life in a modern hospital in the diverse community of San Francisco. Whittaker is frank and unflinching about the tragedies, but also reveals the comedy inherent in an environment where lives can be lost or restored on a regular basis. Whittaker plays nearly two dozen characters, including nurses, doctors, patients and their families as they all attempt, in their own way, to cope with the stark realities of their situations. All offers for Alison Whittaker's Vital Signs: The Pulse of an American Nurse have expired. The last date listed for Alison Whittaker's Vital Signs: The Pulse of an American Nurse was Sunday June 16, 2013 / 7:00pm. Review from lindy A nurse tells her story and the story of her coworkers and patients in a very entertaining and insightful way. reviewed Jul 14 2012 Review from dmandel Compelling story but the impersonations were weak at best and sometimes culturally insensitive. reviewed Jul 14 2012 Review from Austin Nation A pretty good show...very realistic in it's portrayal of a shift in the day of a nurse. I thought it was going to be much more humorous...kinda like the picture depicted, but it wasn't. It was nice to sit among other nurses...there was a group...continued reviewed Jun 09 2013 http://www.themarsh.org/ Learn more about the show at the Nurse Alison website . Vital Signs is a frank and funny vivisection of life on-the-job in a modern hospital in wildly diverse San Francisco. Equally comic, tragic and touching, it reveals what really goes on behind-the-scenes in a bustling medical center where patients, nurses, and families try their best to make the most of some very difficult, and at times utterly ridiculous, situations. Playing nearly two dozen characters, Alison is hoping to raise your blood pressure, have you in stitches, and give you a probing, insider’s x-ray view of the hospital setting and the people who valiantly cope with it. The play runs 75 minutes with no intermission. It is recommended for ages 17 and above. Vital Signs is based on true experiences that have been broadly fictionalized. All persons and institutions appearing in Vital Signs are fictitious and/or composited. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. _

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/5985

Colosseum and Domus Aurea TourExperience Nero's Golden House in virtual reality and let our guides take you through the labyrinth of Ancient Rome.Besides Nero's palace, this tour also covers Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill.Admission Tickets included for all sites. DOMUS AUREA TOURA Virtual Tour of Nero's Golden House + Colosseum and Ancient CityGeneral OverviewAn Incestuous MurdererNero: The Emperor PoetThe Age of NeroNero's PalaceDomus Aurea: A House As Big As A City The GrotesqueArtists of the Domus AureaArt Work Found in the Domus AureaColosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine HillDomus Aurea Virtual TourImportant Info About The TourTOURING THE DOMUS AUREA: GENERAL OVERVIEW Experience the Domus Aurea as it comes back to life after being covered for thousands of years. With an expert tour guide, we will descend into the rooms and corridors of Nero's palace, a magnificent villa that occupied no less than 1/4 of the area of the ancient city of Rome! The function of the massive architectural complex was to communicate Nero's glory, as well as Rome’s. It is preserved mostly thanks to the decision of the ancient Roman senate to doom Nero to the so-called damnatio memoriae, a banishment from memory, and the complex was for the most part expunged by being filled in and covered with earth. The Domus Aurea (Latin for ‘Golden House’) was rediscovered during the Renaissance, apparently because a man walking on the Oppian Hill fell through a hole that led to the forgotten ancient building. It was mostly mistaken for Trajan’s Baths, which were built on top of Nero's house. Today, the Domus Aurea is finally open to the public, and it is already one of the not-to-be-missed sites of Rome. While it would be a breathtaking experience in itself, a visit to Nero's underground palace is made even more memorable by the latest available technology, that of enhanced reality. With the aid of 3D glasses for augmented reality, combined with a detailed reconstruction created by amazing graphic designers, you will have a 360-degree experience of the Golden House that will leave you speechless. But this is not all. Our Domus Aurea Tour continues on to cover all the highlights of the ancient city. This is an intense 5-hour long tour with a 30-40 minute break. So the whole tour is comprised of a visit to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Palatine Hill and the Domus Aurea. All admission tickets and entry fees for the sites on the itinerary are included in the price. You don't have to worry about a thing. To summarize, the sites visited are:Domus Aurea (Golden House)Golden Vault Room in Virtual RealityColosseum (first and second levels)Roman ForumPalatine Hill Husband of his Stepsister, Murderer of his Mother Caesar Augustus, first emperor and founder of the Julio-Claudia dynasty Nero was the fifth and last emperor of the Julio-Claudia dynasty that began in 27 B.C. with Emperor Augustus, and continued with the emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero himself. Nero’s real name was actually Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, son of Gnaeus Ahenobarbus and the notorious Julia Agrippina. In a complicated sequence of events, Gnaeus dies and Agrippina marries, in a second incestuous marriage, her uncle, who was the emperor Claudius. Claudius, in turn, adopts Agrippina's son. Following this second marriage, the young Lucius changes his name to Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus. Agrippina's plan was likely that of slowly taking power into her own hands, behind the screen of Nero’s rule, while propelling her son forward. Such an audacious plan seems to actually have materialized when, first, Nero marries his own adoptive sister Octavia — daughter of his adoptive father, the emperor — and then, in the following year, the emperor himself dies, allegedly poisoned by Agrippina. Nero then locked Britannicus, the actual son of the emperor, in the imperial palace, and appeared on a terrace before the crowds, promising 15,000 sesterces to the soldiers. After being acclaimed emperor and crowned by the senate, Nero becomes emperor to the detriment of Britannicus, his adoptive brother and heir-designate of the empire since birth. Britannicus was just six month away from reaching manhood in the Roman legal system: a clue, if not hard evidence, that Claudius' death was part of Agrippina's plot to favor Nero's election. Still, Romans were enthusiastic about Nero, as poet Lucan testifies in his book, The Civil War. Quod si non aliam uenturo fata Neroni / inuenere uiam [...] / iam nihil, o superi, querimur; scelera ipsa nefasque / hac mercede placent... (Lucan, The Civil War, Book I)Still, if Fate could fine no other way to prepare the advent of Nero, let us complain no more against the gods, because even such crimes and wrongdoing are not too high a price to pay.In 55 A.D., Nero's brother Britannicus suddenly dies during a banquet, the victim of poisoning. Apparently, Nero’s mother, Agrippina, was not particularly happy about Nero's handling of the situation. To Agrippina, Britannicus was more useful alive than dead, as she intended to resort to him in case Nero were unwilling to be maneuvered, as he was starting to show soon after his election. Shortly after the proclamation, Nero started to distance himself from Agrippina. He sent her away from the imperial palace, and, instead, heeded his teachers and mentors, such as Burro, and the famous orator and philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Nero: The Emperor PoetMeanwhile, Nero started developing an interest in art, especially acting and singing—activities that were not considered sufficiently masculine for an emperor. In fact, Nero had not only an unrestrained passion for art, but also for Greek culture. During his empire, for the first time, the Roman emperors started behaving more as Hellenistic monarchs than Roman emperors — we should not forget that the very word emperor originally defined a military office. Furthermore, Nero is not particularly interested in concealing his love for art, music, poetry, acting, and singing. Nero's mother, Agrippina becomes more and more disappointed with her son's behavior and with her loss of power. To rid himself of the psychological pressure from Agrippina, Nero plans to have her ship sink in the middle of the sea. Agrippina, however, miraculously survives the sea voyage, and Nero has her killed by sword. He then dedicates himself to cultivating his artistic talents. Shortly after this, one of his mentors, Burro, dies, and Nero divorces Octavia. Even Seneca starts distancing himself from him. By the year 62 A.D., Nero, who had been elected by the Senate, begins having the senatorial class and many important figures in the political body rebel against him for his extravaganza and conduct. Nero seeks refuge and approval among the common people, and among the actors and artists, a group to which he waned to belong. In 64, for the first time, Nero performs in front of an audience, singing and playing the lyre. In the same year, he starts building the Domus Aurea, the Golden House. But at this point, the whole senate is against him. Nero, suspecting Seneca and Antonia (one of Nero's sisters) of plotting against him, has them put to death, as well as governors and generals. Loved by the people, but hated by the senators who declare him "public enemy," Nero tries to flee from Rome, but is overtaken by rebellious soldiers. He ends his life by suicide, with the help of a slave. The senate condemns him to the damnatio memoriae. He is damned to be forever forgotten. The Age Of NeroNero's policy has been seen as philo-senatorial in its initial intentions and in its first years. At his election, a great enthusiasm pervaded all of Rome’s groups. His inaugural speech was inscribed on golden slabs that were to be solemnly preserved and read out loud at the annual election of consuls. Everyone considered the new course to be a return to the golden age. "Potes hoc, Caesar, audacter praedicare: omnia, quae in fidem tutelamque tuam venerunt, tuta haberi, nihil per te neque vi neque clam adimi rei publicae. Rarissimam laudem et nulli adhuc principum concessam concupisti innocentiam. (L. Seneca, De Clementia, Book I)You, Caesar, can confidently say that all that came into your responsibility is secure, and that the government neither openly nor secretly suffered any damage at your hands. You have sought-after a glory that is rare and that has not been obtained by any prince before you, the glory of innocence.Common people did not love him any less than men of letters and senators. During his reign, he did all that was in his power to authorize himself as the restorer of the golden age, a man of divine ancestry who would make Rome great again. Not that it wasn't already great. But the present, as we know, always looks less appealing when compared to a glorious past. A whole doctrine of salvation was ingrained in Nero's ideology and ruling. No aspect of Roman public life could escape it. This was a process that had already begun with the foundation of the empire, when Emperor Augustus took power in 26 BC, but it kept growing to the point of paroxysm under Nero's reign. Particularly, there was a sense of expectation that pervaded society. The idea of a god-like monarch that would bring glory and stability to the empire had its application in every aspect of life, whether social or private, but it found particularly fertile soil in urban planning and architecture. It is in this perspective that Nero built his magnificent — to use a euphemism — Golden House, the Domus Aurea. Augustus, on his deathbed was said to have declared: "I found a city of bricks, I left a city made of marble."Starting with Augustus, and during the time of the Julio-Claudia dynasty, Rome grew to the size of more than one million people, an incredible number. New buildings, temples, public and private edifices, streets, baths, and whatnot were built, and built in the way that the capital of the greatest empire of the world should be built. Furthermore, people from all over started coming to Rome, not as visitors to tour Rome, but to relocate permanently. New ideas, new styles, new cults — not to speak of the followers of Christ — changed the face of Rome. People needed a ruler and felt the need to be part of a greater scheme — possibly a divine one. Something that the Roman Senate, a dim weakened vestige of the Republic era, could not provide. A deified monarch, instead, could. Nero was determined to shape himself and his city in this way. Suetonius wrote of him:"Multis rebus ac locis vetere appellatione detracta novam indixit ex suo nomine, mensem quoque Aprilem Neroneum appellavit; destinaverat et Romam Neropolim nuncupare." (Suetonius, Vita Neronis, 55)"Nero changed the name of many things and places, removing the old one and giving them a new name derived from his own name. He called the month of April Neroneum. He even considered calling Rome Neropolis."Nero's Palace Nero was neither the first nor the last emperor to covet a magnificent palace. Nero himself, however, did not lodge in the extraordinary and huge pavilions that we are going to explore during this virtual tour of the Domus Aurea. The complex comprises tens of rooms, corridors, halls, nympheums and much else. Yet, no toilets or kitchens were found here, which make archeologists think that the emperor himself did not live here. The astonishing luxury and the superlative decorations that Nero created in the Domus Aurea had an ideological and political purpose. Pretty much to show off his power — to friends and allies — if he had any left at this point — but most importantly to his enemies, and the enemies of Rome.Imperial palaces and villas always had an end that transcended the practical need of a comfortable lodging. Augustus built his house on the top of the Palatine Hill, after buying an estate from a wealthy senator. He built his house near a hut that is still preserved, which is thought to be the house of Romulus, the founder of Rome. It is also close to the altar of the Roma Quadrata (Squared Rome), where, according to the legend, Romulus had started the inaugural ceremony for the foundation of Rome. So, his ambition, quite patent, was that of being seen and remembered as the new Romulus, the new founder of Rome. Many of Augustus' successors built their imperial palaces on the top of the Palatine Hill, and especially Emperor Domitian, the son of Vespasian, the founder of the Flavian dynasty who erected the Colosseum. Domitian built such a massive residence on the Palatine hill that people started to refer to the residence using the name of the hill, and we still nowadays use the word "palace" from palatine, precisely in reference to Domitian's edifice on the Palatine Hill. Martial in his eighth satire wrote that:"Haec, Auguste, tamen, quae vertice sidera pulsat / Par domus est caelo: sed minor est domino" (Martial, Epigrams, VIII, 36)"This Palace, oh Augustus, touches the stars with the top. It is equal to heaven, but less than its lord." But more on this later, as Domitian (81-96 A.D.) came after Nero (54-68 A.D.). Soon after Augustus, Tiberius, and then Caligula, started to build residences that should be considered palaces, rather than great houses. Tiberius's was particularly renowned for its library, but it has never been found. Actually, the whole edifice is still underground, now almost completely covered by the gardens of the Farneses, a powerful Renaissance family that did not mind having their houses built on the Palatine, as the Ancient Romans had. From the Farnese gardens, on the top of the Palatine Hill, there is one of the best aerial views of Rome and the Roman Forum, including the Colosseum and the Arch of Titus. The only "problem" with these buildings was that the Palatine Hill was not really an integral part of the city. The Roman Forum was the center of the public life and common people could not afford to live on the Palatine. So the imperial palaces remained detached from the life of the city, like temples on top of a sacred hill. Once elected, Nero decided to build his first imperial palace in such a way to connect the Palatine Hill and the Esquiline, cutting through the valley where the Colosseum now stands, then a popular neighborhood.THE DOMUS AUREA: A HOUSE AS BIG AS A CITY Soon after Nero had started the construction of his first house, the Domus Transitoria, a great part of Rome was devastated by a terrible fire in 64 A.D., including his residence. Some suggest that Nero himself was responsible for the fire, as he had already made plans to erect an even greater palace than the one he was building. Nero blamed the blaze on the Christians, a monotheistic cult that had just arrived in Rome, and ordered their persecution. He then bought and expropriated all the land that he needed for his new plans, destroying what the fire had left standing. In that same year he began the construction of the Domus Aurea, the Golden House, an imperial palace made of different pavilions and edifices, gardens and nympheums, whose area covered nearly 1/4 of the whole city of Rome. Of course, ancient Rome was not as big as it is today, but certainly not small either, as it lodged more than a million people. "Roma domus fiet: Veios migrate, Quirites, si non et Veios occupat ista domus" (Suetonius, Vita Neronis, 39)"Rome is just one house now: move to the city of Veio, Romans, unless the house does not occupy Veio as well." The purpose of the Domus Aurea was certainly that of showing Nero's enemies and friends his limitless power. He would have certainly succeeded in his goal, had he not died on the very year the construction was completed in 68 A.D. The place was so magnificent that it even had an artificial lake built in the overlooking valley — where the Colosseum now stands — and a gigantic statue of himself portrayed as the god Apollo that it was taller than the famous colossus — such was the name given by the Romans to gigantic statues — the famous colossus of Rhodes. Nero’s statue was about 108 feet tall, higher than the Statue of Liberty. When Vespasian, years later, decided to build his amphitheater on top of Nero's lake, the stagnum Neronis, the edifice came to be referred to as the Colosseum, for its vicinity to the colossus, Nero's colossal statue.Nero's Palace and the Grotesque After the fall of the Roman Empire, and the invasion of the barbarian tribes coming from the East, Rome passed from 1.5 million inhabitants to just 15-20 thousand people during the Middle Ages. The Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the imperial palaces on the Palatine Hill, and many other ancient buildings were destroyed, abandoned, pillaged, and, at times, as in the case of the Domus Aurea, buried underground and forgotten. Rediscovered during the Renaissance, Nero's Golden Palace immediately became a not-to-be-missed destination for famous artists, including Raphael and Michelangelo, who wanted to learn the techniques and the styles of Imperial Rome. The very term Renaissance, which mean rebirth, refers precisely to the eagerness of the sixteenth century artists and intellectuals to return to the greatness of ancient times, when Rome was the light of the world in every field of art and knowledge, beyond military power. In the late 15th century, Nero's Golden House was still buried underground and it was accessible only through deep holes dug into the Oppian Hill (whose park may still be visited, actually you can see one of the holes in the top left corner of picture next to the title: Nero's Palace and the Grotesque). Visiting the Domus Aurea underground was a speleological undertaking, an exciting and dangerous catabasis into the bowels of the earth, carried out with just a few torches throwing out flickering light on mural paintings and decorations whose colors, back then, were still vibrant. The emotional impact of these improvised tours of the Domus Aurea were so great that often the spirit of the adventure prevailed over the scientific description of the findings. But the importance of those descriptions changed the course of history of art and influenced artists of the caliber of Raphael, Giulio Romano, Michelangelo and the aesthetic taste of their patrons. These discoveries actually inaugurated the style that is now called grotesque style, which comes precisely from the grottoes of the Domus Aurea. Yes, to the first visitors of the Domus Aurea, Nero's palace, completely filled as it was with debris, buried in the underground, appeared to them as caves and grottoes rather than rooms of imperial importance. Often, earth filled the rooms up to the ceiling. Archeologists still haven’t completely freed the spaces. Compared to the Renaissance artists’ previous knowledge of Roman art, these grotesque figures appeared to contradict the symmetry and proportional rationale of public architecture and decorations of the republican era. The pictorial style of the Domus Aurea features a negation of realistic space, conflates hybrid techniques, employs free perspective and overwhelming fantastical invention. We could maybe nowadays call it: surrealistic. It was an art that was as extravagant as the person who built it. And the mesmerizing effect was amplified by the jumping flames of torches and the darkness in which the Domus Aurea frescoes were immersed. Ceiling Frescoe in the Villa Farnesina imitating the domus Aurea grotesque style "Sono una specie di pitture licenziose e ridicole molto, fatte dagli antichi per ornamenti di vani [...] per il che facevano in quelle tutte sconciature di mostri per stranezza della natura e per ghiribizzo degli artefici, i quali fanno in quelle cose senza alcuna regola, appiccicando a un sottilissimo filo un peso che non si può reggere, a un cavallo le gambe di foglie, a un uomo le fambe di gru, et infiniti passserotti, e chi più stranamente se gli immaginava, quello era tenuto più valente." (G. Vasari, On Technique, 27)"The grotesque is a sort of licentious and ridiculous style, which the ancients employed to decorate spaces [...]. To this end they painted deformed monsters, made such by nature or by vagary of the artists, who make things without the following of any rule, for example hanging a great weight to the finest thread, or attaching to a man the legs of a crane, to a horse legs made of grass leaves, and endless little birds everywhere, and he who painted the most crazy and odd things, was considered the most skillful."Artists of the Domus Aurea Michelangelo as portrayed by Raphael, Vatican Museums Many Renaissance artists descended into the Domus Aurea underground. They were so excited to be there that they would mark the walls with their signatures and the date of their descent into the grottoes. The most ancient signature dates back to 1495. Artists as important as Pinturicchio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Vasari, and the Carracci brothers often visited the Domus Aurea and were lucky enough to see the magnificent frescoes of Nero's golden palace at a time when the colors of the frescoes were still brilliant. They had the chance to admire the visionary masters who supervised the decoration of this magic place. Actually, one above all: Famulus, the painter. We only know of him because of what his friend Pliny the Elder (died in 79 A.D., during the destruction of Pompeii, as recounted in a letter by his nephew, Pliny the Younger) wrote of Famulus in his book Natural History. Famulus was famous in Nero’s time for having painted a Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, whose gaze followed the viewer wherever she or he might be. Hired by Nero to decorate his house, Famulus painted only a few hours a day, but never without solemnity. He wore the toga all the time. It would be as if a modern artist wore a necktie and an elegant jacket at all time. According to Pliny the Elder, Famulus’s character was as stern as he was extravagant in his pictorial style. He also had preferences for vibrant colors, as the frescoes in the Golden House prove. Besides Famulus, other three names must be mentioned in connection to the making of the Domus Aurea: the two architects, about whom we know nothing more than their names, Severus and Celer; and finally the sculptor who made the giant statue of Nero that used to stand in front of his house, right next to the nympheum, where later Vespasian would build the Colosseum. The sculptor’s name was Zenodoro.Famous Art Work Found in the Domus Aurea The Laocoon was found in the vicinity of the entrance of the Domus Aurea in 1506, likely displayed in one of its gardens. Nero built the Golden House to show off a magnificence that could not be rivaled in Rome or anywhere in the world. Nero was also, as we said, and art lover who wanted to be surrounded by the best artists of his time and collect the most precious works of art he could find. One of these art masterpieces that survived the Nero’s damnatio memoriae, the work of the centuries, and the plundering of the robbers, has survived and can be viewed in the Vatican Museums. We are talking about the Laocoön group, a Greek statue from the 1st century A.D., a work of Polydoros of Rhodes that was found on the Oppian Hill in the vicinity of the Domus Aurea. It was found on June 14, 1506 and immediately made a sensation among artists and art lovers in Rome. The Laocoön is indeed a stunning work of art that had no small impact on the work of Michelangelo and Bernini, and still inspires visitors from all over the world. The other amazing piece that testifies to the incredible wealth found in the Domus Aurea is a large monolithic porphyry basin, 13 meters in circumference, that probably decorated one of the nympheums or baths that abounded in Nero’s house. It, too, was transferred to the Vatican Museums. Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine HillOur Domus Aurea Tour does not just include a visit to Nero's palace, but also a guided tour of the Colosseum and the archeological area that surrounds the amphitheater, that is the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. The admission tickets for all these sites are included in the tour price, so that you don't have to worry about anything, except enjoying your Rome experience, and admiring the greatness of what was once the capital of the Roman Empire and the glorious past of a city that our guides will bring back to life for you. The Colosseum, otherwise known as the Flavian amphitheater because it was built by the first emperor of the Flavian dynasty, Vespasian, in the short span of ten years, to be inaugurated by his son Titus in 80 A.D. It was constructed over Nero's Golden Palace, and to be more precise on top of the gigantic nympheum, or artificial lake, that he had built in the valley between the Palatine Hill and the Oppian Hill. Nero's palace, with his gardens, occupied almost 25% of ancient Rome. Vespasian was determined to return this space to the people and decided to build a proper amphitheater for gladiatorial games and for the venationes, the hunts, for which the Romans had an immoderate passion. The Colosseum could host up to 80,000 people. During this Colosseum tour section you will visit the first two levels of the amphitheater, which overlook the arena floor and the underground area that is for most part still uncovered (although the Italian government is making plans to get it covered). We will end our ancient Rome tour with a visit to the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. The Palatine Hill was not only the very site of Rome's foundation but also site of many wealthy houses belonging to senators and emperors (to know more about the Palatine Hill, see our complete guide to the Palatine Hill). The Roman Forum was the city center of the ancient capital, and the very place were all the most important public buildings were erected and public events were held, such as ceremonies, rituals, political rallies and the like. Your tour guide will lead you through the streets of the ancient Rome and tell you everything about the great men who walked these streets before you, some 2,000+ years ago. Our Domus Aurea Tour was designed to give you a thorough experience and understanding of ancient Rome. This is a breathtaking itinerary that covers almost 1,000 years of Roman history, from its foundation up to the creation of one of the greatest monuments of antiquity, the Flavian amphitheater, the Colosseum, and is comprised of a virtual tour inside Nero's palace that will literally make you… fly. Domus Aurea Virtual TourOnce inside the Domus Aurea, we will join (but just for the time of the visit to the Golden House) another small group of maximum 24 people (including us!) to descend into the underground area of Nero's palace (a bit like the first explorer and the great artists of the Renaissance that undertook speleological expeditions to admire the beauty of this incredible place). Virtual Tour of the Domus Aurea, Inside the Golden Vault Room, Nero's Palace During this section of the tour an official tour guide of the Domus Aurea will accompany us through the dark labyrinth of corridors and rooms that belonged to the palace of Nero. We will be able to explore many spaces on this itinerary, including the many branches of Nero's cryptoporticus, with its frescoes, the nympheum of Polyphemus, where you will be able to admire one of the most ancient ceiling mosaics extant, the room of Achilles on Skyros, with stunning frescoes representing the famous warrior Achilles disguising himself as a girl to access the court of the king of Skyros, and seduce his beautiful daughter. We will see the famous octagonal room — which takes the name from its shape — where according to some, was placed the rotating floor that Suetonius speaks of in his Life of Nero; and we will visit the very heart of the Golden House, the so-called room of the golden vault, with its splendid golden decorations. Here, you will be provided with 3D glasses for an augmented reality experience that will make your jaw drop. This was the very entrance of Nero's palace. You will be able to see 360-degrees around, in a detailed, perfect and emotional reconstruction, not just the space as it was at the time of Nero, but also as it was found when the first explorers ventured here more than 500 years ago. Thanks to your virtual reality glasses you will be also able to "travel" outside Nero's palace and experience a view of Rome as it appeared during Nero's age. You will admire the Golden House from outside in its hard-to-describe imposingness, luxury and wealth. This is an experience that you will remember with awe, no less than if you had traveled in time and walked in the Domus Aurea 2,000 years ago. Join our group tour of the Domus Aurea today, and explore the imperial palace of Nero, the Colosseum and the ancient city that was capital to one of the greatest empires in history.Important Info About This Tour We will enter the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill in a small group of maximum 12 people (or less). However, we will join another group of 12 people (or less) during the Domus Aurea section of our itinerary.Skip-the-line admission tickets for Domus Aurea, Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill are included in the price of the tour!The Domus Aurea, Colosseum and Roman Forum are not wheelchair friendly because of steep stairs and uneven ground. This is an intense tour and there is little opportunity to sit. We encourage those with mobility issues (with or without wheelchair) to consider a Private Tour instead, so that the tour guide can adapt the pace to their needs. The tour is 5-hours long, but there’s a 30-40 minute break for a snack and for using the facilities.Backpacks and large bags are not allowed inside the Colosseum. N.B. There is no cloakroom service at the Colosseum.Please don’t forget to wear comfortable shoes. Bring a hat, sunscreen lotion, and water bottles that you will be able to refill in the fountains along the path.Also, bring a sweater to wear in the Domus Aurea underground, because when we go down, it's cold.Meeting Time: Tour starts at 1:15pm. Meeting time 1:05pm.Meeting Point: Central Location in Rome (Full details provided after booking)Further ReadingUltimate Guide To The ColosseumUltimate Guide To the Palatine HillRome Attractions

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/6250

Stanley Kubrick Exhibit Jan 8 - Jun 30, 2013 – All Day Los Angeles County Museum of Art - 5905 Wi... Los Angeles, CA Map Art of the Americas Building, Level 2 November 1, 2012–June 30, 2013 Stanley Kubrick was known for exerting complete artistic control over his projects; in doing so, he reconceived the genres in which he worked. The exhibition covers the breadth of Kubrick’s practice, beginning with his early photographs for Look magazine, taken in the 1940s, and continuing with his groundbreaking directorial achievements of the 1950s through the 1990s. His films are represented through a selection of annotated scripts, production photography, lenses and cameras, set models, costumes, and props. In addition, the exhibition explores Napoleon and The Aryan Papers, two projects that Kubrick never completed, as well as the technological advances developed and utilized by Kubrick and his team. By featuring this legendary film auteur and his oeuvre as the focus of his first retrospective in the context of an art museum, the exhibition reevaluates how we define the artist in the 21st century, and simultaneously expands upon LACMA’s commitment to exploring the intersection of art and film. See this exhibition for free: become a member. http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/stanley-kubrick Bring These Top Artists To Your City

文学

2017-09/0320/en_head.json.gz/6294

THE RESURRECTION OF ARTIST JOHN PIERCE BARNES RCA Worker and Impressionist Painter By Hoag Levins Photo: Hoag Levins Kathryn Stanko has been working for three years to gain Impressionist artist John Pierce Barnes the recognition he never had in life. She is the curator of his collection and is writing a book about his work. CAMDEN, N.J. (Feb. 28, 2010) -- John Pierce Barnes is not a name that leaps to mind when you think about notable persons connected to Camden history. But for several years, Pittsburgh art representative Kathryn Stanko has been working mightily to get public exposure for this largely unknown RCA industrial designer who moonlighted as an impressionist artist. And in the last two years, she's gained some real traction. Her latest triumph is a two-month Barnes exhibit The Camden County Historical Society show focused largely on Barnes' pastels. This one is titled "Reflection."at the Camden County Historical Society's museum opening concurrently with the publication of a six-page spread of Barnes' work in the American Art Review journal. "Camden is famed for its 20th-century manufacturing industries, but most people don't understand how many artists and designers were employed here. It was a city of design and art. Barnes' is just one of many untold stories of those now-forgotten artists," said Ms. Stanko in an interview at the show's opening. John Pierce Barnes, a native Philadelphian, went to work at the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1926 and remained there until he died in 1954. In 1929 Victor was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America, which later became RCA. For twenty-eight years, Barnes designed product parts there, including the ornate wooden cabinets that housed the company's record players and early radios. But on his own time, he was a fine-arts artist searching out his subject matter along the back roads of rural Bucks and Chester Counties. Strangely, he never sought public recognition of his work. When he died at 61 in 1954, he left behind a body of landscapes and portraiture consisting of about 70 oils, 100 watercolors and 30 pastels. That collection remained stored away by his heir and only son, Pierce Barnes. By accident, eighteen years ago, art gallery sales rep Kathryn Stanko crossed paths with her first-grade teacher, who happened Barnes, a student of the New Hope School, worked in oils, pastels and watercolors. Here, a snow scene in the backyard of his Delaware County home. to be John Pierce Barnes' daughter-in-law. Though they kept in touch, it was fifteen years later that Stanko learned her teacher's father-in-law was a painter who had produced a substantial collection of impressionist art -- and that it had been locked away for decades. "In a round about way I had known of this man for fifty years -- since I was in first grade, yet I was completely unaware of his art," said Ms. Stanko. "When I first actually saw the collection -- all of it at once -- I was bowled over. It was beautiful. John Pierce Barnes was an exceptional artist, and it was amazing to think that none of these works had been exhibited since the 1920s." In 2007, the family retained Ms. Stanko to curate, promote and sell pieces from the Barnes collection. Ms. Stanko herself is an artist and designer of the Metalace brand of jewelry sold in galleries and museum gift shops (www.metalace.net). Promoting an unkown "This project has been been more challenging than I originally thought, but I've learned alot," she said. "As I've talked with museum curators and archivists over the last few years it's made me even more passionate about Barnes' art. But in the beginning it wasn't easy -- museums and galleries wouldn't talk to me other than to ask 'Who is John Pierce Barnes?' Nobody had ever heard of him." At the time, Ms. Stanko worked in Bella Arte, a tiny gallery then located in Pittsburgh's Shadyside Barnes' oil "Little fence" is typical of the New Hope artists whose work captured the essence of an earlier, simpler rural America.art district. And that was where the first Barnes exhibit was launched. "You never want to ignore the potential of small beginnings," she said. "Pittsburgh Tribune art critic Kurt Shaw wrote a beautiful review. That tiny gallery exhibit really gave the Barnes collection feet." Those "feet" walked it to the attention of the Butler Institute of Art, a regional museum in Youngstown, Ohio, that has a gallery solely devoted to pastels. The 2008 Barnes show there went well enough to be invited to extend its run. Philadelphia's Woodmere Museum And that put it on the radar of the Woodmere Art Museum in the tony Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, which is keenly interested in work by Philadelphia-area artists. The Woodmere's 2009 Barnes show featured 70 pieces and was enthusiastically reviewed by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Edward J. Sozanski. The Woodmere itself acquired Barnes' "Sunset," which depicts the distant Philadelphia skyline as viewed from high in an RCA building on the Camden side of the Delaware River. While his oils, watercolors and pastels are now attracting increasing attention, Barnes the man remains an enigma. Aside from his actual artworks, he's left behind virtually no information about himself. There are no letters, journals or other writings from him or his contemporaries providing any sense of the real person. Barnes' portrait of Walter H. Gardener, a fellow Academy student who went on to become a New Jersey senator.The recollections of his elderly surviving family members are thin. Only two tiny photos of Barnes are known to exist. In addition, Ms. Stanko said she's been unable to find any personnel records of RCA or its predecessor companies for that era. "What I've heard is that all those records went into the Delaware River a long time ago," she said. Barnes' son -- now in his eighties -- remembers that his father served in the U.S. Navy in World War I. Draft board records indicate that Barnes had the tattoo of a tinsmith's insignia on his right arm; that he was 5'9" tall and that he later signed up at age 49 to fight in World War II but wasn't taken. It's also known that sometime in the early 1920s, as a pandemic of encephalitis lethargica, or "sleeping sickness," swept the world, Barnes contracted the disease and suffered lingering symptoms for the rest of his life. Surrendered himself to art After the war ended in 1918, Barnes surrendered himelf to his art in schools that enabled him to associate with some of the era's most influential artists. The first two decades of the 20th century had been a time of great ferment and tumultuous change in the arts as traditional realism gave way to an explosion of avant-garde techniques such as Impressionism. Impressionists used loose patterns of tiny dots, strokes and splotches to capture the overall effect of a scene Impressionists did just that -- used cryptic brushwork to capture the essence of a scene rather than the detail of the scene itself.rather than its specific details. Such images are often ethereal, dream-like visions focused on a landscape's delicate lighting. The Impressionist style first emerged in Paris in the late 1800s among groups of artists who favored painting "en plein air," a French term meaning "in the open air." They were the first to popularize the use of fold-up wooden easels and portable wooden paint boxes as mini field studios. It was part of a new ethic demanding that one fully engage the reality of the subject landscape, rather than trying to remember or recreate it at a later time in an isolated studio room. By the turn of the century, one offshoot of this movement took root in the artist colony at New Hope, Pennsylvania, and its members became known as the "Pennsylvania Impressionists" or the "New Hope School." Their work, which depicted landscapes of Bucks and Chester counties, reached its peak of national acclaim just as John Pierce Barnes was entering The Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (now known as the University of the Arts) in Philadelphia. He won two student awards there. Daniel Garber's influenceThen, in 1921, the 28-year-old war veteran entered the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts were he studied until 1925. The Academy was the country's oldest art museum and school and an institution of international renown for both its collections and "A Day to Paint" is one of the pastels that Barnes did on sandpaper. The individual in the picture is believed to be a fellow Academy student. its faculty members. One of those was Daniel Garber, a leading member of the Pennsylvania Impressionists and one of the country's most exhibited and awarded fine artists. He became John Barnes' teacher as well as a window to the inner circles of the New Hope artists community. Much of the current Barnes art collection consists of a flurry of pastels, watercolors and oils created during his years of association with Garber. Ms. Stanko said her research leads her to believe that Barnes was one of Garber's best students, which is quite something given that Garber taught at the Academy for forty-one years. In 1921 and '22 Barnes work was displayed at Philadelphia's annual watercolor and miniature exhibition. He obviously excelled as an Academy student, winning prizes including two school grants that allowed him to travel and live in the art centers of Europe. On the second trip in 1923, he was accompanied by his new wife, Lola. Bucks County en plein airPart of the Academy curriculum included frequent en plein air trips through Bucks and Chester Counties with Daniel Garber, who could be a stern teacher. Ms. Stanko Barnes wandered the areas around the Delaware River to find scenes like "The Front Porch."recounts one of the family stories: "Barnes was out with Garber and other students one day when Garber asked 'Who has a canvas? Who has a canvas? I need to show you something.' John Barnes had this beautiful oil in the trunk of his car, and Garber took it and said, 'Here's one.' Then he started sketching all over it in pencil. Can you imagine? I was told that Mrs. Barnes said her husband never got over that incident." As he finished Academy schooling in 1925, the local arts community was preparing for the latest rounds of new professional exhibitions as well as the exciting and unique art opportunities offered by the soon-to-open 1926 Sesquicentennial World's Fair in Philadelphia. But that same year, John and Lola Barnes were pregnant with their first and only child. Making a living at RCAInstead of pursuing a full-time career in the fine arts he had studied so intensely, Barnes took a job in the industrial arts department of the Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, grinding out blueprints, logo designs and product decorations. "I think Barnes could have made his living as a fine-arts artist," said Ms. Stanko. "But he went into design At RCA and its predecessor companies, Barnes did industrial design work, like these escutcheons for wooden radio cabinents.because he felt that is how he would support his family." Barnes and his wife settled in Springfield, in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and his daily commute was a long one involving the train, the trolley and the Delaware River ferry each way. Nevertheless, for the rest of his life -- and his twenty-eight years at Victor and RCA -- Barnes spent many weekend and vacation days sketching and painting in Bucks and Chester Counties as well as Maine. But he never again attempted to enter competitions or exhibitions. "He never sold any of his own work," said Stanko. "His son Pierce told me he remembers his father as a quiet man and a very, very private person; almost introverted. When Pierce visited the Woodmere exhibit last year, he said, 'Oh, my Dad would have been so uncomfortable to have a public display of his art like this.'" All Rights Reserved, © 2010 HistoricCamdenCounty.com Contact: editor@HistoricCamdenCounty.com RELATED JOHN BARNES ITEMS The Double Life of Artist John Pierce Barnes John Pierce Barnes Blog RELATED RCA HISTORY ARTICLES Nipper Window Highlights Rutgers Art Exhibit Uncrating an Original RCA Nipper Window Photo Page: Nipper Building Centennial A Photo History of RCA's Golden Years in Camden Fred Barnum: Rock Star of RCA History Camden Museum Resurrects Era of Hand-Cranked Victrolas

文学